What’s the Sign of an Organic Lawn

Location: Ohio

Last spring we finally finished the new addition to our home (yippee!) but were left with over 3000 square feet of mud that needed to be turned into lawn (not yippee!). So before we headed to the garden center last weekend, we decided to take this opportunity to make our lawn completely organic. No chemicals. No weird synthetically coated seed. No genetically modified anything. Well, at first this mission was a bit daunting. After all, how do you really know what’s organic? And we surely didn’t want to put all that work into a lawn only to watch it wither over the summer. So to the internet and gardening library I went.

I was amazed by the green lawn movement that’s sweeping this country. People are finally realizing that you can still have a beautiful lawn without piling on the chemicals. Thankfully, gardeners everywhere are learning about the damage these compounds do to our homes, families and eco-system. Just think of everything that’s leached off lawns and into our groundwater. And imagine the amount of chemicals our kids and pets have touched and breathed in while they were playing outside. It’s no wonder everyone’s going green these days.

So back to my research . . . just about everybody claims to be green but what to believe? Through my internet searches, I’d heard about OMRI listed products and checked out their website (www.OMRI.org). Turns out OMRI listed products are probably the best choice if you’re looking for organic garden products. OMRI stands for Organic Materials Review Institute, a non-profit organization that reviews all aspects of a product claiming to be organic. If they find the product’s contents are on their list and are ok for organic gardening they list the product and the manufacturer can put their seal on the package. Organic farmers depend on this group to help them pick the right inputs for their crops and livestock needs. So I figure there’s no reason that we as home gardeners can’t do the same. After all, I want to be sure my lawn is safe for my kids and for the environment. And that OMRI Listed label gives me the confidence that the products I pick will be the best organic choice out there. And really in the long run, I think the organic approach will give us a much healthier lawn. You know, feed the soil, not the plant.

Turns out it wasn’t really that hard to find OMRI Listed products that work just as well as the big name brands. Just look for the logo on the bag or box.