Healthy lawn tips from the Old Farmer's Almanac

“Treat your soil well and your lawn will look amazing.

"Apply compost in the spring and fall.”

“Don’t worry if your lawn doesn’t look like the outfield at Comerica Park. Embrace a little clover.”

“Water less frequently, water deeper.”

Good Sweet Earth lawn customers have been hearing these things from us for years. And we’re always happy when we see this type of information appear in mainstream publications. Needless to say, when organic lawn care tips appeared in the Old Farmer’s Almanac, we were ecstatic; here's an excerpt:

The more you let nature do the work for you, the easier it will be to care for your lawn. 
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​Always pay attention to the soil! Your lawn needs nourishment.

• Every spring, apply a one-to-two-thick layer of compost to top of your lawn with a spreader. Soils rich in decomposed organic materials will do a better job of holding moisture.
• In the spring, remove the thatch or dead grass with a rake to help moisture and oxygen reach down to the roots.

Fertilizing

• As well as building your soil with compost, regularly apply a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer [like alfalfa meal] with a lawn spreader. The best time to apply fertilizer is just before it rains.
• In areas of your lawn where tree roots compete with the grass, apply some extra fertilizer to benefit both.

Watering

• Water your lawn early in the morning or in the evening.
• Water long enough to allow the water to soak in below the root zone. Shallow watering encourages shallow root growth and weeds. It will take about an inch of water to penetrate 6 to 8 inches into the soil. Set out shallow cans in the sprinkler area to measure.
• Don’t overwater. Make the lawn seek its own source of water, building longer, sturdier roots. Cut back on water especially in midsummer to let the lawn go dormant, strengthening it for fall and winter.

Weeding

• Prevent weeds with regular mowing and hand-removing tenacious weeds. Relax your stance on weeds, however, and be comfortable with letting some weeds grow in that expanse of green.
• A slightly wild lawn lets volunteer grasses, wildflowers, herbs, and even wild strawberries grow, adding color and variety to your landscape.
• Clover grows low to the ground and smells lovely after it’s been cut, and it often stays green after the rest of lawn has turned brown; dandelion greens taste great in a salad (if you’re not applying chemical fertilizers!).

Mowing

• To keep a healthy lawn, never cut more than one-third off the total grass height. Mow the lawn when the grass is dry and keep the blades sharp to reduce tearing the grass blades (which invites disease).
• Leave clippings on the lawn to filter down to the soil, decompose, and recycle nutrients back to the roots. The shorter the clippings, the more quickly they will decompose into the soil. Look into the “mulching mowers” that recycle clippings back onto the lawn.

If you're in west Michigan and you’d like to learn more about growing a healthier lawn through organic (chemical-free) maintenance, check out our lawn service options, or contact Good Sweet Earth’s lawn guy Steve Veldheer at [email protected].

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