The arrival of summer reminds us that it’s not too late to nourish your lawn the healthy way with organic compost from Planet Natural. As lawn-spraying services expand their grip on suburbia it’s important to remember that using organic practices to encourage grass in your yard protects your pets and family from harmful chemical fertilizers and herbicides. Spreading compost on lawns now — not too deep; you don’t want to smother the grass blades — will help it stay lush and weed-free by nourishing the soil beneath it. It will greatly increase beneficial microbial activity in your soil, benefiting your lawn even more. And it’s a good way to treat the spots in your lawn that are thin, brown and unhealthy. From Organic Lawns, Healthy Soil:
“Established lawns benefit greatly from a single yearly application of compost, even more greatly from two. Spreading compost on your lawn isn’t as easy as pushing your old chemical fertilizer spreader around. Depending on your lawn’s size, a wheel barrow and a shovel may be the best way to distribute compost around your yard, followed by a good raking (a push broom will also work) to distribute it more evenly. Though hard to find and troublesome to use effectively, a compost wheel or peat spreader can distribute compost across small yards though they can be difficult to push and need to be refilled often.
However you spread compost on top of an existing lawn, don’t apply too much. Compost should be spread no more than a half-inch deep. The idea is not to bury grass blades, smothering them and keeping them from sunlight. If that means less than a half-inch of compost, then reduce your application. You want grass blades exposed to oxygen and sunshine. Applying compost to problem areas will also help cure them.”
Adding compost will help your lawn’s soil retain moisture during the long hot months of summer, keeping your grass greener longer. That’s a good thing!
Eric Vinje founded Planet Natural with his father Wayne in 1991, originally running it as a grasshopper bait mail-order business out of a garage.
Eric is now retired, but is still a renowned gardener known for his expertise in composting, organic gardening and pest control, utilizing pesticide-free options, such as beneficial insects.
Eric believes when you do something good for the environment, the effects will benefit generations to come.
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7 Responses to “Compost for Summer Lawns”
I agree. When I was first beginning and I was very extceid about gardening and starting my compost, it really did complicate things. I felt a little overwhelmed with all the information. Now, I just use an old piece of chicken wire fence formed into a cylinder and tethered with some zip ties. Then I throw in all my coffee grounds, fruit and veggie scraps, egg shells – you know what goes in – and then every now and then some horsey poo. I have plenty. I added worms and it composts fast now!
I started a compost bin a week ago and it should be ready to use next week. I googled fast composting and it came back with the Berkely method. It takes 2-3 weeks to completely finish. Use an equal amount of grass clippings and leaves or any carbon. Shredded boxes or newspaper if you can’t get leaves, and water. You can also use saw dust, mulched tree limbes or sticks even some table scraps. Great stuff.
A great way to save money and become more eco friendly. I feel compost is a great tool to use in the garden.
I brought a Natural mill compost machine. It very good machine. It can compost meat and cat waste. It make my grass greener.
I added 2 yards of compost over 2000 square feet. All of a sudden my lawn was attacked by unknown animals. I have holes all over my yard. Has anyone experienced such a thing?
You likely have skunks that are looking for and eating grubs. The grubs are a stage of June Bugs or other insects. They leave little twisted areas in the grass when mining for the grubs.
Your yard was actually attacked by earthworms eating the bacteria in compost, the holes are just the night shift sniffing them out for dinner. Put more compost in the holes and say your yard is aerated.