lawn food

[Gord]

Does any body here have a recipe for lawn food. I am trying to steer away from commercial fertilizers and would like to try making my own.

Thanks

Gord

[Mel Francis]

You are either a troll or an idiot. Go away!

[gord]

f*ck you too, asshole

[Vox Humana]

There is a guy named Jerry Baker who has formulas for all kinds of home make garden remedies. As I recall he had a lawn food that involved ammonia and dish detergent in a hose-end sprayer. I'm not endorsing him as the few times I have seen him on TV he seemed like an idiot. However, since you asked, you might take a look at his website. It looks like a pay site.

[gord]

thanks will check it out

[Pam - gardengal]

By steering away from "commercial fertilizers", I assume you mean the manufactured synthetic chemical kind normally favored for lawn care? Smart move - perhaps the best thing you can do aside from removing the lawn entirely. There are a number of option:

Get a mulching mower. Field studies conducted by the Center of Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington have determined that the regular use of a mulching lawn mower will reduce if not eliminate the need for supplemental fertilizing, as well as keep your lawn healthy, reduce thatch build up and supress weeds.

If you are prone to annual weeds, try corn gluten meal. This is an organic product with the ability to prevent the complete germination of weed seeds. Since it is a corn by-product, it also contains nitrogen (10-0-0), the most critical of lawn nutrients.

Top dress your lawn twice yearly with screened compost or alfalfa meal. Watering periodically with a seaweed supplement will provided an assortment of needed trace elements. And there are scores of organic soil amendments which can be used to supplement, depending on what you specific lawn requires. When in doubt, do a soil test first.

Finally, there are dozens of web sites that address organic lawn care - no synthetic fertilizers and no chemcial weed controls. Simply changing fertilizing methods is not enough - you need to understand the correct methods of irrigation and mowing as well. Just do a google search under 'organic lawn care' and do a bit of reading first. In proper combination, these factors can release your lawn (and your checkbook)from chemical bondage.

pam - gardengal

[GaryM]

"Pam - gardengal" wrote in news:yFLnc.19339$xw3.1297174@attbi_s04:

On this point I was wondering when the humid weather arrives here in the Northeast should one still leave the clippings on the lawn? The clippings are rich in nitrogen, I believe, which may then in turn promotes diseases such as brown patch.

Just wondering.

[theoneflasehaddock]

Why in hell do people fertilize grass? It's not like there's any use to it. It doesn't even look nice. It's just another invasive weed crowding out native plants. No reason to give it extra help indoing that.

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theoneflasehaddock

[theoneflasehaddock]

Let's see. You snip what you are replying to, and have already used 2 names. Interesting. I was going to vote for idiot, but now I suppose you might be a troll. Not a very interesting one. I hope your plumbing ruptures and fertilizes your lawn as you wanted.

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theoneflasehaddock

[theoneflasehaddock]

Well, if he's spraying AMMONIA and DISH DETERGENT as a lawn food, he doesn't just look like an idiot, HE IS AN IDIOT.

That will hurt, possibly kill the plants, as well as other wildlife. Just what the world needs, more bozos spraying toxic chemicals for the sheer fun of it.

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theoneflasehaddock

[John T. Jarrett]

For a couple of articles on just this type of thing, try Howard Garrett's website. People either love him or hate him, but I have several of his books and have found them very helpful. And lots of the stuff in the books is on his website.

John

amendments

correct

combination,

chemical

[Pam - gardengal]

Depends on whether the clippings have been mulched or not. Regular mower clippings are too large and will simply mat and smother the lawn. Mulched clippings are very finely chopped up - they will work their way down to the soil level and decompose, providing necessary nutrients. Don't worry about the amount of nitrogen - that's one of the big advantages of mulch mowing - the nitrogen content of the mulched clippings is enough to encourage healthy lawns but not so much as to encourage rampant growth, like chemical fertilizers. It is the rampant, lush growth that promotes disease, not the nitrogen itself.

This may provide more detailed information:

- gardengal

[gary davis]

Hi Gord This may sound a little weird...and it is. But...but...piss on your lawn. Just let the cool winds blow...:) Try it you'll like it. Your grass will love you. Your neighbours will wonder how/why your lawn is greener than their's. And of course there are many ways to do anything...my idea is to 'share the wealth' with as much grass as can be reached...just wing it. We can put it in the 'can' so that it goes out...somewhere...to pollute lakes, streams etc. or we can look for alternate ways... I'm a straight shooter but not as 'straight' as I used to be. My grass doesn't care. My neighbours are green with envy... Gary Fort Langley, BC

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