CELEBRATING 26 YEARS! Welcome to my weekly series! THE LANDSCAPE ASK PROFESSIONAL. Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs Linda K. Lilie has been Prosident of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc. for the last 26 years. She is a graduate of Connecticut College in Botany, an accredited NOFA Organic Land Care Professional, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national award winning landscape designer for her design and installation projects. Dear Linda- I have heard that Sprigs & Twigs has an Organic Lawn Care Program and I'd like to know more about it. My husband puts down bags of stuff on our lawn and I'm worried he's doing something harmful. Thank you. Kathy Hello Kathy- Sprigs & Twigs offers the only true, 100% Organic Lawn Care Program in the area; we would be happy to visit with you and explain it in more detail. While it is fashionable for other companies to claim they do "organie" lawn care, it is often boastful marketing because they almost always include synthetic chemicals. The major difference between a natural, organic lawn care program and a synthetic, chemical lawn care program is the attention paid to the health of the soil. Synthetic chemical programs work directly on the grass plants by overdosing them with frequent, high levels of nitrogen, basically "hooking them on drugs"and sterilizing the soil. Organic lawn care is a science-based approach that focuses on building a healthy eco-system in the soil that promotes robust growth of grass plants. The organic approach combines three things: establishing good soil health, using naturally occurring organic products and applying improved turf management principles. When grass gets the proper nutrients in the proper amounts at the proper time, grass plants flourish, naturally crowd out weeds and help keep diseases and pests under control. Organic fertilizers provide slow release nitrogen that feeds the grass steadily over a longer period of time than synthetic fertilizers, which peak in 7-10 days and are completely gone from the soil in 4-6 weeks. Organic fertilizers and organic practices build the population of beneficial earthworms, microbes, fungi, bacteria and organisms in the soil which help decompose and recycle organic matter, grass clippings and thatch and turn them into fertilizer the grass can use. This makes a thicker lawn that requires less mowing. In future articles, l'll address other aspects of why organic lawn care is the only way to go. Sprigs & Twigs is especially proud that a large number of our staff are Accredited Organic Land Care professionals (AOLCPS) who have passed the rigorous NOFA training program. CONTINUED NEXT WEEK... Sprigs &wigs EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO: info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie, Sprigs & Twigs Inc, PO Box 245, Gales Ferry, CT 06335 best SPRIGS & TWIGS VOTED THE BEST BY DAY READERS EVERY YEAR! CELEBRATING 26 YEARS! Welcome to my weekly series! THE LANDSCAPE ASK PROFESSIONAL. Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs Linda K. Lilie has been Prosident of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc. for the last 26 years. She is a graduate of Connecticut College in Botany, an accredited NOFA Organic Land Care Professional, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national award winning landscape designer for her design and installation projects. Dear Linda- I have heard that Sprigs & Twigs has an Organic Lawn Care Program and I'd like to know more about it. My husband puts down bags of stuff on our lawn and I'm worried he's doing something harmful. Thank you. Kathy Hello Kathy- Sprigs & Twigs offers the only true, 100% Organic Lawn Care Program in the area; we would be happy to visit with you and explain it in more detail. While it is fashionable for other companies to claim they do "organie" lawn care, it is often boastful marketing because they almost always include synthetic chemicals. The major difference between a natural, organic lawn care program and a synthetic, chemical lawn care program is the attention paid to the health of the soil. Synthetic chemical programs work directly on the grass plants by overdosing them with frequent, high levels of nitrogen, basically "hooking them on drugs"and sterilizing the soil. Organic lawn care is a science-based approach that focuses on building a healthy eco-system in the soil that promotes robust growth of grass plants. The organic approach combines three things: establishing good soil health, using naturally occurring organic products and applying improved turf management principles. When grass gets the proper nutrients in the proper amounts at the proper time, grass plants flourish, naturally crowd out weeds and help keep diseases and pests under control. Organic fertilizers provide slow release nitrogen that feeds the grass steadily over a longer period of time than synthetic fertilizers, which peak in 7-10 days and are completely gone from the soil in 4-6 weeks. Organic fertilizers and organic practices build the population of beneficial earthworms, microbes, fungi, bacteria and organisms in the soil which help decompose and recycle organic matter, grass clippings and thatch and turn them into fertilizer the grass can use. This makes a thicker lawn that requires less mowing. In future articles, l'll address other aspects of why organic lawn care is the only way to go. Sprigs & Twigs is especially proud that a large number of our staff are Accredited Organic Land Care professionals (AOLCPS) who have passed the rigorous NOFA training program. CONTINUED NEXT WEEK... Sprigs &wigs EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO: info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie, Sprigs & Twigs Inc, PO Box 245, Gales Ferry, CT 06335 best SPRIGS & TWIGS VOTED THE BEST BY DAY READERS EVERY YEAR!