Question
I'd like to take an organic approach to feeding my lawn up here in Boston, MA.  What do you suggest?  What can I expect from not using fertilizers containing pesticides?  Will my lawn look the same? Better? Need to be watered more or less? Thanks!!

Answer
Hi Ellie,

Truth be told, entire books have been written in response to this question, so I simply can't begin to explain it all properly here. That said, you should expect to see some weeds, crabgrass, insects, grubs, etc. The big question is, how obsessed are you with having a uniform carpet?

Anything that dies can be reseeded. Weeds don't hurt anyone, they are just a bit unsightly. Insect or disease problems are temporary, and are directly related to the season and temperatures. In other words. They'll eventually go away by themselves, allowing you to reseed unthreatened.

So, it's all a matter of your desires and hopes for your lawn. The new organic approaches are very interesting and I'd recommend you check out www.nofa.org. They have tons of useful information, and they even sell a very well done book on organic lawn care.

Good luck! Let me know how things come along.

C.J. Brown
www.thelawncoach.com