I talk to people every single day who have decided to take a stand and “go green.” With that commitment, they have made the pledge to go organic in their lawn care regimen. But most don’t understand what that really means. Here are some step-by-step tips to help you in your organic endeavors.

However, we first must lay down some groundwork before we can go totally organic in our lawn treatment schedule.

1) First off, there is no such thing as “organic weed control.” I don’t care what is being sold out there on the internet, there is not such thing as an all natural weed killer. You can buy those products all day long but all you will do is waste your money because they do not work. With that in mind, we need to find a viable alternative to blanketing our lawns with harsh chemical sprays.

2) Since we are going to have to use some type of weed killer, then we need to do it in a responsible way. Keep in mind, if you don’t keep the weeds down in your lawn, they will spread to your neighbors lawns and force them to use more chemicals! So what I recommend you do is spot spray the weeds using a pump up sprayer. This way you can target the weeds where they are instead of the alternative method of “weed and feed” where the weed chems are thrown everywhere, needed or not.

3) Our next step in the line is to get the actual turf thickened up. Remember, the best defense against later weed invasion is a super thick and dense lawn! The way we get the lawn thicker is by feeding it nutrients that will help support photosynthesis. The nutrients I recommend for healthy lawns are nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. In a blend of fertilizer, you will want a 20-20-10 for the best thickening results. You will need to use synthetic fertilizer for a while and then switch to organics. (there are really no organic fertilizers with this composition)

4) Lastly and most importantly, you need to have your lawn aerated every single spring and fall. Aeration is a process whereby a machine is used to pull plugs of soil from the lawn. This helps to relieve compaction in the soil and spread the roots system, thus thickening the turf. This step cannot be skipped as it is 100% organic!

If you are still reading this, you are probably thinking that none of this is very organic in nature, and you’d be correct. You see, the way to get to an organic lawn is to first use chemicals and then get the turf thick enough to sustain a weed free lawn for the future! Get out and get started today!