Customer asked if I offer organic Fert.

[dieselman350]

Just wondering what is really is and what the cost difference is compared to regular fert. Also if there is anything else you would like to tell me it would be greatly appreciated.

[1080p]

don't you love the way the twin cities is headed...

ironically i received my first call on those services this week.

without sounding negative to that person i asked why they wanted organic?

Got my answer, then proceeded to tell that person about the differences between the two, amount of product being apply between the two.

never applied organic before, know it out there though but i too would be willing to get info on it since more and more people are starting to think this way.

What ever happened to the day when you could blow smoke, stomp the throttle to wake up the neighbors and only use non-organic, american products

[Superior L & L]

Organic fert = just go take a dump on his yard !

[phasthound]

Just wondering what is really is and what the cost difference is compared to regular fert. Also if there is anything else you would like to tell me it would be greatly appreciated.

There is a great deal of information already posted to this list. You may want to check out some of the threads.

Briefly, organic and organic based fertilizers have been proven to provide great results. Currently you will find that they are also more cost effective than synthetics.

You will also undoubtedly be getting more requests from clients to provide organic or sustainable lawn care. This is the fastest growing part of the "green" industry.

[1080p]

entertain me, how is organic more cost effective?

[Smallaxe]

entertain me, how is organic more cost effective?

There has got to be a lawn that you could run and experiment on. Replace the first app of NPK with some store bought compost if you have nothing else. Just topdress (and spread seed if necessary), using an equal amount in cost and time for your charge.

If - by the time of your second app., the lawn seems to be failing resume your NPK treatments. No harm done.

Is it necessary to put down pre-m year after year? Most of the lawns I take over no longer need pre-m., especially if the seed takes.

If the lawn is ok by the time of your second app of NPK then there are other opportunities to start building a healthy growing environment for grass.

If spring ever comes to our area I will post some pictures of a lawn that has never had NPK, herbicide, pesticide, or irrigation. Neither has it had compost, CGM, or the like of that either. Never bagged the clippings and it suffered through irregular, even abusive mowings.

It is not as mysterious as it has been portrayed to be, by the fertilizer companies. The chief purpose of implementing an organic feeding program is to bring the soil back to what it was before the 'over application' of everything that people will pay for.

[lawncuttinfoo]

There has got to be a lawn that you could run and experiment on. Replace the first app of NPK with some store bought compost if you have nothing else. Just topdress (and spread seed if necessary), using an equal amount in cost and time for your charge.


Synthetics average $1 or less per 1K sq ft and about 60 secs to apply per 1 K sq ft.

So lets take a 5K sq ft lawn, $5 and 5 minutes.

That would buy 5, 40 lb bags of really cheap compost, (enough for 500 sq ft?) and barely enough time to spread it if I'm really fast and want to throw my back out.

[Kiril]

entertain me, how is organic more cost effective?

By creating a sustainable system and reducing or eliminating the majority of your inputs.

[RGM]

why not just charge extra for the difference

[topsites]

Guys I'm not here to argue about this, all I'm doing is pasting what google showed me:

Compared to synthetic fertilizers, organic fertilizers have lower levels of actual nutrients. So, on the face of it, one would think that synthetic might be better. However, organic fertilizers perform some important functions that synthetic fertilizers do not.
For instance, organic fertilizers increase organic content of the soil. By doing so, they increase the soil’s capacity to supply nutrients and other elements essential to plant growth and survival. They improve the actual structure of the soil. Adding organic fertilizers help soil retain water, absorb oxygen and also help to provide adequate drainage.
Dry, alkaline desert soils can be almost devoid of microbial life. Organic fertilizers also help to increase the level of beneficial bacteria and fungi in the soil. In particular, organic fertilizers also increase mycorrhiza fungi, which create a symbiotic relationship with the roots of plants, and greatly enhance a plant’s ability to grow, absorb nutrients and to make fruits and flowers.

..............
So speaking for myself, I would check into gypsum.

[ICT Bill]

If you are looking to exchange one granular for another look at Bradfield organics (backed by land o lakes purina) or look at nutrients plus

Both good products they just take different tracks, one is composted chicken manure wrapped in traditional NPK the other is meals like alfalfa wrapped in traditional NPK. They are called organic based fert's

[Smallaxe]

Synthetics average $1 or less per 1K sq ft and about 60 secs to apply per 1 K sq ft.

So lets take a 5K sq ft lawn, $5 and 5 minutes.

That would buy 5, 40 lb bags of really cheap compost, (enough for 500 sq ft?) and barely enough time to spread it if I'm really fast and want to throw my back out.

Admittedly the actual time of spraying is less than spreading. Minus the time monkeying with hoses and the expense of windshield time in the tanker truck.

