Ants Everywhere!

We are suffering an infestation of small black sugar ants this spring. I think our neighbor has put down enough chemicals around his house over the years that the ants have moved to our house! In his defense, he is no longer using pesticides as he participates in our experiment with us.
The first step we took was to pull the dirt and mulch away from the foundation of our house. At the bottom of the limstone sill that runs around the house, there is a rubber membrane. It seems we have more problems with ants when the dirt and mulch of our plant beds are above the level of that membrane.
Then we spread a line of diatomaceous earth around the entire foundation. This natural product dehydrates the ants. You can use a clean, dry mustard bottle to spray the earth into weep holes around the base of your home as well.
To combat the ants already in the house, we put down 3 Terro ant baits in the 3 areas where we were seeing ants. Terro uses borax to combat the ants. Perhaps not perfect, but better than the arsenic I saw in other baits. The ants swarmed the bait for a day and a half and now they are gone. Be sure to let them swarm the bait and carry it back to the nest to make sure you eliminate the entire nest.
So far it seems like the ant problem is over!

Spring 2008

We are yearning for some warm weather to appear. While we wait, we have planned our soil amendments for the spring.

1) When the soil temperature warms up a bit, we will be spreading Espoma Organic lawn fertilizer that we purchased at Pesche's for $30. The 30 lb. bag will cover 2500 sq. ft. Brian is planning to purchase a better spreader before we put it down.
2) We have decided to use Milky Spore to battle our grubs. It is a natural bacteria that will kill the grubs when they consume it. The downside is that it must be applied at least 3 times a year for 2 years to build up enough bacteria in the soil. The upside is that once you build those levels up, you can stop applying milky spore. The bag we bought at Pesche's covers 7000 square feet (3 applications for our lawn) and cost $50. Wally recommended that we apply it more frequently in the later spring and early summer (every 3 weeks) to make sure we get the bacteria levels built up enough to battle the new grubs that start feeding in July and August. If you want to learn about grubs, click here.
There are other natural options such as beneficial nematodes and neem seed-derived products. We'll keep you posted on how the milky spore works!

Fall 2008

The lawncare seminar I attended emphasized that the best value per dollar spent is to aerate your lawn, overseed it by spreading grass seed all over, and then topdress with a thin layer of compost. Aerating reduces compaction (which favors weeds). Fresh grass will increase the grass density which crowds out weeds. Compost will increase the organic matter in your soil.

So Brian rented an aerator from Route 12 Rental jointly with a couple of friends and they aerated our lawns and theirs. Be sure the aerator you use actually pulls cores out of the ground. This is the best way to aerate. Also be aware that aerating with a machine requires muscle. The machine is heavy and you have to manhandle it to turn it. I am going to look into a way to aerate without renting a machine.

Brian spread grass seed all around the lawn and then it was time to buy the compost. Since our organic matter was low, we wanted to spread a lot of compost around, about 1/4" thick. Since it was most cost effective to buy compost in bulk and pick it up in Brian's truck, we called a nursery that supplies bulk compost and they suggested we use BOB or blended organic bark compost. We brought home a yard of it (one small pickup truck load) and raked it around the yard.

After consulting with Wally at Pesche's we are questioning whether our choice of compost was the best one. He recommended a different product entirely and is concerned that the BOB compost will not have been decomposed enough before we spread it on the lawn. If it wasn't, it will decompose now and potentially suck nitrogen away from the soil and our lawn. Oh well, live and learn!

Since our calcium to magnesium ratio was low, we decided to add calcium to our soil. We used gypsum because it adds calcium to the soil without affecting the pH of the soil. Other calcium products could raise the pH which would favor weeds over grass. We bought a bag of gypsum and spread it around the lawn with our neighbor's Scott's spreader. Oh, the irony of using a Scott's spreader in pursuit of a natural lawn!

The Soil Test

The first step to transitioning to natural lawn care is taking a soil test. This is the only way to find out what your lawn really needs to get healthy. Mine cost $14.20 and was well worth the small expense!

After aerating our lawn last fall, I gathered up about a cupful of dirt from the cores scattered around the lawn. You could do the same using a spade and sampling around the lawn or by using a special core tool. I made sure to get dirt from all around the lawn and to remove as much of the grass and root matter as possible. Then I let the sample dry completely and picked over it again to remove rocks, roots, bugs, and grass. This is key because the lab burns a sample to determine the % organic matter in you soil. If you have water, grass, roots, and other things that will burn in your sample, it will skew your % organic matter higher than it actually is.

I packed the sample in a plastic bag and mailed it to AgriEnergy Resources in Princeton, IL. Click on the link to get more info on soil sampling, download the form you need to submit the sample, and the mailing address. I received my results via email in a couple of weeks. You can do research to interpret the results yourself or take it to a garden center and show it to an expert to get guidance. My favorite expert is Wally Schmitdke at Pesche's Garden Center in Des Plaines.

My soil test was typical for being treated with the Scott's 4 Step program over many years. Even though it had been over 2 years since we last used the program, the phosphorous levels in our soil were still very high at 69 ppm. Only time will bring that down to a lower value. Our pH was towards the top end of the optimum range at 6.9, but if we bring it lower we will see fewer dandelions. Our organic matter is low at 5%; we need to add compost to bring it to the 6 - 8%. Our calcium to magnesium ratio was low at 2.6/1. High magnesium levels favor weeds.

The Seminar

Last October I attended a full day Natural Lawn Care seminar sponsored by the Safer Pest Control Project. The main speaker was Chip Osborne. He talked about how he had transitioned his nursery business to an organic basis and how he extended that to converting an entire town in Massachusetts to caring for public fields naturally. I learned so much that it made it a bit overwhelming to figure out how to get started on transitioning my lawn and garden to a natural basis.
As I talked to friends, I realized many of them also wanted to transition away from herbicides and pesticides, but did not know how to start. With the backing of St. Raymond and St. Mark's environmental committees, I organized an evening seminar in March to help spread the word about natural lawn care. I believe the evening was successful and that people left with concrete ideas on how to transition to natural care whether you do it yourself or hire out your lawn care.
Here are links to the various sites of organizations and companies that have helped start me on my journey to natural lawn care.

Safer Pest Control Project - educating the world away from herbicides and pesticides
Pesche's Garden Center - you can't beat advice from Wally Schmitdke
Chalet Nursery Integrated Turf Management Lawn Service - please call them if you use a service for your lawn