I'm excited to announce that I'll be teaching the upcoming “Organic Lawns for Homeowners” workshop at the Stoneham Public Library, 431 Main Street, on
Saturday, April 9 from 11 am to 2 pm.

Homeowners will learn various organic lawn care methods and maintenance techniques in this three-hour intensive workshop. The workshop will also include a hands-on demonstration at the nearby Town Common Center Circle, the site of the NOFA/Mass Organic Lawn Demonstration Project installed last Spring.

This workshop will cover several topics including:

• Why Organic?
• What is an Organic Lawn?
• How is Organic different from Conventional?
• The Relationship between a Healthy Soil and Healthy Lawn
• Soil Testing
• Soil Health
• The Science of Growing Grass
• Cultural Practices
• Mowing
• Aerating
• Compost Topdressing
• Fertilizing
• Seed Slicing
• Equipment
• Questions & Answers
   

Hope you can join us!

Check out the “Organic Lawns for Homeowners” flyer for more info or to register, contact coordinator Kathy Litchfield at (413) 773-3830 or kathy@nofamass.org

Register for the organic lawn workshop online here

When it comes to your lawn, be sure to think about the right grass type for your region. Organic Soil Solutions recommends tall fescues. Experts agree that fescue blends are the best type of grass for the New England area in a recent article by C.L. Fornari titled “Choose turf carefully in the Northeast”.

Why Tall Fescue?
"Tall fescue is the most deeply rooted and drought tolerant of the cool season grasses," Murray says. "A lot of towns have watering bans in the summer, or homeowners prefer not to water, and the tall fescue bounces back well from summer stress."

It’s important to remember that the right grass type is only part of the healthy lawn equation, you also need a good soil structure.

Take a look at your lawn now. Does it need some love? Start renovating your lawn this April with our Spring Lawn Fix and enjoy your yard in the coming seasons.

Under the snow sits a beautiful lawn waiting to stretch out and capture some rays. 

In an effort to help the grass enjoy the summer and grow happy and healthy, we are offering two separate programs this year:

1. Traditional lawn care proposal is essentially the same program we’ve used the last few years.  It provides nourishment for the plant and soil biology.  The applications are designed to help a healthy lawn survive the rigors of summer heat and drought while flourishing in the spring and fall.  I assume most people would go with this program.
    
2. Compost lawn proposal concentrates more on improving the soil.  Lawns that have problems with compaction, water retention and weeds usually need better soil.  Compost helps address these issues while adding organic matter and biology.  This program is more expensive for most size lawns and has fewer applications.  We kept the normal square footage to top dress at 3,000 square feet, which is 3 yards of compost.  That should be enough to address problem areas on most large lawns, but it can be adjusted.  We would spread seed before top dressing and slice seed in the fall.  We are investing in new compost spreaders and dump trucks to do the work effectively.

As of the end of February, we’ve received back 240 proposals from our mailing in January.  About 160 chose our traditional lawn care and 80 are going with the compost. 

We have moved to a new facility that can handle the increased volume of compost and are buying a new dump truck.  The challenge of spreading compost is getting enough volume to the site.  Our present dump truck groans under the weight of 4 yards.  We’ve seen dramatic results from compost top dressing in the past.  It is really the only way to improve soil fairly quickly.  Of course the real results won’t show up until we slice seed in the fall.

Sign up today and enjoy a healthy, organic lawn this season.

Image courtesy of photobucket

After witnessing the great New England leaf removal of the past few weeks, I’m struck by what a valuable resource we are taking away from a soil that sorely needs organic matter.  Trees send their roots deep into the soil in search of minerals and nutrients to form leaves, a great source of organic matter. 

We know from studies how effective the mulching of leaves into the lawn is in promoting early spring green up and reducing weed pressure.  Of course this can be done for only so long in the fall before the leaves overwhelm the lawnmower.  I’d like to try piling leaves up in the fall and mulching them into the lawn in the spring, when the grass is growing vigorously.

