grass · green grass · healthy lawn · lawn · lawn fertilizer · natural fertilizer · natural lawn care products · pet safe lawn care products ·Jun 15, 2020

Healthy Lawns Start With Healthy Soil

Summer is finally here and many of us are now paying even more attention to our lawns and yards as we head outdoors with our families, friends and pets.

Did you know that healthy lawns start with healthy soil?

Healthy Soil

Healthy soil requires a combination of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi and protozoa, minerals, rock, water, air, and organic matter (plant and animal residue). Plus healthy soil needs a variety of insects and worms to carry out a process that continually replenishes the soil and maintains long term soil fertility.

If you have heard the saying that earthworms in your soil means you have healthy soil ... this is definitely true.

According to KelloggGarden.com, "Earthworms are some of the hardest-working critters in the garden. They process organic material (both in the soil and in your compost pile) and recycle the contents into nutrients, they help improve soil structure, and they create tunnels in the soil for air, water, and plant roots."

Soil building involves a soil balance approach. Start balancing the soil by using organic fertilizers that contain the constituents necessary for soil building. When soil structure improves, soil health will improve, plant health will improve, weed and pest infestations will decrease and the requirement for herbicides and pesticides will be decreased significantly or be eliminated.

Did You Know?

Synthetic lawn chemicals do not provide the essential nutrients necessary for healthy lawn and turf grass growth. Lawn chemicals, including chemical fertilizers, can kill soil biomass, deplete the soil and, as a result, inhibit healthy grass growth. Conversely, organic fertilizers stimulate soil biomass and promote healthy root and grass growth. In addition, organic fertilizers improve soil porosity, drainage and aeration, reduce compaction and improve the water holding capacity of the soil thereby helping grass resist drought. One estimate indicates that a 5% increase in organic matter quadruples the soil's ability to hold and store water.

Weeds will flourish with high nitrate levels and poor soil structure and are overall indicators of poor soil health. Controlling weeds is all about soil building and chemical fertilizers and pesticides do nothing to build or improve soil structure. Hard, tight soils with low calcium and/or sulphur content, low organic matter and low active biomass (microorganisms), promote weed growth. Loose, healthy soil aids in controlling weeds.

Natural Fertilizers

Earth Smart Solutions offers a natural fertilizer called ESLF - Natural Lawn Fertilizer.

ESLF is a super concentrated, premium quality natural fertilizer for seasonal lawn and turf grass care. ESLF is formulated with complex carbohydrates, macro and micro nutrients, amino acids, enzymes, proteins, vitamins and minerals. It also contains a variety of natural substances for soil and plant improvement.

ESLF is 100% dispersible in water and can be soil or foliar applied throughout the season without causing leaf burn.

ESLF can provide quick results along with sustained color. Typically, two applications per season will maintain most lawns at above average condition. If a very high quality lawn is desired, 3 to 4 applications of ESLF may be required. Typically, lawns that are conditioned with ESLF are thicker, greener, and more pest resistant and require less watering than chemically treated lawns.

Benefits of ESLF

Environmentally safe and not harmful to animals, plants and humans
Improves root development and uniform growth
Promotes early vigour and improves plant health
Promotes residual color and density with slow even growth in a wide range of soil types and pH
Stimulates indigenous soil microbes
Aids in rooting, improves stress tolerance and disease management
Suppresses weed growth
Accelerates maturity
Contains macro and micronutrients to buffer salts and improve soil nutrient holding capacity
Provides a balanced carbon to nitrogen ratio for continuous nutrient availability and replacement of organic matter
Aids in preventing disease associated with numerous fungi
Ideal for use around sensitive environmental areas such as wetlands, streams and lakes
Enhances the wear and stress tolerance of turf
Improves tolerance to winter and summer stress conditions
Provides protection against pathogens that attack germinating seeds and emerging seedlings
Ideal for use on new turf or during renovation and over seeding
Easy to use and simple to clean up with water