An Organic Lawn

When we first moved into our home two years ago, it was hard to tell just what kind of grass we had. Yes, the lawn looked nicely manicured, but no attention had been paid to weed control. Neither my husband nor I had any time to grapple with it, so we called in a lawn care company. I swallowed hard every time I saw them put down chemicals and did not allow my kids to play on the grass. At all. That's no way to live. But the treatments did help us regain the upper hand on our lawn and I can now tell you that we have Bermuda grass.

After six months of worrying about the chemicals and really wanting my kids to enjoy running through the grass, I stopped the lawn care treatments and assumed full responsibility for the lawn. I'm not sure if my husband laughs because it's funny to see me push the spreader over an acre of grass or because he's thrilled to save some money. Either way, I'm glad he's happy!

In preparation for this, I read a great book, The Organic Lawn Care Manual by Paul Tukey. I won't give away any secrets here - you should really buy the book - but I will say that it's straightforward and extremely helpful.

I started by getting a sample of my soil evaluated. This isn't hard or expensive to do and could save you a lot of time, effort and money. Just dig a small hole, extract a fist-sized clump of dirt and bring it to your local garden center. There you will find out just what your lawn needs in order to thrive.