This is our first spring here in Mountain Lakes and I'm just starting to learn the quirks of my new yard. I'm told by my neighbors that the previous owner was meticulous about caring for his lawn. I expected to see healthy grass and soil; instead I have thinning grass with shallow roots and dirt devoid of life. This tells me my lawn has been drenched with chemicals for decades. Feeding your lawn chemical fertilizers is like giving your toddler only sweets for every meal--you get a lot of action right away, but there is no nourishment and, ultimately, improper health. For your lawn an improper "diet" just leads to the need for more chemicals and never improves the soil.
Healthy soil is the basis for organic gardening. When the soil is alive with beneficial microbes and bugs it will feed and protect the plants you want to grow. All we have to do is feed the microbes and they do the rest of the job and these beneficial bacterial and fungi are found in finished compost. For a neglected yard such as mine, it will require approximately 1 cubic yard of finished compost per 1,000 square feet, raked into the lawn no more than 1/4" deep. Unfortunately, this will require burly helpers and an initial expense. The good news is that once those microbes are in place, it's really easy to keep them fed and working their magic in the soil. THAT will be a topic for another day; in the meantime, here is a list of FAQs for those who want to learn more now.
