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Organic Program for Green Grass
I use scott's turf builder fertilizer, bonide fruit tree spray, and diazonine to maintain some green grass and insect control around my place. Some of my buddies are paying exorbitant prices to "organic" companies to maintain their green grass (and it does look opretty good).
Do any of you recommend organic solutions? What do you use? Comments, opinions? Is it worth the money? Are "organic" solutions any less harmful to the environment than traditional chemicals? Or are they overhyped?
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Organic Program for Green Grass
We use a LOT of organic ferilizer for our turf production.
We produce our own liquid fertilizer. We have a large perfectly round shallow concrete 'pond' with a small pillar in the exact center on which a rotating boom swivels, at the outside end is a pair of wheels which run on the rim. Manure from our animals is dumped into the pond from the barn cleaner, this is mixed with the water from the hose down of the barn floor. The boom has many small nozzles on arms which run down from boom, they all point down and back at about a 45° angle, a pump macerates (shreds) the manure/liquid combination and pumps it out through the nozzles, this both aerates the mixture, and keeps it constantly agitated as the force from the pump makes the boom rotate. The process is so efficient it is always available for use, constantly 'brewed'.
You can much the same thing with a poly barrel and some manure and rainwater in your backyard.
If you do, you will have tomatoes the size of melons.  .
Best of luck.
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Organic Program for Green Grass
Murf,
I have seen those new SMALL melons. You know the size ot tomatoes.
I guess the natural crop for an one with a stabled animal is mushrooms, right?
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Organic Program for Green Grass
No Kenneth, I mean big ones.
I grow beefstake tomatoes, most are bigger than my wife can hold in one hand, some bigger than I can hold in one hand.
Nothing finer than a tomatoe fresh from the garden, still warm from the sun......
Best of luck.
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Organic Program for Green Grass
the most environmentally-friendly way to maintain your lawn is to let the nature take it's course and allow for natural vegetative diversity to occur. This is good for the pollinating insects, birds, small animals that find shelter and food in natural evnironments. I like all the flowers that grow on my lawn all througout the season. Because I don't mess with nature and let the hardier plants take over, my lawn is always green, even in a drought, without any watering, unlike my neighbors'lawn. I realize this approach is not for everyone, but I thought I'd give my 2c.
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Organic Program for Green Grass
Horse farmer, I don't disagree with you. I personally don't have this great need to fertilize - since my back yard usually burns up later in the summer anyway. But the wife - and residential living (something I tried to avoid) have gotten me to this point. I may soon be cutting back on any unnecessary expense as I approach retirement.
When I was a kid my Dad had a 3 acre lawn and pond with swimming raft. The place was gorgeous - weeds and all. The rotary mower was a great improvement over the reel mower and cut the weeds as well as grass. And we controlled dandlions by cutting the lawn before they seeded. We didn't waste much money on fertilizer back then.
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Organic Program for Green Grass
"But the wife - and residential living (something I tried to avoid) have gotten me to this point."
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which one of the two did you try to avoid? or whas it both?
My wife is on my case about the dandelions (which she terms as 'weeds' all the time. I explain to her the benefits of supporting a native ecosystem, but to no avail.
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Organic Program for Green Grass
dandelions
I have a friend, who grew up in Pittsburgb, said he would pick, dig or something the dandelions for their salads. They thought of them as a treat. It has been said the best way to get rid of a weed is develop it as a crop...so maybe if dandelions were to find out they are good to eat they would become hard to grow.
As to watering the lawn, when me built a few years ago I was asked over and over about the system I was putting it to water my lawn. When I said garden hose and then only until roots get established. I will not lie to the grass or shrubs they will not be watered. To which the professional lawn/shurbery person told me they use to grow like that if if you don't get them us to it they will now. And he was/is correct.
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Organic Program for Green Grass
We are, unfortunately, forced to eradicate any and all weeds, after all, who would buy turf with weeds in it?
At home though I use a different approach, I keep the grass so thick the weeds can't get started the grass chokes them out. Periodically a few stubborn ones pop up, I have a little spiked remover I carry on the mower, I can twist & pull the out without even getting out of the seat!
As was mentioned, if you don't water grass, and you have the proper type of soil, the roots will pull enough water up that eventually 'train' the soil, create passages that will allow the water to work it's way up to the roots. At that point the natural capillary action of the soil will keep the water flowing up on it's own.
Best of luck.
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Organic Program for Green Grass
I have a high vac lawnmower and in early spring I put it on the (#2) low setting. Cut the grass almost to the roots, spread compost that I made from the numerous tree leaves and grass clippings from the year before. Rake this in and water. My sprinkler system is buryed garden hose (5/8 heavy duty)with the normal $5 sprinkler on a spike. The hose has been in the ground for 12 years, sprinklers are set under plants and not seen. When a Sprinkler goes bad, stick another one in the ground, screw another one on and water. When I make the compost I lace it with 10-10-10 and lime between the layers. Grass clippings, leaves. Layer after layer. My lawn Grass grows so thick it keeps the weeds down. If it is green I am happy.
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