You want a great lawn. But you are worried about chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Worry no more! Fido and the kids will be safer and the environment will be better off if you use organic lawn care products.*

Build a healthy lawn
The first step towards having a beautiful organic lawn is having good maintenance practices. Mow high so that the grass will not burn and will be tall enough to choke out weeds. Mowing high also makes a lawn look more lush and green. Water your lawn infrequently and deeply. This will encourage the grass to develop deep roots.

Fertilizers
Organic fertilizers have a bad rep. Most smell bad and are hard to use on your lawn. But there are actually better options than manure. Ever seen the movie Caddyshack? Remember the insane grounds-keeper played by Bill Murray? That character really loved grass. And in the scene where he has set up bags of fertilizer as a sandbag barrier, the bags are labeled “Milorganite.” Milorganite was used on golf courses for years. It is a by-product from the Milwaukee sewage treatment plants, and has been manufactured for decades. Many municipal sewage treatment plants now offer similar products. They are granular organic fertilizers, although according to official food labeling standards they are not approved for use on organic crops. But they’re great for your lawn! Alfalfa meal is another great organic fertilizer for your lawn that is easy to spread and does not smell.

Pesticides
Most healthy lawns do not suffer from pest infestations. However, if yours does, there are many organic products to help. The best natural pest control for fleas, slugs, and lawn grubs is diatomaceous earth. It’s very non-toxic: Flea Away Natural Flea Powder is even safe to use on your own pets. Many organic pest control products on the market contain diatomaceous earth. Other good organic pest controls include ones containing neem oil, garlic or pepper sprays, or cedar-based.

If you live where Fire Ants are a problem, there is a great temptation to not even try organic gardening. But there are natural pest control products for ants that work as well as conventional products. Treat the mounds with Cedarcide, orange-oil product such as Orange Guard, or boiling water. Then treat the yard with ant baits that contain Spinosad like Green Light Fire Ant Control. These will inhibit the ants’ ability to reproduce. It only affects certain types of ants, so it will not affect your beneficial insects and is safe to use in organic gardening. Mosquitoes can be discouraged by spays with mint or citrus oil in them.

Weeds
Taking care of weeds is simple: build up a healthy lawn and the lawn itself will choke out most weeds. For particularly stubborn specimens, spot treat with horticultural or pickling strength vinegar. Paint the leaves rather than spraying to avoid killing nearby grass. Treat your lawn in the early spring with corn gluten, a natural pre-emergent. Do not use a pre-emergent if you are trying to sprout grass seed.

Thanks to the wide variety of good organic lawn care products on the market, you can have a beautiful lawn without poisoning yourself, your family, or the planet.

*(You still have to be careful: “organic” does not always mean “non-toxic”!)