How Can I Fertilize My Lawn Without Chemicals?

With more focus placed on responsible lawn care practices these days, homeowners are exploring alternative methods to take care of their lawns and gardens.

The lawn care industry has made great strides in providing better products and promoting sustainable practices that tread lightly on Mother Earth. In the past decades, we’ve found many ways to improve the way we fertilize our lawns. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do more.

I’ve often said it’s not the use of fertilizers and chemicals that harm our environment, it’s the misuse of them. By shying away from harsh, synthetic fertilizers and toward more organic and sustainable products, you can lessen the harmful effects of traditional fertilizers and chemicals.

Help Your Lawn Eat Right

Not all fertilizers are good for your lawn. Quality fertilizers are chock full of nutrients, energy sources and proteins. These nutrients feed your lawn and the soil beneath in a healthy way.

Then there’s the quick-release, feel-the-rush type fertilizers that don’t stick around long. Using inefficient and misaligned fertilizers will limit the benefit to your lawn, and even worse, could adversely affect the environment around you.

Limit the Junk Food

Mainstream fertilizers contain urea, ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate and other quick-release forms of nitrogen. They’re the burger and fries on the fertilizer menu.

Now, they aren’t always a bad choice. But many homeowners and lawn care applicators go to them too often. (Sound familiar?)

These synthetically manufactured fertilizers may leach through the soil into the water table, or volatilize into the atmosphere. Both hurt the environment and direct less fertilizer into your grass! So you could be wasting your money.

Treat Your Lawn to Health Foods

Using fertilizers made from composted manures and meal-based ingredients will wean your lawn away from that junk food and make it healthier, safer and better-looking. They’ll also improve the soil.

Meal-based sources from bone, blood, feather, meat, soybean alfalfa and even eggshells feature natural ingredients free from chemicals and other synthetic ingredients. In my professional opinion, they’re the best approach to a chemical-free lawn care program.

Poultry-based fertilizers like Pearl Valley Organix Coop Poop Plant and Lawn Food and Sustane 8-2-4 All Purpose Fertilizer are good natural organic lawn and garden products made from composted poultry manure. My favorite natural organic fertilizers are made from meals. Common ingredients include bone, blood, meat and feather meal.

A good one to consider is Scotts Natural Lawn Food. However, like its poultry-based cousins, it contains phosphorus, which is banned in some regions. Be sure it’s allowed in your state or community before purchasing.

Several great meal-based organic fertilizers use naturally occurring and recycled ingredients. Sadly, they’re not easy to find. One is NatureSafe Fertilizers. NatureSafe markets mostly to professional turf managers. However, with some effort, you can find one of their dealers who will work with you, like Reinders, Inc.

Another popular meal-based lawn fertilizer is corn gluten. It’s a good nitrogen fertilizer that, when used properly, can prevent weeds from germinating. A great example is Jonathan Green Corn Gluten Lawn Fertilizer.

There’s no question a quality meal-based organic fertilizer is your lawn’s answer to a lean steak and a green salad.

How to Reduce Your Lawn’s Dependence on Fertilizer

Feeding your lawn is just one cog in the wheel of healthy lawn care. Many moving parts need to mesh together to ensure your lawn gets all it needs.

It all starts with something you can’t see — the soil underneath. Healthy soil where grass roots can thrive helps the grass on top do the same.

Did you know your soil is teaming with billions of microscopic beneficial bacteria and fungi? These microbes facilitate fertilizer uptake by grasses and improve soil structure, resulting in less compaction and more pore space for water and oxygen.

You can increase the population of these microorganisms by feeding them with compost or compost tea. You can make compost or compost tea at home, or purchase it ready to use. Options include Liquid Compost and Worm Tea or All-Natural Root Ruckus Liquid Compost.

Another way to promote microbial growth? Choosing humic acid or biochar products, naturally derived soil amendments with great benefits to your lawn. Applying these can loosen tied-up nutrients in the soil, making them more available to your grass. And that means you use less fertilizer.

Products like The Andersons HumiChar Organic Soil Amendment and GS Plant Foods Organic Liquid Humic Acid are great choices.

To fertilize and apply humic acid at the same time, consider The Andersons Professional 16-0-8 Fertilizer with Humic DG. I have high-end sports turf managers using this one.

Check Your Lawn Soil’s pH

Testing your soil’s pH can identify issues that may make your lawn more dependent on fertilizers. A simple soil test from a local garden center or county extension service will cost you around $25.

If your soil pH is below 6.0 or higher than 9.0, lawn fertilizers don’t work well. Low pH can be remedied by applying lime.

High soil pH is difficult to lower but can be managed by applying elemental sulfur or synthetic fertilizers that contain it, like Ammonium Sulfate 21-0-0 Fertilizer “Greenway Biotech Brand.” In most cases, a pH between 6.0 and 8.0 is the sweet spot.

Get the Most From the Water You Use

Finally, consider applying a wetting agent to your lawn. Pros use this for better water penetration and more efficient absorption of lawn food.

Wetting surfactants are widely used in the professional turf industry but are seldom talked about for home use. As odd as it sounds, these wetting agents actually make water wetter. That allows water to penetrate deeper so your lawn can use it more efficiently.

A great option is Turf Titan Hydro Holder Grass Wetting Agent. The hose-end applicator makes it easy to use. Or Yucca Wet Organic Wetting Agent, a naturally occurring yucca plant extract that helps fix hydrophobic soils.

Return Your Clippings

I’ve saved the easiest and cheapest solution for last. If you mow regularly, don’t bag your clippings. They’re full of nitrogen and other essential nutrients.

Throughout a growing season, returning clippings will reduce the amount of fertilizer you need by one application. Clippings will decompose and add organic matter to sandy soils, too. Over time, they will also improve soil health.

And contrary to popular belief, leaving clippings on your lawn does not cause a thatch problem. Returning clippings back to the lawn makes mowing easier, too. Your lawn will thank you for it.