# Deciding to go non synthetic......



## LawnCreepsLtd (Sep 8, 2018)

I am posting this here as I feel it might be of interest. I have been leaning toward going full organic for a few years now and this year I am taking the leap....feel free to subscribe to my channel for something loose conversational and different.
https://youtu.be/bjTy1cpvVD8


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## ryeguy (Sep 28, 2017)

Organic fertilizers can't really replicate synthetic performance when doing the fall nitrogen blitz. Microbes are temperature dependent and won't be active enough to fully break down organic fertilizer during the back half of the fall season.

Many people who follow otherwise organic programs still use urea in the fall. For what it's worth, urea is an organic compound even though it is synthetically manufactured.

Of course this is all your decision and I don't know if you did or plan on doing the fall nitrogen blitz. I just figured it would be worth mentioning if you had set your expectations based on synthetic fall fert apps in previous years.


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## Drewmey (Oct 3, 2018)

I am totally down with organic fertilizer and agree the benefits are worthwhile. What I really struggle with is weed prevention, weed removal and anti-fungal techniques that are organic. I can't get past removing these things from my lawn and/or replacing them with totally organic alternatives.

If I lived in a neighborhood where everyone else used Pre-M and sprayed 2-4D, etc. I think that I could get by with some organic weed solutions. Unfortunately my neighbors barely even mow, so it is a constant battle even with modern chemicals.

Because I have no desire to achieve an "organic" designation, my plan is to do organic fertilizer from Spring to Summer, synthetic fertilizer in fall, fungicides and herbicides on an 'as needed' basis. I feel this gets me the soil benefits of going organic with inheriting some of the negatives that come with fully organic maintenance.


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## LawnCreepsLtd (Sep 8, 2018)

@ryeguy Not familiar with the nitrogen blitz, however I am pretty sure I can figure out what that entails. Since becoming a homeowner in 2008 I have employed a multi application fertilizer regimen of a synthetic/organic combination as well as IPM using the standard herbicides. As years have passed and I have gained and maintained a healthy, stress tolerant, disease resistant, stand of 97% weed free turf, I have used less synthetic product and have become a more nimble steward with less of a rigid and calculated lawncare regimen, as it is not necessary at this point. This is due to my soil food web. An approach in which I put all of my trust in and will "partner" with going fwd. By using techniques that employ soil food web science as you garden and work your lawn, you can at least REDUCE and at best ELIMINATE the need for fertilizers, herbicides, fungicide, and pesticides as well as all of the work that goes along with those. You can improve degraded soils and return them to richness. Soils will retain nutrients in the bodies of the soil food web organisms instead of letting them Leach out. Your grass plants will be getting nutrients that the plant Needs when they need them so they will be less stressed. You will have natural disease prevention, protection, and suppression. Your soil will hold more water. The organisms in the soil food web will do most of the work of maintaining plant Health. Billions of living organisms will Be continuously at work throughout the year(not just in warm temperatures), doing the heavy chores, providing nutrients to plants, building defense systems against pests and diseases, loosening soil and increasing drainage, providing necessary pathways for oxygen and carbon dioxide. You won't have to do these things yourself. 
Chemical fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, and fungicide affect the soil food web, toxic to some members, warding off others, and changing the environment. Important fungal and bacterial relationships don't form when a plant can get free nutrients. When chemically fed, plants bypass the microbial assisted method of obtaining nutrients, and microbial populations adjust accordingly. The foundation of the soil food web then is altered. Any chain is only as strong as its weakest link, if there is a gap in the soil food web, the system will break down and stop functioning properly. While Urea may be the least of all evils, synthetic fertilizers are detrimental and irritable to earthworms, And their reduction or absence is a great loss. Without the activity and diversity of a healthy food web you not only impact the nutrient system but all the other things a healthy soil food web brings. Soil structure deteriorates, watering can become problematic, pathogens and pests establish themselves and, worst of all, lawn care becomes a lot more work than it needs to be....I am willing to accept changes in my lawn in terms of color and weeds as I am a nimble gardener, but I know that my 100+ year old lawn and healthy soil food web will provide me with the beautiful and natural lawn I am looking for.


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