7/28/2019 AGGRAND Organic vs Chemical Lawn Care
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Why Organic Fertilizers Outperform
Chemical FertilizersTraditional lawn fertilization practices can
lead to surface and groundwaterpollution. Even when applied at the
recommended rates, highly-concen-trated chemical fertilizers cause
water pollution when a heavy rain or toomuch irrigation follows
soon after application. In addition, many homeown-ers do not
calibrate their fertilizer spreaders or throw fertilizer on their
lawns byhand, leading to nitrogen and phosphate loading in surface
waters.
While banning the application of certain nutrients can
reducepollution problems, a more feasible solution is the use of
moresustainable practices and natural products. For example,
therecycling of nutrients through the return of grass clippings
(usinga mulching mower) stimulates soil biological activity and
sup-plies at least two pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feetper
year without causing any pollution. Applying low levels
ofNATURALNUTRIENTSSUCHASSHKELPHUMATESANDCORNGLUTENmeal stimulates
the proliferation of microbes and
earthworms,WHICHREADILYCONSUMENUTRIENTSBEFORETHEYCANREACHLAKESAs
the creatures in the soil multiply, they excrete nutrients anddie
or are consumed, digested and excreted by other organ-isms, slowly
releasing nutrients as plants need them.
An actual comparison of natural and chemical
fertilizerillustrates the difference. One homeowner applies 30-5-10
fer-tilizer to his lawn at 20 pounds per 5,000 square feet, while
hisNEIGHBORAPPLIESONEQUARTPOUNDSOFSHKELPHUMATEfertilizer per 5,000
square feet. The natural fertilizer puts .0184pounds of nitrogen
and .013 pounds of phosphate per 1,000square feet into the soil,
and the naturally-fertilized lawn is moredrought and pest resistant
and requires less irrigation becauseit uses less water. The natural
fertilizer also stimulates biologicalactivity, creating stable soil
aggregates that enable the roots to go deeper
andDEVELOPBETTERKEEPINGNUTRIENTSINTHEROOTZONE4HECHEMICALFERTILIZERONTHEother
hand, puts 1.2 pounds of nitrogen and .2 pounds of phosphate per
1,000square feet into the soil (65 times more nitrogen and 15 times
more phosphate
than the natural fertilizer). Because the grass relies on the
chemical to supply thenutrients, the chemically fertilized lawn
uses more water and requires
constantIRRIGATION)NADDITIONTHECHEMICALTOXIESTHESOILINHIBITINGBIOLOGICALACTIVITYand
leading to compacted soil and an unhealthy root environment. Most
of
theNUTRIENTSAREFREETOOWOVERTHECOMPACTEDSURFACEINTOTHESURFACEWATERORpast
the restricted root zone into the ground water. Research shows that
up
toPERCENTOFHIGHANALYSISCHEMICALFERTILIZERSARENOTTAKENUPBYPLANTS
.ITROGENANDPHOSPHATEAREPRESENTINALLECOSYSTEMSANDNATUREKNOWSHOWTOHOLDTHEMANDMAKETHEMREADILYAVAILABLEWHENTHEYARENEEDED&ERTILIZATIONINITSELFISNOTINHERENTLYBADBUTTHETYPEANDAMOUNTOFFERTILIZATIONISTHEKEYTOPRODUCINGhealthy
lawns and eliminating water pollution.
Organic vs. Chemical
Lawn Care
by
o ee r n
hate per 1,000ore phosphate
l to supply theuires constantLOGICALACTIVITYnt. Most of
theRFACEWATERORows that up toBYPLANTS
URE NOWS OWE ERT ZATISTHEKE PR UC
