korey99 wrote:

Hi all-

I hope I'm not going to start a big mess, but I had a question. I've
read lots about the opinion of many in this group that the pesticides
used by lawn services and in Weed and Feed products are bad news. I
don't need to be sold on that one; I have a very young son who will be
playing on that grass next year, and whether 2,4D's danger is confirmed
or not, I don't plan to take any chances. Regarding danger, is the
same true for the actual granular fertilizer (without weed/insect
treatments)?

I've read up on organic gardening as well, and what I've read indicates
that I should build healthy dense turf to choke out weeds (a
no-brainer). They recommend applying 1/4 to 1/2" of compost to the
lawn twice a year as fertilizer. I've got 12,000 sq ft of lawn though,
and by my figuring that's about 20 to 40 cubic yards of compost each
year. I don't want to say that's infeasible, but that's still several
trips by delivery truck (or several more in my pickup) each time, not
to mention the expense. Is the general consensus that chemical
fertilizers themselves are bad, or is it the herbicides and
insecticides that often accompany them?

Compost actually has little nutrient value. Its primary value is
in improving the structure of the soil. Good compost (home-grown)
also contains soil bacteria that help break down fertilizers
(organic or synthetic) into the forms that can be used by plant
roots. If your lawn does not seem to respond to fertilize, top
with compost. This should be necessary only once.

I buy whatever off-brand lawn food that is the cheapest in terms of
dollars per pound of nitrogen. Nitrogen is the key nutrient
because it breaks down and is leached away the quickest. However,
I would not recommend a nitrogen-only fertilizer (e.g., ammonium
sulfate) for a lawn unless a soil test shows there is already
sufficient phosphorus and potassium.

With a chemical fertilizer, take the time to feed only half as much
as recommended but twice as often (unless it is already formulated
as slow-release). This ensures a more constant availability of
nutrients, avoids burning the lawn, and does not overwhelm the soil
bacteria.

When feeding, you can mix the fertilizer with soil sulfur (for
alkaline soil) or lime (for acidic soil). If your soil is clay,
you can also mix with gypsum. I would do this only in repsonse to
a soil test. Note: If you are an organic gardener, there are
natural sources of sulfur, lime, and gypsum that should be
acceptable.

--

David E. Ross
URL:http://www.rossde.com/

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