Natural GREEN Lawns – We Are Never Satisfied
Research & Development
At Natural GREEN Lawns, we take organic lawn care very seriously. We’re never satisfied!
Our team is constantly at work testing the latest organic soil amendments, fertilizers and additives. Our goal is to deliver the best products, processes and services in the lawn care industry. Period! We work closely with the Union County Agricultural Center, the outreach arm of NC State’s College of Agriculture, as well as the NC Composting Council where we serve on the Board of Directors. At Natural GREEN Lawn, R&D has been and will always be a top priority. Our customers deserve the best!
Fertilizers and Soil Amendments
Our organic fertilizer and soil amendment applications rely primarily on composted chicken manure as the base. “The grass is always greener under the chicken coop” is more than just a saying, it’s the truth. Composted chicken manure contains a natural balance of nitrogen and potassium, along with a wide variety of secondary and micro nutrients essential to a healthy soil. Due to the composting process, this base fertilizer contains significant amounts of carbon, the essence of organic. “Traditional” chemical fertilizers contain only synthetic N-P-K and filler products. This results in a soil practically devoid of microbial life and deficient in vital nutrients. It’s one reason organic produce contains as much as 20% more nutritional value than mass-farmed, chemically treated produce. The soil is just better.
Soil Amendments
Several of our annual applications are soil amendments. They include ingredients such as molasses, brewer’s yeast, and yucca extract. These are designed to feed and stimulate the microbial life we are building in your soil. These applications directly add billions of dormant but healthy microbes directly to your soil. Once they find a home in your soil, their life cycle begins. The goal is to create microbial diversity that naturally aerates the soil and improves porosity. This results in soil with improved water retention capabilities, increased disease resistance and better air exchange capacity, among other things.
Fertilizer Applications
During the growing season, based on each specific grass type, we apply slow release, high nitrogen fertilizers. These balanced fertilizer applications contain a cocktail of secondary and micro nutrients such as calcium, zinc and iron, but with limited phosphorus to protect our waterways. We may supplement these applications, depending on grass type and weather conditions, with additional fertilizers to assure faster nourishment uptake and greening.
pH Adjustment
If our soil test analysis finds the soil pH is off, and we tend to see acidic soil in the Carolinas, we will apply a premium, 100% organic limestone-based treatment that also contains several chelating agents. The chelating agents in this fast-acting formula provide for improved nutrient uptake at the root level, and thus healthier grass. We do not apply the cheap lime found in the big box stores. We feel our customers deserve better.
Other
Depending on the results of our soil sample analysis, we will modify our formula applications to correct any deficiencies that may exist in a specific lawn.
Our Two Programs
Natural GREEN Lawns has two organic-based programs:
Transition to Organic
For customers in our “Transition to Organic” plan, we apply preemergent weed controls as needed, but in an environmentally responsible and limited manner. Timing is everything as it relates to weed control. We do not want any preemergent present when our cool season grasses such as Bermuda or Zoysia come out of dormancy. The reason is that it will slow the growth and natural “spreading” of these grasses. For Fescue, we look to retard the germination of weeds in the spring and summer. We do not want any pre-emergent present come aeration and over seed season in the Fall which would limit seed germination. As the year goes on we spot-treat seasonal weeds, as needed, to prevent those weeds from spreading. We never broadcast-spray lawns with post emergent herbicides as we find that environmentally irresponsible.
Naturally Organic
For our “Naturally Organic” customers, we have an organic weed killer that is amazingly effective. It is, however, non-selective meaning it will kill all growing plants that contact it. When cool season grasses are dormant, we use this organic weed control because it has no impact on dormant grass. This product, despite its potency, breaks down almost immediately and leaves no environmental impact. It is so gentle, we can even over seed immediately after application.
Our Goal at Natural GREEN Lawns
Our goal at Natural GREEN Lawns is to significantly reduce and even eliminate the use of synthetic chemicals and pesticides. The way we do this is to foster a thick healthy carpet of grass that naturally controls weeds. Germination of grass or weed seeds requires three things: Contact with soil, moisture, and sun. If sun is unable to reach the surface of your soil, weed seeds will not germinate.
The transition to an organic lawn from a synthetic chemical lawn is a seamless one for the homeowner.
After year one, your soil will come back to life with an active microbial ecosystem. Water retention will increase. A healthy organic lawn requires less irrigation, saving you money every month. Your organic lawn will be more capable of handling exterior stresses such as temperature extremes and drought. It will also become more disease resistant.
By year two, most if not all the chemical buildup that occurred from synthetic chemical fertilizers will have disappeared. Your soil’s microbial life will be even more active. This will naturally deter and even eliminate unwanted lawn pests such as ants and grub. The need for chemical insecticides, if you use them, will be reduced or even eliminated. In terms of watering, your soil will be naturally more porous and spongy, and better able to retain water. This will allow you to further reduce weekly watering to about once per week.
When year three rolls around, your lawn will be on auto-pilot. We’ll continue feeding your soil, adding essential primary, secondary and micro nutrients to nourish your grass. At this point, we may be able to further reduce the use of weed controls of all kind. You may even opt out of core aeration for a year, saving you money! We’ll be in contact with you about all these options.
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