Recently I have been making a positive move to going organic after researching all the negative effects of using traditional products sold to consumers. It is no secret that all these chemicals end up in the water supply and began to make millions of people sick during some time in their life.
I have been working with alternative products to rid my environment of toxic chemicals. About ten years ago, I was introduced to a kelp based fertilizer and I was quite skeptical in regard to the numbers on the bottle. I tried several different brands and found one that works very effectively and is reasonably priced. I am actually a dealer for this product called AGGrand, it is sold through a network of independent Amsoil dealers.
Some of my research led me into Vermicomposting to take some of my garbage and turn it into a valuable compost. This is done without an unsightly compost heap and there is no offensive odor. This is how it works: you take kitchen waste and start a worm bin, add newspaper and pieces of cardboard; the little wigglers consume the trash and make a very potent fertilizer. I add rabbit manure, chicken feed, cornmeal and oatmeal to my worm bin and some peat moss.There is a book called Worms eat my Garbage that is very informative if you are interested in learning more.
I take the worm castings and make a tea mixture by soaking it is a bucket of water for a few days, this brings all the good stuff out of the organic material. I add some molasses and kelp fertilizer to the mixture and allow the biological activity to multiply for 24 hours. Now this home brew is ready to use.
I purchased a small pump and set it up to run an impact sprinkler. I use the worm tea from one 5-gallon bucket and dilute it to make 15-20 gallons in a large trash can, you can also add more of the AGGrand fertilizer to make a single application and conserve water. Put the suction hose to the pump in the container and sprinkle the lawn with liquid worm castings.
You may be led to believe the worm tea and kelp fertilizer needs to be watered in to be effective, this is not true as it is more beneficial if the worm tea remains on the grass as a foliar fertilizer and the layer of thatch; this is where the insects are located, the enzymes from the worms work on their natural habitat as a repellent.
The enzymes in the worm castings is a natural insecticide, Japanese beetles will not lay their eggs and the grubs and other pests will soon be gone. I learned this when I had a bad problem with skunks feeding on the grubs in mid summer. I have had success with this process of organic lawn-care, the grass was thick and green. Best of all, the skunks were no longer a problem!
As a foliar application of fertilizer, this worm tea and other kelp or fish emulsion type of products should be applied in early morning to prevent scorching of the grass. It can be applied in late afternoon but this makes your grass and other crops susceptible to mildew from remaining wet during cooler night time temperatures.
This is a general guide of how I took care of my pest problem using organic products. I forgot to mention that a good thatch rake is also suggested in the spring and fall. I am pleased with the final result of using non-traditional products to rid my lawn of bugs and keep the critters from coming around to feed on the grubs.
