How To Compost Your Lawn

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Introduction:

One of the easiest ways to keep your lawn healthy and green is to compost it 2-3 times a year. This is preferable for many people because it's safe and organic, and you're not constantly adding chemical-based fertilizers to your yard or garden.

Compost makes a great fertilizer, because in addition to having important nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, it often has trace elements you don't ordinarily find in commercial fertilizers.

A few other benefits to using compost are:

It won't burn your grass out if you accidentally put too much on
It won't stain your concrete or brick walkways
It won't smell if you're actually still using old manure-based fertilizers
It works fast

So with all these benefits, let's get to it.

1. Use Fine-Textured Compost Start with good, fine-textured compost. All garden centers carry good, bagged compost that is ready to use; you can even use seed topper. You can also use your own homemade compost if you have it around. Just as long as it is fine-textured so it will rake out evenly without leaving clumps.	Click picture for larger image
2. Spread the Compost You can use a shovel or just start dumping the compost out around your lawn.	Click picture for larger image
3. Rake It Out Evenly With a flexible, garden rake, spread the compost out over your lawn to about ¼ inch (.64 cm ) thick. You want a fairly thin layer. Don't apply it much thicker thinking that more is better, because that can cause problems, like smothering your grass. A thin layer will break down quickly releasing its nutrients into the lawn. When you're done raking you shouldn't see that much compost showing - as show in the second picture.	Click picture for larger image

4. Water It In and Don't Mow For 1 Week Once you have a nice thin layer fairly evenly applied, water it in for a good 15 to 20 minutes. Take care of your lawn as you normally would, applying regular water, but don't mow for about 1 week. Allow the compost 7 to 8 days to break down and release its nutrients. After one week, you can care for you lawn just as you regularly would by mowing and watering.	Click picture for larger image
5. That's It! If you compost your lawn 2 to 3 times a year, it will be very lush and healthy, and you won't need to use regular lawn fertilizers ever again. So if you're looking for an organic way to have a healthier lawn, this is it - give it a try! Other Lawn Articles People Enjoyed: The Best Grass Varieties For Your Climate and Needs Repair an Old Lawn, or Put In A New One	Click picture for larger image

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