Question
Reading some of the comments here on this forum, it sounds like I can just move to Texas and pour Domino Sugar all over the grass, it will stop growing and all the weeds will disappear? Your thoughts invited.... sorry, I am a skeptic at heart.
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Followup To

Question -
I noticed you answered a couple of golf green questions so Im hoping you will answer mine.

I am a golfer and I also have a lawn that is tended by an excellent (not to mention really expensive) lawn service. I admit they probably use chemicals but I dont want to know about it. So I turn the other way, dont ask dont tell policy here. lol!

The golf clubs here probably do the same thing. But there is no other way to do it, right?  I mean how else are they going to get it right? There are no weeds or diseases on their grass.  You dont get that kind of qualityfrom soap and water sprays.  Right?  I know Im right.

I know you are saying a lot of antichemical messages. But until theres a way to do that and get perfection, frankly I dont want to hear about it. What I want to know is this, are we any closer to that and then Ill fire the lawn service. Id like to know what an expert says about this.

Answer -
Very interesting post you have sent.

Let's start with the kitchen-chemical cocktails so beloved by the Organic community.

Golf greens and commercial landscapers are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to spraying things like baking soda and corn oil on certain plants to diminish fungus.  Which as you know is a major threat and potential catastrophic event when it comes to golfing.

The NYS Turf and Landscape Association's "2003 Pest Management Guide for Commercial Production and Maintenance of Trees and Shrubs" in fact points to "numerous products that are commonly available in food stores, such as vegetable cooking oils, soap, and baking soda that have pesticidal properties."

The rock and a hard place problem comes from Federal AND New York laws that FORBID them to use these techniques.

So it's not that they don't WANT to.  It's that they CAN'T DO IT LEGALLY.

Why, you ask?

The Turf and Landscape Assn. actually warns its members about this: "Concoctions made from plant extracts such as mint, citrus peel, or marigolds may act as a repellent as well as pesticides.  Even though they may be effective, both state and federal regulatory agencies prohibit their use on a commercial basis."

Let's read that again: "...AS WELL AS PESTICIDES."  Did you see that?

We don't have to go again ad nauseum into the terrible things that chemicals do to us, I assume, because you are just asking for an alternative that will at least be up to the task.  Correct?

You want Organic methods that work "AS WELL AS PESTICIDES".  Well, the landscapers say they are just as good as pesticides.  They can't use them legally.  Neither can your landscapers.  But you can.

Ridiculous, huh?

Of course, this does not stop the same Landscapers Assn. from issuing a letter to the public urging them to use professional landscapers and assuring them and I quote: "Pesticides are safe when used properly by trained and licensed professionals."  Who writes this stuff?

It appears that not even Organic Landscaping Professionals are legally allowed to practice organic methods we take for granted.  Odd, but true.  

With respect to your statement that "no weeds or diseases" afflict turfgrass under the care of golf club groundskeepers, that is simply not true.  Their problem is that they are constantly fighting with Nature against the extreme situation they have sown underfoot, wide swathes of perfect Bentgrass constantly catching fungal infections that leave unsightly brown patches all over the otherwise unblemished lawns.  It is an expensive, never ending battle for them and they would love to see it end.  So would the NYS EPA. But remedies like Compost Tea are too variable and expensive to apply on the scale they would need, in the reliable, constant doses they must have.  

For you, that's not a problem.

Problem is, if you do fire your lawn service, who is going to do all that work for you?

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Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.
?Henry James  

Answer
OK, OK, maybe there is a question here regarding "Sweet" and "Sour" soil? This has nothing to do with sugar.  There was a Jerry Baker book a few years ago (which I happen to own, I am embarrassed to say, but I had to order because it just was so tempting) that encouraged people to pour Coca-Cola on their soil and claims sugar will feed microbes in the soil.  This is not exactly the case and I am reluctant to go into it because there are some people in this forum who claim that they have a perfect garden and it's all built on sugar and some other basics.  If you feed your lawn CORRECTLY with Nitrogen (N) -- an element which is not in sucrose (C6H12O6) -- and Phosphorous (P) and Potash (K) you will be giving it almost everything it needs to grow healthy turf and roots.  Providing aerobic microbes with C6H12O6 -- which can be all forms of sugar including Sucrose, Fructose, Destrose, Glucose, etc. -- is the basis of respiration (C6H12O6 + O2 ?gt; CO2 + H2O, which means Sugar metabolized with Oxygen yields Carbon Dioxide and Water).  I am oversimplifying here but I think you get the picture.  Unless microorganisms in Texas are different (and I would not be surprised if they were) pouring sugar instead of the usual Organic amendments is a bit silly.  But whatever works for you.  The Coca-Cola, however,  I would avoid; it is very acidic and end up encouraging fungi and toadstools that way.  If you want to grow toadstools, let me know -- I can help you with that.