One of the keys to eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides from your lawn care program is to have a very good understanding of what is going on with your soil. The key to a healthy organic lawn is to have healthy organic soil and without studying the make up of that soil we can’t fully understand how to make changes. The standard Organic Lawns for America program will fulfill the majority of your lawns needs when it comes to macro and micronutrients. In most cases your soil will already contain the necessary elements to produce a healthy lawn but your grass is unable to use them because the soil is void of biological activity. The vitamins, nutrients and minerals in our products will detoxify and buffer the salts and chemicals that prevent that biological activity from flourishing. However, as mentioned before it is very important to verify that all the factors that go into this equation are in a desirable range. Usually, if they are not we can make simple adjustments. These small adjustments will speed up the process of detoxifying your soil and building soil-improving microbes. The more healthy and alive your soil is, the more healthy and alive your lawn is! When your soil is healthy and your lawn is healthy you begin see common lawn care problems like weeds, disease and drought become much less of an issue.
One setback that we have in the organic lawn care industry is that there isn’t a soil test that is designed specifically for organic lawn care recommendations. Every soil test that is performed by universities, soil labs and even “do it yourself” kits will give you recommendations for Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium in terms of synthetic fertilizer. We, in the organic frame of mind continue to contend that this is not the best way to have a healthy lawn. (In fact we contend that it actually sterilizes the soil in the long term.) The soil test that is enclosed works very well in all categories except for the macro nutrient recommendations (N P K), which are expressed in pounds per thousand square feet of chemical fertilizer. We continue to suggest that with the proper percent of organic matter, the proper pH, and the proper levels of micronutrients we can help the grass use what is already in the soil and simply not available. We hope that somewhere somebody is working on a soil test that makes those macro nutrient recommendations in lbs of fish emulsion, kelp and organic humates!
The following page gives a basic description of the key points of your soil test and what we suggest you do to make the proper adjustments. In each case we offer you both solutions that you can do on your own and products that we can provide to help make the adjustments easier.
You can find all of the products we recommend for improving your soil conditions at our website under the “Soil Amendments” category.
Although we obviously suggest you do everything possible in terms of what goes on your lawn we can’t stress enough that it is just one part of many things you should do to ensure the best possible chemical free lawn. As the summer approaches be sure you are mowing at the highest setting, watering deeply when your lawn needs it and you continue to understand that patience and a positive attitude is the most important part of having a healthy lawn.
Soil pH
This simple measure of the acidity or alkalinity in your soil is the key to healthy soil and a nice lawn. The optimum soil pH reading will be a little bit different based on your grass type and where you live but generally you would like your pH to be between 6.5 and 7.0. If your pH is higher than that we recommend applying sulfur. If it is lower than that you should apply calcium carbonate and magnesium. (Limestone is a good option) If your soil pH is way off, your lawn will have a hard time using the nutrients that exist in your soil. Many of the products that you apply to the lawn will also be “neutralized” because of acid levels and be less effective. Adjusting your soil pH is very important.
Organic Matter %
The percent organic matter of your soil is a great measurement for the success of your organic approach. An optimal level for this reading is 6 to 8 % but this is generally difficult to achieve without taking measures that are typically cost prohibitive. The absolute best way to raise the organic matter in your soil is to have it top-dressed with organic compost. Sometimes it is difficult to hire a company who will do this and it can be very expensive too. More economical ways to help improve the organic content in your soil is by using compost teas or applying straight humic acid.
Magnesium/Calcium/Copper/Manganese/Iron/Zinc
These micronutrients are essential minerals required by plants for healthy growth and development. Magnesium is essential for many plant functions including photosynthesis, (Magnesium is the central element of the chlorophyll molecule.) sugar synthesis, starch translocation and increased Iron utilization. Often overlooked in place of the macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) these elements play a key role in the quality of your soil. The best method of amending your soil of any of these elements is to apply a foliar concentrate that contains all of the micronutrients.
A few things we didn’t mention and why.
There are several items on the soil test that don’t require an action on your part and are only useful if the readings are extremely high or low. This particular soil test is very detailed and can be confusing if you don’t understand the meaning behind each item. We wanted to briefly explain a few of those items.
Buffer pH: This is a laboratory created measurement to determine how much calcium, magnesium or sulfur is needed to adjust the actual soil pH.
CEC: (Cation Exchange Capacity) Essentially the soils ability to absorb nutrients and is measured by the soils tendency to exchange positive and negative ions. (I know, I know) This measurement is really defined by the soils pH and percent organic matter.
K,Mg,Ca Percent Saturation and K/Mg Ratio Ca/Mg Ratio are also numbers that relate directly to CEC. These three nutrients are major cations in the soil and are involved in a competitive interaction with each other, as well as being affected by a fourth significant cation, hydrogen (H+). Hydrogen is significant because as the quantity of soil H+ increases, the soil becomes more acid and the soil pH decreases. These measurements are much easily understood by looking at your soils acidity or alkalinity, percent organic matter and making the
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