CELEBRATING 28 YEARS! Welcome to My weekly series! THE LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONAL ASK Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs Linda K. Lillie has been President 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 Hello Kathy (This is Part 2 of my answer to your question): 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 "organic" lawn care, it is often boastful marketing because they almost always include synthetic chemicals. Let's take a closer look at the drawbacks of synthetic chemical lawn care programs: #1 Synthetic chemical fertilizers apply akuau Kathu EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO: info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie, Sprigs & Twigs Inc, PO Box 245, Gales Ferry, CT 06335 heavy doses of nitrogen to the soil, which is a waste of your money because only 30-35% of synthetic lawn fertilizers ever reach the grass roots. The rest leaches through the soil and creates major pollution problems in streams, lakes and drinking water supplies. Of the synthetic fertilizer that does reach the grass plants, it is still too much for the grass to properly utilize. #2 Chemical synthetic fertilizers are manufactured through chemical processes using non-renewable resources that chemically alter their ingredients. Chemical synthetic fertilizers: (a) are loaded with mineral salts which sterilize and disinfect the soil, killing beneficial earthworms, microbes, fungi, bacteria and organisms, (b) make your soil increasingly acidic every time these fertilizers are applied, inviting more weed growth and hindering strong turf grass growth, (c) overstimulate grass plants with high levels of nitrogen beyond what they can handle which forces lush, rapid growth. This rapid grass growth actually stresses and weakens the grass and encourages lawn pests and diseases to set in. In future articles, I'll address other aspects of why organic lawn care is the only way to go. CONTINUED NEXT WEEK... 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. Sprigs &Twigs WWW.SPRIGSANDTWIGS.NET 860-235-0752 WE'RE GOING DIGITAL! SIGN UP USING THE QR CODE OR LINK BELOW! NEVER MISS A THING. ARTICLES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR EMAIL SO YOU CAN SAVE YOUR FAVORITES & SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS DIRECTLY. https://mailchi.mp/sprigsandtwigs/np-subscribe CELEBRATING 28 YEARS ! Welcome to My weekly series ! THE LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONAL ASK Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs Linda K. Lillie has been President 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 Hello Kathy ( This is Part 2 of my answer to your question ) : 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 " organic " lawn care , it is often boastful marketing because they almost always include synthetic chemicals . Let's take a closer look at the drawbacks of synthetic chemical lawn care programs : # 1 Synthetic chemical fertilizers apply akuau Kathu EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO : info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie , Sprigs & Twigs Inc , PO Box 245 , Gales Ferry , CT 06335 heavy doses of nitrogen to the soil , which is a waste of your money because only 30-35 % of synthetic lawn fertilizers ever reach the grass roots . The rest leaches through the soil and creates major pollution problems in streams , lakes and drinking water supplies . Of the synthetic fertilizer that does reach the grass plants , it is still too much for the grass to properly utilize . # 2 Chemical synthetic fertilizers are manufactured through chemical processes using non - renewable resources that chemically alter their ingredients . Chemical synthetic fertilizers : ( a ) are loaded with mineral salts which sterilize and disinfect the soil , killing beneficial earthworms , microbes , fungi , bacteria and organisms , ( b ) make your soil increasingly acidic every time these fertilizers are applied , inviting more weed growth and hindering strong turf grass growth , ( c ) overstimulate grass plants with high levels of nitrogen beyond what they can handle which forces lush , rapid growth . This rapid grass growth actually stresses and weakens the grass and encourages lawn pests and diseases to set in . In future articles , I'll address other aspects of why organic lawn care is the only way to go . CONTINUED NEXT WEEK ... 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 . Sprigs & Twigs WWW.SPRIGSANDTWIGS.NET 860-235-0752 WE'RE GOING DIGITAL ! SIGN UP USING THE QR CODE OR LINK BELOW ! NEVER MISS A THING . ARTICLES SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR EMAIL SO YOU CAN SAVE YOUR FAVORITES & SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS DIRECTLY . https://mailchi.mp/sprigsandtwigs/np-subscribe