Learning About How To Grow an Organic Lawn From A Professional
Michael Bosco, founder of Soils Alive, LLC, made a persuasive case for discontinuing lawn chemicals in favor of organic products Wednesday at a regular meeting of the Weatherford Noon Lions Club at Weatherford College.
Bosco said that organics — which include poultry manure, corn gluten meal and others — are safer, non-polluting and save water.
“Water is the oil of the future,” he said. “We’re all going to need to know how to conserve it.”
Using organics isn’t just “hippie stuff” anymore, Bosco said, citing his company’s industrial applications along the Katy Trail, which runs from American Airlines to Southern Methodist University, and on the Southlake campus of Sabre Holdings.
“This is no longer a fad,” he said. “There’s a much different client base than when I started this business 12 years ago.”
Bosco, who has a degree in soil science from Tarleton University, also noted a rise in the use of organics in agriculture.
“This is a field of milo,” he said, displaying a photograph of healthy green foliage. “We were able to match the production of a conventionally-managed field with similar cost input using biological systems.”
Bosco said organic products work because they “promote the life of the soil,” sustaining bacteria, fungi, earthworms and nematodes that keep the soil healthy.
“Salt-based fertilizers kill the guys that support the turf and shrubs,” he said. “they also cause soil compaction, which increases water usage.”
Bosco calculated an annual savings of $845 per year in water costs for a one-acre lawn watered to a depth of 1 inch weekly.
“that should make up for the cost of organic fertilizer,” he said, “It is more expensive because more product has to go out.”
To get started on an organic lawn program, Bosco said homeowners should begin with core aeration and then topdress the lawn with 1/4- to 1/2-inch of good quality compost in January, February or March.
Follow up with three applications of organic fertilizer, about 10 to 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet, depending on product recommendations.
When asked how to eliminate grubworms organically, Bosco responded by saying his company has had few problems with them.
“Out of 1,200 clients last year, only two had grubs, and it was only in parts of their yards,” he said. “There are 12 different varieties of grubs. a lot are not root damaging.”
Parker County Extension agent Jon Green said he has fielded few, if any, questions on organic lawn care.
“I haven’t had a lot of calls, but if you expand that to organic landscaping and gardening, there are those out there that want to stay organic and try not to use harsh chemicals,” he said.
Green said the extension office bases its recommendations on the results of research, directing residents to the products and practices that have been proven to work. those products include salt-based fertilizers, he said, used in the proper amounts.
“I think that we can show that they don’t kill everything in the soil,” he said, “and commercial fertilizers are in a form that is readily available to the plant. Organic fertilizers must be broken down. It takes longer.”
Green said his office follows an approach called Earthkind, which uses pesticides as a last resort.
“It’s about preparing the soil, using compost and mulch and watering properly,” he said. “If you follow all those practices, you can eliminate the need for some of those pesticides.”
in Weatherford, local garden centers, nurseries and feed stores offer a mix of conventional chemicals and organic products.
Weatherford Gardens’ inventory is 98 percent organic, Dillard Feed & Seed stocks 35 to 40 percent organic products and Stuart Nursery has about 30 percent.