Question
Hi,

I have been reading some of the questions and answers on this site and have never considered organic until now.  I live on a 1/2 acre lot in Dickinson, TX (South of Houston) and when we first bought the house the grass was very green and thick.  Now we have some yellow spots in the yard, lots of weeds, different types and the yard looks like a rolling valley.  We have bought and used the chemical weed killers as well as hiring a firm to treat our yard so I know that it is full of chemicals and now I would like to take a different approach and learn how to take care of our yard organically, how do I get started with this?

Answer
Hi Debby;
Water, water water, to wash out those chemicals as fast as possible.
A month should do it enough to not undo the organics too much.
Put down sugar at the rate of 4 or 5 pouds per 1000 sq,ft, and water it in well.
Just water again for about a month and follow with another application of sugar. water it in well.
By that two months, the chemicals should all be washed down far enough to not affect the beneficial microbes.
If you have a source for compost, that should have some micro-organisms in it to help start the beneficial things off.
Maybe even buy some earthworms.
I think, don't know for sure, because I just don't look at worms if I don't have to, that the worms they sell for fishing bait are earthworms.
They call them night crawlers, but aren't they the same worm?
Gelieve it or not, cockroaches are beneficial insects.
They normally live in the soil, andfeed on microscopis and some very small insects. We put insecticieds down, and that kills off their food supply and threatens them, so they come in our houses to find food, and hide from the insecticides.
I put a 1 inch sprig of fresh roaemary on each pantry, and cabinet shelf, a longer piece under appliances in the jitchen, and laundry room, and in the sorners of closets. I put a bit of riosemary everywhere it can be put and not be a problem, and where roaches can hide or come in. That keeps my house free of cockraoches, spiders, silver fish etc. I do fresh rosemary once and month or so.
here are some other things you can do to give it a boost.
Alfalfa meal is full of nutrients, and so is lava sand.
You will have to go to a feed store to get the alfalfa meal. Even Walmart carries lava sand here.
I know where Dickinson is. I lived in Hitchcock for almost a year back in 1956.
Those yellow spots could be the first showings of broan patch fungus.
Grad a hunk of the grass and tug on it. If it comes up easily, and the roots are not there or practically not there, and especially if it feels a bit damp and/or slimy, that is brown patch.
For that apply agricultural corn meal at the rate of 10 or 15 pounds per 1000 sq.ft, and water it in.
If it is just pale green then turns yellowish, but still has roots, it could be just needing iron.
Corn gluten meal is a good weed and feed. It can be used in addition to the sugar, the sugar is to nourish the beneficial microbes.
Howard Gerrett recommends dry molasses, which I used for a couple of yearts, but didn't like the results as well as the results I get from the sugar, so I went back to sugar.
Write any time you have questions I can help you with.
Charlotte