Most leaves probably go to composting or mulch producing facilities that sell them back to the homeowner in a different form.  On a couple of properties, we shred the leaves in the fall and spread them back on the beds as mulch.  For a finer look, we let the leaves marinate over the winter and shred them in the spring.  The process is pretty labor intensive, but costly mulch doesn’t have to be spread in the spring.  You are not removing a natural resource from your property, but putting it back in the soil from which they came.  It is important that the leaves are shredded or they can form a dense mat that prevents the flow of air and water to the soil.  A lawn mower or leaf shredder does the job.

Looking at the leaf covered forest floor and seeing the trees thriving, with no input from us, shows the importance of leaves in building soil and promoting life.  When I first got a microscope, the leaf litter in my backyard was the finest medium for viewing soil organisms.  Decomposing leaves form humus and improve soil structure in clay or sandy soils.  Leaves are a great local resource to improve soil health, reduce weeds and retain moisture.  They are the gift that keeps on giving.

It’s been a tough year, but we’ve had great success with many of the lawns we cared for in 2010. The Organic Soil Solutions team would like to thank everyone for your patience and support as we battled the heat and crazy New England weather to make your lawns healthy and beautiful. We’re looking forward to an exciting, healthy, and green 2011!

We thought we’d share some of the Organic Soil Solutions love from the past few months…

“I just wanted to let you know that the grass is looking so much better.  I appreciate very much what your workers have done for me.  I have attached a picture to show you the results.” – Peg W. from Wellesley, MA

 
"Just a note to say thanks for our new grass. After a hot summer, the lawn was not good. I’ve tended the lawn for 28 years (some better than others) and I thought the damage this year was beyond my ability. Your company did a great job." -Priscilla H. from Belmont, MA

"Just wanted to say thanks. My lawn looks better this year than ever before. The OSS team has been managing my lawn since 2007 and it has fully recovered from 10 years of toxic treatment from ChemLawn. Last year I even had a beehive for the first time in my ten years here. Butterflies, birds, rabbits: the difference is amazing. Plus you've inspired me to compost kitchen waste. Thank you so much! I just recommended you to another friend. You have a fan in Newton." -Andrea B. from Newton, MA

Read more success stories and testimonials from our customers here.

Loving your lawn? Submit your story to us today!

It’s been one of the toughest years ever for lawns.  I’m told we had 23 days over 90 degrees, as opposed to 3 last year.  Of course, it was the hottest July ever and the rain didn’t fall that much.  Today, its 80 degrees, the leaves are falling and it’s still September. 

I think the biggest problem this summer’s heat caused cool season grasses, was the high temperature of the soil.  The roots of cool season grasses pretty much stop growing when soil temperatures reach 70 degrees and totally shut down at 77.  The shoots stop growing when the air gets to 90 degrees.  These are conditions we had most of the summer.  That hot spell in August really threw some lawns over the edge.  When the roots started to regenerate, they hit more heat.  Crab grass, on the other hand, likes soil temperatures up to 85 degrees and air temperatures up to 120.
 

The challenges of the heat show up problems in the turf and the soil.  Compacted soils don’t accept moisture well and the roots have difficulty growing into those tiny pores anyway.  Shallow rooted lawns and those with a lot of thatch have more problems.  A lot of water gets trapped in the thatch and it becomes a breeding ground for insects, weeds and disease.  A lot of the lawns that browned out or died were bluegrass sod lawns on compacted soil.  Bluegrass is the least drought tolerant of the cool season grasses and tall fescues, which we use, have deeper roots, no thatch and withstand drought the best.

A lot of our lawns that browned out in July came back nicely.  We had some lawns where we tore up spots, top dressed and seeded.  In general, we are doing more slice seeding, core aerating and top dressing than ever.  Even though the leaves are falling prematurely, the nights are cool, we are getting some rain and the grass is growing again. 

