Do "natural" lawn fertilizers really work?

[LisaR]

Does anyone use any type of lawn fertilizer that is natural and does it really work? What is "natural" when it comes to this stuff? Are they really better for the environment? I am not the type that needs to have a perfect green lawn but we live in a subdivision that does require regular maintenance. I hate putting chemicals on the grass because everything just gets washed off into our nearby rivers.

 

[declansdad]

Natural fertilizers is made up of animal poop and other organic materials. I think it works pretty good.

 

[TheZue]

My mom's old gardener only used natural products, and she had the best lawn I had seen or have seen since. It was just beautiful. He put fish manure on it in the spring, but other than that I never saw him put anything else on there. He seeded this thing from the beginning and kept it looking perfect until she moved. No chemical fertalizers and absolutely no pest control, he just had that grass so healthy nothing else stood a chance of growing in it.

 

[golfgal]

We switched over to natural fertilizers this year and our lawn looks better than ever.

 

[LisaR]

We switched over to natural fertilizers this year and our lawn looks better than ever.

Do you buy bags of pre-made fertilizer or do you use some of the homemade recipes?

 

[golfgal]

Do you buy bags of pre-made fertilizer or do you use some of the homemade recipes?

We have a lawn guy apply it but it is in bags. It is similar to the chemical ones, little pellets but it is mostly manure.

 

[MarilIncredible]

Last year we bought a bag of pre-made natural fertilizer (I remember it had corn in it and it was pet-safe) and it didn't do diddly. We are not wasting our money on that stuff anymore.

 

[PlutoPony]

We used a natural lawn product once (think it was a pre-emergent) that was corn based. The next day we saw our big lab out in the yard eating stuff out of the grass. Turns out he was scarfing up all the expensive pre-emergent. There must have been enough corn in it to get his attention and that's all he needed to start eating away

Very expensive lesson that we didn't repeat so I'd advise looking closely at the ingredients if you have an always hungry lab

 

[mnrose]

My DH uses only natural products on our lawn, and it is one of the best looking lawns in our area. He constantly gets comments/questions on what he does to make it look so nice. For pre-emergent, he uses corn gluten (which is also a mild fertilizer). He does NOT buy the "scotts" brand of corn gluten which is wildly expensive, but rather, goes to our local farm supply store which has the same thing without the fancy label or the fancy price tag. He spends about $10 for 50 pound bags of the stuff. Takes about 4-5 bags for our entire lawn (about 1/2 an acre of lawn). Does it twice a year, spring and fall. Works fabulous. And, completely safe for everyone (including the mama duck who was nesting under our bushes this spring...and ate generously from it).

 

[minnie56]

We aren't allowed to use anything but here..and I was sceptical at first but I cannot see any difference in my lawn..it still looks great!

 

[pilesoflaundry]

If you keep out the bugs, weeds and give it enough water you probably don't need anything.

 

[LisaR]

If you keep out the bugs, weeds and give it enough water you probably don't need anything.

Weeds are not an issue for us. Our neighbors do the absolute minimum to their lawn and their bugs invade our lawn. They have moles, fleas, fire ants, etc. If we don't spray our lawn, we end up being invaded by their pests.

Last month DH bought some natural stuff at Home Depot that was really pricey and our lawn looks worse. I think I will have him look into a local feed store and see what they have. Thanks everyone for all the info!

 

[NotUrsula]

Horse manure slurry is as natural as it comes, and it works really well to give you a lovely green lawn. However, there is a bit of a price to pay -- it smells like exactly what it is for a few days after it is applied.