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Need help going organic please
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Author:  tdanley_chng [ Sun Feb 15, 2009 11:56 am ]
Post subject:  Need help going organic please

Hello, we have a 3 year old lawn in central Texas near Austin. It was sodded with St. Augustine, but we now have some Bermuda mixed in. In the past I used Scott's products - Bonus S in the early Spring and Winterguard in the fall, and used Milorganite a couple of times in between. The last two years the lawn has been stressed with what I believe is a combination of fungus and grubs. I tried Scott's products for them, but had mixed results.

Now I want to go with all organic products but don't know where to start. The lawn is still dormant, but with the recent mild weather and rain I see a couple of different kinds of weeds popping up. What should I be doing now to get started for a healthy and organic lawn?

Thanks in advance!

Author:  dustoff79 [ Fri Feb 20, 2009 11:06 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Need help going organic please

I think it is a little late to spread corn gluten meal (to act as a pre-emergent) as I am a little south of you and already have the weeds sprouting. So, concentrate on improving the soil and microbial life and the grass. You might want to start with a soil sample and send to the south texas plant and soil lab (http://tpsl.biz/). They will tell you what you need to add. if not, I would get some zeolite (I use Sweet PDZ from the feed store) spread it across the lawn. buy and spread about 1/4"-1/2" deep the best compost you can get. Get some benificial neamatodes and spray them on the grass several times this year (to help with the grubs). when you water, water deeply and infrequently. you want roots to go deep and not shallow. Corn Meal can be used to both fertilize and to help you with any fungal problems. Milorganite is a good organic fertilizer (I have been using it for years). other items to read about on this board, compost teas, soil activators (Medina), and lots of other great info. Good Luck, and pray for rain, we sure need it.

Author:  tdanley_chng [ Wed Feb 25, 2009 6:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Need help going organic please

Thank you dustoff79!

Is there any kind of recommended schedule I should follow to get started? Something that will tell me what to use, in what order, and when? I am so new to the organic process and I'm not sure what I should be doing when!

Also, since I already have some weeds in the lawn, is there aything I can use to control the weeds?

Thanks,

Author:  dustoff79 [ Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Need help going organic please

This link is a good start. topic564.html

It is written by David (Dchall) one of the members here and moderator, he gives great advice. Your key is to get the soil healthy. one of the nice things about organic is you really cannot screw it up. organic fertilizers don't burn the grass like chemicals can. Just remember be patient it will take some time to build the soil and with the weather we have been having (dry) you will need to water. when you water you want to water deeply and infrequently. this will help build a deeper root system which will allow your lawn to better survive the hot/dry summer. I recommend you take the time and go through this forum (lawn care) and read, read, read. also the composting forum is amazing. the moderator Capt Compost is a wiz and he can answer any question you have on compost and compost tea.

for the weeds your best bet is to try to pull the weeds, if you don't have any green grass the best mixture is full strength 10% pickling vinegar into which is mixed 2 oz orange oil and 1 teaspoon liquid soap per gallon of vinegar. Be advised, it will kill the weeds and anything else it is sprayed on that is growing e.g. grass. once you get your grass growing and it begins to thicken it will choke out virtually all the weeds. the exceptions i find are some broadleafs and crabgrass (but you can deal with that with Corn Gluten Meal next Feb.)

Good luck I hope this helps.

Author:  dustoff79 [ Thu Feb 26, 2009 12:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Need help going organic please

This link is a good start. topic564.html

It is written by David (Dchall) one of the members here and moderator, he gives great advice. Your key is to get the soil healthy. one of the nice things about organic is you really cannot screw it up. organic fertilizers don't burn the grass like chemicals can. Just remember be patient it will take some time to build the soil and with the weather we have been having (dry) you will need to water. when you water you want to water deeply and infrequently. this will help build a deeper root system which will allow your lawn to better survive the hot/dry summer. I recommend you take the time and go through this forum (lawn care) and read, read, read. also the composting forum is amazing. the moderator Capt Compost is a wiz and he can answer any question you have on compost and compost tea.

for the weeds your best bet is to try to pull the weeds, if you don't have any green grass the best mixture is full strength 10% pickling vinegar into which is mixed 2 oz orange oil and 1 teaspoon liquid soap per gallon of vinegar. Be advised, it will kill the weeds and anything else it is sprayed on that is growing e.g. grass. once you get your grass growing and it begins to thicken it will choke out virtually all the weeds. the exceptions i find are some broadleafs and crabgrass (but you can deal with that with Corn Gluten Meal next Feb.)

Good luck I hope this helps.

Author:  tdanley_chng [ Thu Feb 26, 2009 7:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Need help going organic please

Thanks again dustoff79, and thank you David!

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