The best way to care for your lawn is with the right organic lawn care fertilization techniques. So many products are at your disposal, but using the right organic fertilizer and application methods will benefit your garden the most. Explore this guide to discover the different substances you can use to improve the ecosystem of your lawn and make your plants flourish.
Types of Organic Substances to Use
The most important part of organic lawn care is knowing what type of organic fertilizers are best for your lawn. Fortunately, there are many easy-to-prepare organic substances that will promote lawn health and help your plants grow. Here are a few lawn care ideas we recommend trying:
Rice water: You can use the leftover water that remains after you’ve cooked rice as a fertilizer. This liquid is rich in starch and contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These are essential for plant growth and keep them healthy. Nitrogen helps produce leaves and greens, phosphorus helps with cell division and growth, and potassium helps grow healthy fruits and flowers.
Potato and/or pasta water: Water used for cooking pasta and potatoes can also be a valuable fertilizer — all you need to do is dilute the leftover water if it looks too cloudy. Adding this liquid to your plants will give them plenty of nutrients without overfeeding.
Eggshell water: Another type of organic fertilizer is the water you use to boil your eggs. You can also boil the eggshells of eggs you fried or used in baking. After boiling, crush up the shells, then add them and the boiled water to your garden to fill your soil with extra calcium and naturally deter slugs and snails.
Coffee grounds: Build healthy soil and boost your plants’ nutrient content by using coffee grounds to fertilize your soil and flower beds. Let your used coffee grounds sit in a bucket of water for a day or two for a liquid version you can pour on.
Fish tank water: Even your discarded fish tank water is useful in your garden. When you change the water in your fish tanks or ponds, water your grass and plants with it. The fish excrement and plant matter residing in that water are very beneficial for your lawn.
Vegetable water: Leftover water used when boiling vegetables is yet another excellent source of nutrients you should use to fertilize your plants rather than discarding it. Just be aware that water used to boil things like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and asparagus can have a strong odor, so keep that in mind when choosing where to use it.
Banana peels: Bananas are famously rich in the valuable potassium your plants need to flower. Make a banana peel fertilizer liquid by cutting up your banana peels and storing them in a jar of water for about three days. You can keep adding to the jar as you eat more bananas — just remember to stir it when you do. Then, dilute your banana water by 50% before use. Follow these instructions and you’ll see the results in your flowers and lawn.
Wood ash: The ash left from wood fires is an amazing organic fertilizer. Check your fireplace for light gray ashes and spread them throughout your flower beds. Wood ash is high in potassium and will raise your soil’s pH level. Just take care to avoid using ash near plants that need acidic soil to grow, like blueberries.
Composted animal manure fertilizer: Avoid using fresh or raw manure, as it’s high in urea and will burn your plant’s roots. Composted manure has had time to age, removing the harsh chemicals and allowing the nutrients to flourish, making it much healthier for your garden. For a liquid version of this natural fertilizer, put some manure in a bucket of water and give it about a day to infuse. Then, spray this mixture over your lawn, garden, flowers and vegetables to provide an excellent source of nutrients.
This is just a start to the natural fertilizers you can use on your organic lawn. For a detailed breakdown of the nutritional values of each option, visit this fascinating report published by Utah State University.
Benefits of Organic Fertilization
Organic lawn care is your best bet for keeping your garden looking amazing all year round. Here are a few reasons choosing natural lawn care solutions will help your grass, flowers and other plants be the best they can be:
Promotes healthy microbes: Your plants and soil will thrive in a healthy ecosystem, which relies on microbes living in the soil. Organic fertilization techniques encourage the growth of these microbes by giving them the nutrients they need to thrive. Without these microbes in your soil, your grass will struggle to grow and your plants will be unable to produce.
Improves the quality of your topsoil: Using organic fertilizers enhances the integrity of your lawn’s topsoil, which means your soil will retain water more effectively and have a higher nutritional value. This creates a balanced and healthy ecosystem for your plants to flourish in and makes it easier for them to grow back quickly in the early spring.
Environmentally friendly: A lot of organic fertilizers and lawn care products can be made at home, and those you do find in a store are much safer for the environment than synthetic products. The runoff from a garden using synthetic lawn care products can be toxic to nearby plants and animals, harming the environment.
Better for your lawn: Organic lawn care techniques are far better for your lawn in the long run. Synthetic products contain toxic substances that can be unsafe for your pets and children when deposited in significant quantities. These toxic substances build up over time when used regularly, whereas organic products are natural and leave no harmful traces behind.
Our Lawn Care Services
OrganicLawns knows everything about organic lawn care and why it’s the healthiest option for your garden. The products we use are hand-selected based on their effectiveness and how environmentally friendly they are. We take organic lawn care very seriously, and we offer exceptional services that exclusively use organic products at fair prices. We allow you to pay as you go so you can have peace of mind and total control over how we work for you — zero contracts required.
OrganicLawns has three tiers of services to fit a range of different needs. All of these provide fertilizer, weed control, soil amendment, annual soil testing and grub control services. Our higher tiers provide options like aeration, seeding, starter fertilization, nutsedge application, disease control and professional seed slicing.
Contact Us to Learn More
Trust OrganicLawns to care for your lawn naturally. To learn more, fill in our contact form today and request a free quote from our team.