I got a lot of this information from Tom Butzier's post, Brown Grass, from his ‘Gardening in the Keystone State’ blog.

I often get called on by home owners for free advice on organic lawn care.  Sometimes, particularly this year, it can be tough.  If a lawn is dead or diminished due to summer stress, about the only way to revitalize it, is to slice seed it in the month of September.  For the most part, that requires the services of a professional.  The slice seeders are heavy, a little hard to rent and it takes a while to get the hang of them.

Of course, another way is to core aerate, spread seed and top dress with compost.  That’s a little easier but more labor intensive.  If the lawn is really dead, it has to be torn up, top dressed with soil and seeded.  We would tear up the dead grass with a power rake, but an iron rake with a lot of elbow grease or a roto-tiller can also do the trick.

I’ll be speaking at the Arnold Arboretum on Tuesday, September 28.  The topic is organic lawn care for home owners.  I’ll be trying to switch my focus from what we would do to how a regular do-it-yourselfer would tackle lawn care problems.

Contact us today for more information on the upcoming Organic Lawn Therapy course or our professional organic lawn care services.

Photo courtesy of Nancy Bosold of the "Gardening in the Keystone State" blog.
 

Photo by David McNew / Getty Image

I recently spent a couple of days at a soil health workshop at Cornell attended by farmers and soil scientists.  I asked a farmer how the crops were doing in western New York this summer.  I knew they had a tough time last year due to very cool, wet weather.  “No one’s complaining this year,” he said.  They had regular rains and good weather until the beginning of August. 

I never felt so much like a farmer as this year.  Last year was pretty good.  This year we had the wettest March ever and that led to a preponderance of clover and plantain.  Then we had the hottest July and that just fried a lot of lawns.

Cool season grasses are perennials, but their health and well being are limited by weeds, weather and wear (or a combination thereof).  I’ve been waiting for a little rain so my crop will survive.  I’m so glad to see the recent showers and cool nights.  Now we can get down to slice seeding, core aerating and revitalizing.  The cool season grasses will thrive.

As Edgar Watson Howe once said, "Farmers only worry during the growing season, but towns people worry all the time."

Sometimes I look forward to the snow.

There’s not a lot of glory caring for lawns in this hot summer.  A lot of the cool season grass is brown, looking sullen and dejected.  The too light green crab grass is wearing a smirk that says, “I can grow on cement if I want.”  The crabgrass won’t look so hot once the first frost rolls around and the dark green grass takes over again.  There’s not much we can do to change things right now but look forward to cooler weather in the fall.  Normally, we start getting the cool nights about Labor Day.  In 2007 the weather was hot and dry through September, but eventually things turned around.  I was in a deep funk until we finally got that first cool night.

“You guys are going to have a lot of slice seeding to do this year,” one customer commented.  She’s right.  And we’re getting ready.  We usually start slice seeding and core aerating on August 15.  I hope the lawns have started to recuperate by then.  We bought another slice seeder, ordered seed and have extra help ready.

The slice seeder we just bought is called a ‘lawn revitalizer’ but others are called ‘renovators’ and that is what they do.  They tear up the thatch and weeds, put slices in the ground and deposit seed for that all important seed to soil contact.  The process stimulates growth and thickens the lawn.  As the crabgrass dies at the first frost, the new seed is coming up.  The hardest part is raking behind the machine and getting rid of all that material.  Core aeration helps relieve compaction and also reduces thatch.  We fertilize at the same time in preparation for that fall growth spurt.  Everything should be beautiful by October.

I got a nice note from another customer who likes to put a positive spin on things, “The lawn still has a lot of crab grass and clover, but seems to be healthy.  We enjoy watching a very cute rabbit who appears each evening to eat her fill.  She actually prefers the weeds, clover and crab grass!”

Schedule your FREE organic lawn care consultation today to get your lawn in shape for fall.