Summer is here!

Well it's been a while since I posted last. My computer is on the fritz, and I stay pretty busy so, that's all I am going to say on it.

As you might have noticed, the temps are really climbing and your plants might be showing the stress from it.
Most established lawns, trees, and shrubs will survive a hot summer just fine with little or no irrigation, provided there is not drought. This year we have seen a return to relatively normal rainfall, so the plants we want to concentrate on are our veggies and flowers.

First and foremost, all plants need mulch, in nature, mulch is in the form of leaves, pine needles, limbs, twigs, dead grass, and animal waste. Mulching around your trees and shrubs with wood chips, pine straw, or even the leaves you rake off your lawn, aid in retaining moisture in the ground. What ever material you chose to use, it should never be "green." Never use freshly chipped wood as it will rob nitrogen from the soil as it dries and first begins to decompose, wood chips should be in a state of active decay when used as mulch. Flowers and veggies are best mulched with pine needles, hay, or straw. Be sure to have plenty or organic compost mixed in the soil before mulching these delecate plants.

When comes to your water source, be conservation minded. Make water from the municipal system (or even a well) a last resort. Utilize rain barrels, A/C condensation, or dehumidifiers, and there will be plenty of H2O for your garden.

Black Gold

That's right, BLACK GOLD! No, not petroleum, compost. I had a huge pile of leaves and other vegetative waste I cleaned out of someone's back yard about a year ago. When I say huge I do mean HUGE! Now the pile is about a fourth of the size after natural decomposition with a lot of help from a colony of worms who took up residence. So now I have a good amount of the best garden fertilizer there is. I estimate it is composed of at least 75% worm castings, which is awesome.

"What's so awesome about that?" you might say. Worm castings, i.e. worm manure, has more nutrients than any other animal manure. It's like the ultimate performance enhancing supplement for plants. The best part is it's all natural and organic, not to mention it kept a large amount of waste from being deposited in a landfill, or polluting our air with smoke.

So the next time you need to clean up the yard, don't toss it out or burn it! Compost it. Just pick out a corner in your yard and start a compost pile. You can help speed up the process by chopping it up with a lawn mower and turning the pile over every couple of weeks. You can add your veggie and fruit scraps as well. Some other stuff you can compost are coffee grounds w/ filter, tea bags sans staple, crushed egg shells (not eggs), shredded news paper, rice, bread and cereal. Be sure not to add meat, bones or oils as it will stink and attract scavengers like raccoons, cats, and dogs. 

Sifting frame on top of a wheel barrow.

Unsifted compost.

Sifting out the sticks, twigs and other material not composted.

Hey! A worm!

Finished compost. Ready to be spread in the garden or on the lawn.

Top Ten Benefits of Organic Lawn Care

So what are the benefits of switching to an organic lawn care program? Here's the Top Ten List from safelawns.org.

1.) Safety, for humans, animals, insects and the planet


2.) Better Health, for humans, animals, the lawns and the planet


3.) Water Conservation & Preservation, since water does not often become contaminated in organic systems, which also require less water than synthetic programs


4.) Soil Health & Sustainability, since organics builds organic matter and life within the soil


5.) Pest Reduction, since insects tend to be more attracted to out-of-balance synthetic systems


6.) Resource Conservation, since synthetic fertilizers are derived from fossil fuels and organic systems encourage recycling, and because organic systems emphasize less mowing


7.) Financial Savings through time, since organic systems become more independent as the soil is improved


8.) Environmental Preservation, including a reduction in greenhouse gases and global warming


9.) Noise Reduction from decreased reliance on power equipment


10.) Environmental Awareness from the organic practioners, who don’t rely on “four-step plans” and instead tend to become stewards of the land.

And here's another way to put when comparing an organic lawn care program to a chemical program. What is your first impression when you see a sign like this posted on a lawn? How can someone honestly say their service is safe, when they must by law post a sign like this in a yard they've just treated? I am proud to say, that no lawn I treat needs any such signage. My customers can rest assured that my products and services are 100% safe for their children, pets, and evironment.

Here's a video of my kids and me planting some seeds in the garden.

A Little Filler...

For those of you who didn't know it, I am a full time firefighter when I'm not pursuing the organic lawn care biz., working on my garden, playing with my kids, or just day-dreaming about a purely agrarian lifestyle. Today was a day at the station, and what a beautiful day it was! All I could think about was getting in some dirt and soaking in the sun, but duty calls.

Anyhow, I just thought I'd post a couple of interesting links on composting, which is a vital ingredient in all things organic, plus it saves a tremendous amount of space in a landfill.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compost

http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/rrr/composting/benefits.htm

A note on compost though, beware of "industrial" compost. This includes the bagged stuff you find in lawn and garden centers, as well as compost produced by municipalities. While these products do have some soil enriching properties, their nutrient values leave something to be desired. NONE of them can compete with home made compost of leaves, veggie/fruit scraps, and local manure (horse, cow, rabbit, chicken, etc.) The bagged compost is basically industrial waste from factory farms. The municipal compost is from stuff that otherwise would be in a landfill, but it most likely is processed with sewage sludge. This sludge can be high in heavy metals (i.e. lead). So, just as with food, nothing beats "Home Grown."

No More Poison!

I've been in the green industry since before it was "GREEN." My first introduction to turf care was in 1996 when I started working for the Parks & Rec. Dept. All I knew then was "mow, blow & go" and "if a little bit's good, a lot is better." Roundup was the answer to weed-eating, gas solved the fire ant delima, and what the heck was "mulching"?

Grass not green enough? Pour out the nitrogen (via synthetic fertilizer), never mind the rate, just water the heck out of it. Flowers wilting? Double the irrigation. Weeds in the sidewalk? Hose 'em with glysophate. Leeching? Runoff?

Now, this was't the mindset of the whole department, but this was the attitude as a whole in the industry and as a "newbie," I just figured that was how it was done. I carried alot of that mentality with me when I started my own lawn care business. I learned real quick "mow, blow, and go" would not earn me quality customers and there was alot more to making the grass green than Nitrogen.

I heard the word Organic through out my twenties, and I never gave it more thought than it's something burned out hippies were into. But the more I heard about it, the more I believed there had to some truth to it. So I researched at least a hundred websites or so, read several books, I tried some of the "organic" fertilizers produced by the recognized name brands, they seemed to work well enough, but then I learned the difference between organic & organic based. There is a huge difference! Generally, an organic BASED fertilizer, derives its organic materials from industrial sources, such as sewage sludge, which is loaded with heavy metals. Not to mention, it will still, often times, be mixed with petroleum derived synthetic fertilizers. I also check out the companies who claimed to have an organic alternative to their traditional treatment regimen, but they continue to use herbicides and pesticides to treat weeds and pests. I don't know about you, but I think that defeats the purpose in offering an "organic" alternative.

I am proud to say that I can offer a truly organic product that is endorsed by the Safe Lawns Foundation, plus it is the only do it yourself system I am aware of. No more poison for me, how about you?