Like an ancient coral reef, my approach to organic gardening matures, richens, and deepens every season.  I’m like a sponge in the reef, only with legs and eyes, always trying to get close to smart and thoughtful people who have a slightly different and always more experienced perspective than I, and try to absorb as much knowledge from them as I can.  Then reflect their expertise in my own work.  Or, as a sponge, eat it up and poop it out. 

Who cares, you ask?  I’d like to think that most of you pay me to be the best sponge I can be, so that I can use the best information from the best resources to make educated suggestions on the best way to sustainably manage your landscapes.  If you’re gonna pay someone to mow your lawn, you might as well make sure the mowing crew is doing the best they can to protect the ecological integrity of your soils.  You don’t want to pay someone to mindlessly pollute your community’s natural resources.  You want to pay a thoughtful sea creature, who respects the surrounding environment. 

It’s spring time.  Time to consider the structure, nutrients, and biology of the soils that support your plants and lawn.  As I learn more about the intricacies of soils, (see the latest issue of Edible Austin, page 50) I’m slowly changing our approach to fertilizing, focusing more on building soils and less on regular fertilizer applications.  Most new clients now receive a proposed maintenance schedule that includes compost topdressing, organic fertilizing, and compost tea at regular intervals throughout the year.  But most of you long-time BioGardener loyalists have not been exposed to those proposed schedules, which are shaped from the detritus of many conversations and readings of people who know alot about soil in Central Texas.  So here’s the gist:

Compost Topdressing – March/April and again in September/October  - Compost is the backbone of an organic program.  It addresses all the important components of healthy soils: structure (by breaking up clays and adding the proper kinds of nutrients); organic content (adding humus, which feeds microbes and plants); and good bugs (compost has lots of beneficial microbes, which drive the natural process and balances of healthy soils). 

Compost Tea – Monthly, March through November – A super concentrated dose of microbes and humus. 

Liquid Fertilizer – Monthly, March through November- A dose of fish emulsion, seaweed, and humic acid, which provide micro-nutrients and macro-nutrients for healthy soils and plants.

Granular Fertilizer – April- For those who just have to have something that resembles traditional fertilizer, we use an organic, slow-release product formulated for Austin soils to add macro- and micro-nutrients. 

Triple Shot – Monthly, March through November – Because they are applied using the same technique, we can combine Liquid Fertilizer and Compost Tea in a single application.  Throw in molasses as a quick sugar source for microbes, and call it Triple Shot.  It saves money.

Even more concisely, a handy graphic that sums up an organic feeding and soil building program for a typical Austin lawn.  Pricing makes some big assumptions, and varies from landscape to landscape.

This represents a comprehensive soil-building strategy for a typical Austin lawn, and assumes normal conditions.  Soil tests can provide specific information needed to customize a soil building and soil feeding plan for your landscape, which I highly recommend.  Tests are $15-35, or we can do it for you and help interpret results for about $65.

For those DIY-ers all of these materials are readily available, and application is a snap.  Please let me know if you need help finding the best quality composts, compost teas, and fertilizers, or need any tips on how to apply them.