Subject: Re: organic lawn fertilizer
From: Ron Tiemens <rtiemens@erols.com>
Organization: RDT Enterprises
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 21:25:41 -0400
Message-ID: <MOD$970819.5912@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
References: <MOD$970812.1402@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
Jesse Dinkin wrote:
>
> Help-My lawn is a disaster and my wife wants to use chemical fertilizers
> to rescue it...What can be used of an organic nature. It doesn't have to
> be a quick fix, just as long as we have a long range game plan and I am
> making a good faith attempt to rectify the problem....we have sandy
> soil..this is upstate New York...lots of weeds,crabgrass and brown ugly
> ness.
In addition to fertilizing, you can apply a pre-emergent weed killer to
prevent those weeds from growing -- good old corn meal. You can get it
from a feed store in 50# bags. Apply it so that there is 1/16" to 1/8"
layer. The lawn will look kind of weird for a few days. But it really
works. Lawns Alive sells W.O.W. (Without Weeds) which is just corn
gluten that does the same thing for a lot more money.
The best times to apply this is in the early spring and the early fall.
It works by shriveling the baby roots of weeds. So they never get
beyond the baby stage. If you do end up applying some kind of readily
available fertilizer, you won't need to apply as much since the corn
meal will break down and feed the grass, too.
Laurie