Organic Lawn Care

Keeping Grass Greener the Eco-friendly Way

Many people take pride in having a well-maintained lawn. After all, it's always nice to know that the grass is greener one's own side. Lawn lovers all over the world use various products to keep their front yards looking green and healthy. However, using conventional lawn care methods can end up causing more harm than good to the grass and, more importantly, to people.

To avoid the dangers related to conventional lawn care methods, people are now resorting to organic lawn care techniques. These techniques take a step back to nature's good old ways of making things grow. Instead of using expensive pesticides that kill both pests and beneficial organisms or fertilizers that could affect the soil's nutrient content, organic lawn care methods produce clean and cost-efficient results.

Worm Castings

Two of the most popular products used in organic lawn care are earthworm castings and compost tea. In a natural setting, earthworms serve as nature's own fertilizer factories. They eat dead leaves, roots and other dead matter mixed in the soil. All these stuff pass through the earthworms' guts where bacteria break them down to nutrients vital to plant growth, and come out the other end as earthworm castings. In short, earthworm castings are just earthworm poop.

Compost Tea

Compost tea is largely similar to earthworm castings. Dead matter and plants are broken down into essential soil nutrients over time. However, unlike in earthworm castings, the nutrients in the decomposing matter is separated from the solids using water. The end result is a nutrient rich mixture that can be distributed easily by using a spray.

Some people would be turned away by the concept of putting poop or spraying what's essentially dead matter extract on their lawns, but earthworm castings and compost tea don't smell at all. In fact, chemicals present in man-made fertilizer can smell a lot worse. Furthermore, applying too much fertilizer can actually be harmful to the grass by causing what gardeners refer to as fertilizer burn. Earthworm castings is not only safe for the lawn; it actually helps improve it. Earthworm castings are also non-toxic, so there's no risk of groundwater pollution.

Since plants are not naturally designed to grow on conventional lawn care products, using even "lawn-friendly" pesticides and fertilizers can take a toll on their immune systems and make them vulnerable to all sorts of plant diseases like rust, fungal infections, and even poor weather resistance. Though they are applied in a different manner, earthworm castings and compost tea provide nutrients in their most natural form, so their immune and growth systems develop virtually undisturbed. Leaves grow greener and more resistant to diseases. Compost tea is also effective at preventing fungal growths if sprayed on a plant's non-edible parts.

The demand for cleaner, more efficient options is growing. Researchers are constantly seeking alternative energy sources, while people are now looking for healthier products. Lawn care is no exception, and with options like earthworm castings and compost tea, we're getting one step closer to a healthier environment.