Lawn Tonic, Harvard Organic Brew,

Harvard Organic Brew

It's the roots,  Stupid! 

 Plants, Trees and lawn are only good as their roots.  Great roots mean great lawn!

so, if you wonder how to have 10 inches roots on your lawn Vs. your average 3.5, you need to check this! 

Take 9 minutes to watch this video and save yourself 100's of dollars and lawn care hours.(From Harvard U. & Ask This Old House) (Bonus: Wicked Boston Accent From Roger The Landskeyppah)*

Benefits

Deeper roots = less watering, Drought Resistant Lawn, Healthier, Grub resistant.

MUCH Cheaper, about 10 times cheaper  (1 Gal of Tea per 1000 sqf, Cost for 10,000 sqf = $5
Promotes healthier lawn.  


Harvard Organic Tea Brew Recipe

Barrel Size	Compost	Kelp	Molasses	Fish Hydrolysate	Vegetable oil
15 Gal  (57 l)	3 - 4 lbs	1/2 cup	1/2 cup	1/2 cup	1 TBS
30 Gal  (113 l)	6 - 7 lbs	1 cup	1 cup	1 cup	1 TBS
50 Gal  (190 l)	7 - 8 lbs	1 1/2 cup	1 1/2 cup	1 1/2 cup	1 TBS

Liquid Kelp, 32 fl. oz. 
Fish Hydrolysate 1 Quart
Liquid Molasses


Note: If you use domestic water, aerates for 30 min prior to adding the ingredients (aeration removes the chlorine in the water)
Mix as explained in the video and run the Pond Pump or the aerator for 24 hrs to 48 hrs. As a tip, you can use the pump outlet an attach a small tubing next to the exit, it will create a Venturi effect and makes lots of bubbles ; -) 
Apply to the lawn at a rate of 1 to 2 gal per 1000 SQF 

Homemade Lawn Tonic
This recipe is from Jerry Gardner, it uses household product to make a lawn tonic. at first, it may look strange but if you take a second look, everything is there for a reason. Bonus: it works!


Ammonia:  Ammonia is mainly nitrogen = fertilizer. plus, grass and lawn must absorb nitrogen in gaseous form and that's what Ammonia is made of ...
Soap: Surfactant, helps as a wetting agent and bugs don't like the taste 
Yeast: helps breaking down the thatch. (use baker's yeast, not baking powder). Some people use (real) beer.  Baking (bread) Yeast is Saccharomyces cerevisiae  If your latin is not up to par, "cerevisiae" means "from beer".  Drink your beer, use yeast for the lawn, plus yeast is incredibly cheap.  
Sugar/Molasses:  carbohydrates: feed the lawn. Molasses are preferred to sugar.


Do not overdose on the Ammonia, Just as well as you can burn lawn with and excess of fertilizer, you can also do it with ammonia. 
Don't use antibacterial dish washing liquid, either use a super cheapo or a more "environment friendly type". If your soap is the type "concentrated" use half!




Chemical Fertilizer or not? 
I am not saying NOT to use Chemical Fertilizer, but what I am saying is: Unless you don't pay attention, a bag of Scott's Fertilizer is $55 and If you follow the Scott's Lawn Care program it's roughly a $300 tab worth of fertilizer for the season

I like Scott's, it's good quality, but if I can use less chemicals on my yard, I'll take a look at it. On the top of that, the amount of fertilizer recommended is grossly exaggerated: Experts recommends to reduce the amount by between 33% and 50% per application: You are better off spreading two applications over 3 weeks than overfeeding your lawn with a giant meal once.  About 30% of the nutrients are flushed away and ends up in stream and rivers. Hence, unless you are willing to dump money for nothing, think twice and apply on the light side. Just as you, your lawn would be more willing to have multiple small meals spread out than one giant one per month.

One of the issues with Chemicals Fertilizer is the very short "green effect"