Green Gardening

How to Control Pests in Your Lawn

A lawn that is well cared for is automatically more resistant to threats such as weeds, drought, and disease.  It can also stand up to most insect pests.  Many insects like to eat grass and, in small numbers, have no harmful effect on the lawn.  But there are a few that can do visible and lasting damage.  Here are some tips for controlling pests without using insecticides. The mortal enemy of many homeowners with lawns is the grub.  This is an immature beetle that lives in the soil and devours grass roots.  These pests can systematically destroy patches of grass, creating an unsightly lawn.  You can check for grubs by pulling up a piece of sod.  If you count a dozen grubs per square foot, you should take corrective action before the problem gets out of hand. There are two biological controls for grubs in the lawn.  The first one, milky spore disease, is a type of bacteria that kills grubs.  This method works best in warm climates where the soil temperature stays at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit for a good portion of the year. The other more commonly used control is beneficial nematodes.  Nematodes are microscopic worms.  While some species of nematode ...

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How to Control Weeds in Your Lawn

Maintaining a healthy lawn is an ongoing project.  In addition to mowing, watering, and feeding the grass, you also need to devote some attention to weed control.  As an organic gardener, you will, of course, not want to use chemical herbicides on your lawn.  Fortunately, you don't even need such products.  Here are some tips for controlling weeds by less harmful methods. Weeds can be bad news in the lawn.  Not only do they vie with grass for water and food, they can also harbor insect pests and diseases.  Cultivating a luxuriant, healthy lawn is without a doubt the best way to combat weeds.  Fertilizing, watering, and mowing properly will make grass thicker and hardier.  This in turn prevents most weeds from gaining ground. Weeding by hand is the safest and most effective way to deal with dandelions and other common weeds that already live in the lawn.  Pull out weeds or chop them out whenever you notice them.  To make the job easier and save strain on your back, use one of the long-handled weeding tools that are sold at most garden centers. New natural herbicides have recently come onto the market and may be helpful in cases where weeds are a ...

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How to Use Insect Traps to Control Pests in the Garden

Insects in the garden can be a distressing nuisance when they attack your flowers and food crops.  Of course you have to fight back, but you don't want to add poisonous chemicals to the environment.  All organic gardeners know that there are several good ways to eradicate harmful insects without using pesticides.  One popular method involves setting traps.  Here are some tips for using insect traps to effectively control pests in any garden or landscape. Before you take any steps to control insects, it's important to remember that most of the insects in your garden are beneficial and play a useful role.  Only a relatively small number of bugs actually cause damage to plants, so these are the ones you want to target with pest control measures. Sticky traps are very effective in catching many types of harmful insects.  You can buy sticky traps at a nursery or garden supply center.  You can also make them yourself.  Simply glue yellow or white paper to both sides of a piece of cardboard and spray with adhesive.  Hang the traps from tree branches or post them on stakes in the garden, close to plants that are susceptible to pests.  You can target specific pests ...

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How to Feed Your Organic Lawn

Part of keeping your lawn healthy involves feeding it the nutrients it requires for growth. Organic lawn care methods obviously exclude the use of synthetic fertilizers. Not only do these products contribute to water pollution, they don't work any better in the long run than organic methods of feeding the grass. Here are some guidelines for fertilizing your organic lawn. Feeding your lawn is primarily a matter of giving grass the nitrogen it needs for robust growth. Because grass grows almost continuously for most of the year, it demands a constant supply of this nutrient. Synthetic chemical lawn fertilizers are formulated to release a lot of nitrogen all at once into the soil, which is not particularly desirable. The influx of food causes the lawn to grow quickly for a while, meaning that it has to be mowed more often. There is also the very real possibility of burning the grass if the fertilizer is not applied carefully. On the other hand, high-nitrogen organic fertilizers feed the grass more slowly. Instead of dissolving in water, these products rely on help from soil microorganisms to release nitrogen and other nutrients. This is a good thing because the lawn will grow slowly and consistently over ...

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How to Fix Some Common Lawn Problems

A soft, springy grass lawn makes a wonderful recreation area for the whole family.  It can also show off your house and ornamental plantings to the best effect.  But if the grass is looking sickly, you need to be able to identify what's wrong and apply the right remedy.  Here are a few of the most common lawn problems and some recommended solutions. Why are there yellow spots on the lawn? If you have a dog, or your yard is open to neighborhood dogs, you may come across small dead spots in the lawn that are surrounded by very green grass.  These yellow or brown spots are most likely caused by female dogs urinating on the lawn.  Not to worry, though.  All you have to do is soak the spot thoroughly with water as soon as you notice it.  The grass will probably grow back, but if it doesn't, you will have to reseed the burned areas. Why is the grass yellow or pale green? A thinning, pale green or yellowish lawn that grows slowly probably isn't getting enough nitrogen.  The solution is to feed your lawn.  Apply some slow-release nitrogen fertilizer and start leaving some grass clippings on the lawn after mowing.  As ...

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