Time, money crunch thwarts organic gardening

Last fall I decided to turn over a new leaf. I promised myself that I would ditch the synthetic fertilizers and pest controls and go organic. I’ve got two small kids after all, and it only makes sense to keep chemicals out of their play area.

The transition hasn’t been so easy. To be honest, the transition hasn’t really happened.

This winter I did a lot of research on organic lawn care. Read all about the importance of aerating, spreading corn gluten, etc., etc. My husband and I created a maintenance schedule that we planned to start this spring. ‘Planned’ being the key word.

March arrived, and both of us were extremely busy at work. Rainy weather kept us inside most weekends. Then our second child arrived on the 29th. Priorities certainly shifted after that. We had a stack of medical bills and a newborn to keep our time and resources occupied. May rolled around and with it the realization that our organic gardening plan would have to be shelved for now.

My husband gladly bought a $15.99 bag of synthetic lawn fertilizer, broke out the ol’ broadcast spreader and went to town. He just did the front yard and kept the stuff out of the backyard where my older daughter plays. Something tells me he wasn’t as enthusiastic about going organic as I thought.

Oh well. I’m still determined to use organic fertilizer on my perennials and annuals. I just have to get over to the garden center -- when I find some time.

We had good intentions, but time and money constraints got the best of us. I imagine this is something many young homeowners face. We want to take the organic route, but we need products and solutions that fit into our lifestyle.

Retailers, are you seeing customers facing a similar situation? How are you dealing with it? Which products are you recommending to make organic gardening easier?

-- Sarah

Comments

[Linda Frank]

I'm not a retailer. I'm a consumer. I'm also a garden writer and an organic gardener at that. I understand time constraints. I understand financial limitations. I understand priorities. Lawn care should involve neither. To "go" organic, one has to first know the true meaning of the concept. "Organic" is a word. But "organic gardening" is a philosophy, a mindset and a commitment that isn't as rocket-scienced as the synthetic crowd would have you believe.

First and foremost to "go" organic, one has to forego the ideal of "perfection" and immediate gratification. A way of life and thinking that is, unfortunately, inherent and almost inextricably ingrained in anyone under 40.

When you mow your lawn, don't cut it so it looks like a golf course. Cut no lower than 3". Get a mulching mower or a mulching attachment at any motor parts store and leave those clippings on the lawn. No, it wont build up thatch. That's not what thatch is. The grass clippings will add all the NATURAL nitrogen (and not the synthetic urea-based nitrogen in synthetic ferts) your lawn needs for a season. Water deeply and less frequently. Water early in the morning. In dry spells, let it go dormant. It'll bounce back. Learn to live w/a brown lawn for a while if necessary. Plants are smarter than humans. They know when to rest in times of stress. So let them (the grass) be. Besides, it'll conserve water. Something we all should be cautiously aware of in the months ahead.

Make the time earlier on to buy that corn gluten. Know the proper times of application. Don't just fling it down any old time. Find a local composting/recycling facility in your town. Stuff some rubbermaid barrels in your car or line your pickup and pick up a few loads of compost from the place. Broadcast it over your lawn. It's free and the worms (who left when you started applying synthetic ferts) will return to your soil will love you for it. They'll do more for aerating your lawn and leaving their frass fertilizer than you or any synthetic fert can do. *Note to retailers: make more corn gluten products available to consumers and not those skimpy, pathetic 10 lb bags of Preen either. Also add more poultry litter-based fertilizers to your line. Make room next to the gazillion bags of Scotts Miracle Gro products, if you can.

Sometimes people make things more complicated than they need to be. While "organic" takes effort, it's also quite basic and takes the aforementioned commitment. Not just to the soil or the earth, but to your family. Remember, just because one applies that synthetic, chemical fertilizer or weed killer to their front yard, doesn't mean it won't get absorbed into the water table and wind up in someone's well down the road. More importantly and more immediately close to home, however, remember, too, that the synthetic fert & weed killer which you put on your front yard is traipsed into your home and even your backyard where your children play. Unless you've got the front yard cordoned off w/6' high fence. In which case, why would you care what the grass looked like anyway?

[Jos Zamzow]

Our retailers are having great success recommending Save-a-Tree, an all-natural, organic gardening product that works on lawns, shrubs, flowers and trees, and is completely safe for children, pets and fish.

You can spray it on everything in the yard, once in the spring and once in the fall, and that’s it. If you’re extremely time-deprived, apply it only once a year in the spring.

The suggested retail price is $29.95 for a gallon, although most retailers are selling it for less than $19.95 a gallon. One gallon is enough for most young families.

Save-a-Tree’s base is sugar cane molasses, selected because it smells good, does not attract ants and discourages nematodes. Ingredients include nitrogen, phosphate and sulfur. Additional components of the organic gardening fertilizer are proprietary, but include just about everything that our research has shown to be beneficial to plants. All ingredients are natural, and there are no animal byproducts.

My dad developed the product about 20 years ago when our retail nursery customers were asking for advice on trees that were in poor health because of depleted soil. We started giving it away if customers would bring their own containers. When our first 55-gallon drum was empty, we started charging. Last year we sold 75,000 gallons in the Boise area, and we began national distribution.

We’ve since learned that Save-a-Tree works equally well on shrubs, flowers and lawns. At least one golf course has started using it.

Additional information, including the results of safety tests on fathead minnows, is on our Web site at www.save-a-tree com. We’d also love to hear from others on their experiences.

[EM Robb]

My thought is similar to Linda's, but one step back. Why, in the middle of all these important life events, did a family feel it necessary to go out an fertilize their lawn with an unnecessary product at the wrong time of year?
Spring isn't the right time for a heavy dose of fertilizer, and this lawn may not have needed it in the first place. (Does a lawn ever need fertilizer? It's just grass.)
It's the attitude that needs adjustment, more than the product mix.