The purpose of the compost is not for fertilizer, because grass doesn't need fertilizer as soon as it breaks dormancy in the spring. A little root cover, microbe feed, growing medium, yes, but fertilizer no.
I can drive up to that same lawn in a Geo with 1 bag per k , and put down the foundation of a season long feeding of grass clippings going back into the soil. Put most of the money into the bank instead of the gas tank.

There are those that would say that there is more that should be done and that may very well be true. But just the compost in the spring is better than NPK, if for no other reason than to 'not' coax the roots to grow upward to get to the quick breakfast after a long sleep.

[jeffinsgf]

Let's call the linked product a "bridge" to organics. http://www.healthygro.com/accm.php is a composted chicken manure product that is granulated. They offer a wide range of analyses for various conditions. The product is marketed primarily to golf courses. Compared to other organic options, it is very competitively priced. I used it in the late summer on a zoysia lawn, and it gave me the best looking lawn I had all year, during the worst growing conditions. I have been working toward soil improvement through microbal applications and repeated topdressing with compost. Pearl Valley's HealthyGro gives the lawn a boost beyond what I have seen from any other product and does it at an acceptable price per app.

[lawnbutch]

Guys-

You all might want to check out this site www.naturesafe.com

I put a fall application down on my own lawn last Sept. and by the time the first snow hit it looked better than it had all summer, better color was the most noticeable. I also attended a seminar last week and one of the speakers was from this company and I will recommend this product to anyone. Now Im no genius in this field but it made sense to me. I asked some of the others that attended if they had used the product and most said yes and would continue to use it.

The speaker said this,"we don't feed the plant ,we feed the soil, and the soil feeds the plants".

[NattyLawn]

Guys-

You all might want to check out this site www.naturesafe.com

I put a fall application down on my own lawn last Sept. and by the time the first snow hit it looked better than it had all summer, better color was the most noticeable. I also attended a seminar last week and one of the speakers was from this company and I will recommend this product to anyone. Now Im no genius in this field but it made sense to me. I asked some of the others that attended if they had used the product and most said yes and would continue to use it.

The speaker said this,"we don't feed the plant ,we feed the soil, and the soil feeds the plants".

That quote is what most of us say to customers when we sell them on an organic lawn care program. We're trying to add organic matter to help build the soil biology.

[lawncuttinfoo]

If you are looking to exchange one granular for another look at Bradfield organics (backed by land o lakes purina) or look at nutrients plus

Both good products they just take different tracks, one is composted chicken manure wrapped in traditional NPK the other is meals like alfalfa wrapped in traditional NPK. They are called organic based fert's

I'm fairly sure bradfield's 9-0-0 is 100% corn gluten meal, which would make it organic, not organic based, correct? I mean corn gluten is in the FAQ of this fourm.

Yes, at this point basically all CGM is derived from GMO corn, but I would definatly put it closer to the "organic" products than the "organic-based" products of such places as natualawn.

http://www.bradfieldorganics.com/corngluten900.html

[phasthound]

Feed the soil, not the plant is the phrase used by all of us who have come to understand how plants work. The relationships between photosynthesis, soil, soil microbiology and plants is the fundamental basis of all life on the surface of this planet.

Feeding plants directly with nutrients by-passes the system that has developed over hundreds of millions of years. Think about what happens when a person is feed intravenously or with a feeding tube. They can survive, but their immune system begins to fail & they require antibiotics and other drugs to fight off diseases and infections their bodies would normally fight off.

[NattyLawn]

Feed the soil, not the plant is the phrase used by all of us who have come to understand how plants work. The relationships between photosynthesis, soil, soil microbiology and plants is the fundamental basis of all life on the surface of this planet.

Feeding plants directly with nutrients by-passes the system that has developed over hundreds of millions of years. Think about what happens when a person is feed intravenously or with a feeding tube. They can survive, but their immune system begins to fail & they require antibiotics and other drugs to fight off diseases and infections their bodies would normally fight off.


Sounds strangely familiar. Have you used the salt on a slug analogy yet?

[phasthound]

Sounds strangely familiar. Have you used the salt on a slug analogy yet?

No, not yet. But I have to say that the more I learn, the more I realize there are very few new ideas. As I dig deeper, I find many sources have spoken deeply about the "new" knowledge we speak about here.

It's only the last 2 or 3 generations that have dismissed the accumulative wisdom of the ages.

[NattyLawn]

No, not yet. But I have to say that the more I learn, the more I realize there are very few new ideas. As I dig deeper, I find many sources have spoken deeply about the "new" knowledge we speak about here.

It's only the last 2 or 3 generations that have dismissed the accumulative wisdom of the ages.

Agreed Barry. All of the education in the world can't replace simple common sense. Technology increases and methods get a little easier, but a lot is rooted in the same principles.