Does anyone have a good organic fertilizer/weed killer recipe?

Question

I have a dog and do not want to kennel him just so I have Weed and Feed my yard. Does anyone know of a harmless weed killer/fertilizer concoction to treat my yard. The clover and creeping charlie are starting to take over.

Answer 1

Mow as high as your mower will allow you as frequently as you can stand. Three inches is best. This lets grass grow to a maximum density to shade out weeds and weed seeds. Grass can tolerate repeat mowing so it will do okay but weeds don't tolerate the stress of frequent mowing. Grass struggles when mowed short because it has no blades for photosynthesis, it fails and weed seeds get to germinate. Mow tall and you leave grass blades but remove the meristemic tips of tall weeds. Creepers are another problem.

Feed; really fertilize the grass with a nitrogen rich fertilizer like HastaGro 12-4-8 Liquid Lawn Fertilizer, get fast growth so the weeds literally grow them selves to death while grass just gets thicker shading the soil more. Leaving the clippings helps feed and shade the creepers out.
Water deeply and infrequently to encourage deeply rooted grass. You need 1 inch/week total unless the temps go really high. Get a little plastic rain gauge for the lawn area. Never let weeds go to seed.
For spot treatment or for small areas of pure weeds, try David Hall’s method of "vinegar sprayed as a foliar spray, not a soil drench. To a gallon of vinegar, mix a tablespoon of liquid dish soap and two tablespoons of molasses as wetting agents. Apply full strength from a hand sprayer. Be careful not to get any spray on you or in your eyes or inhale it.”
To prevent next years weed crop from sprouting try corn meal gluten as a pre-emergent. http://www.lawnandgardenmagic.com/hydrop
http://www.dirtworks.net/Weed-Ban.html

Answer 2

Mow High. Raise your lawn mower blades to a height of 7.5 cm (3 inches). Longer grass has deeper roots, can crowd out weeds and most importantly, retains the lawn soil's moisture.
Stop bagging or racking up your lawn clippings. Clippings provide valuable nutrients (nitrogen), help retain moisture and make it difficult for weeds to grow. Clippings break down quickly and disappear within a day or two.

Fertilize late April, early May. Fertilize your lawn before the first mowing of the season. Fertilizing on time keeps your lawn vibrant, your soil healthy, and promotes low maintenance during the months ahead. It's always best to fertilize after aerating your lawn.

As a low tech weed control, pour boiling water over weeds. The neighbors might think you're crazy, but in 2 or 3 days the plants will look like a herd of elephants walked over them.

Some consider it a last resort, but a weed burner torch is effective against dandelions and other perennial weeds.

Weeds, which often prefer poor, acidic soils don't like the good stuff. The same works for creeping charlie, dandelions, and other pesky weeds. Not only will they be less apt to take root in the first place, but when the soil is fluffy, they're easier to pull!

Is your lawn a little yellowish or brown during the Summer? Don't worry ... this is called ‘dormancy' and it's how your lawn protects itself against the heat. It's true ... so, when the weather turns hot and dry, let your lawn sleep. This means no watering, no mowing and no foot traffic. And don't worry ... your lawn will awaken soon enough.

Answer 3

Several good if disgusting liquid "tea" fertilizer recipes exist and can be readily found on the internet. As far as herbicides go, previous suggestions have some good ideas but make sure other plants (trees, shrubs and flowers) will not be impacted.

Example from Sierra Club:
http://www.sierraclub.org/e-files/fertilizer.asp

For gardens to grow, they need to be fertilized. Unfortunately, commercially available fertilizers are an unregulated product that may contain toxic wastes. Happily, you can easily make your own organic plant fertilizer "tea bag" -- and save some money at the same time.

To make the teabag, lay a double layer of cheesecloth on a bare patch of soil and place one or two cups of compost, aged manure, or slow-release organic fertilizer on it.

If you want to make your own organic fertilizer combination, use the following ingredients (all of which you should be able to buy in bulk at a farm supply or feed store; they'll keep for years if kept dry):

4 parts seed meal
1 part dolomite lime
1/2 part bone meal or 1 part soft rock phosphate
1/2 part kelp meal

Grab the four corners of the cheesecloth and bring them together, then twist and apply rubber band to make your "tea bag" of fertilizer.

Place the tea bag in the bucket, and fill with water and let it steep for a day or so.

When the tea is ready, remove the bag, and fill the bucket the rest of the way with clear water to dilute the tea. You can treat each of your plants to a cup or two of tea.

As a rule, underfeeding is better than overfeeding, and small regular feedings are better than occasional large ones.

Answer 4

Organic Weed And Feed

Answer 5

I cook strictly organic. To make your cake fun, you might try one of the cool Nordicware shaped pans-they come in so many fun shapes! I have every single one of them (you can get them on ebay or any kitchenwares specialty shop) They have castles, octopus (my favorite) race cars, trains, bugs, butterflies, etc-you name it! I make a terrific gluten free/vegan organic cake using whole grains, such as buckwheat, quinoa, and oat groats, which I grind into flour. I use a tapioca starch mixture in place of egg, and agave nectar as a sweetener-it gives a really unique, rich taste to the cake. In case you are wondering, even "normal" people RAVE about my cakes, since they have such an unusual flavor. I use organic chocolate chips to make a drizzle type frosting. If you would like the recipe, feel free to email me from my profile. No point posting it if its not what you are looking for. Otherwise, just use organic flour in place of white flour to make a standard cake. Either way, the shaped pans are a lot of fun, and usually my cakes are a conversation piece. Just check the search box on ebay for NORDICWARE CAKE PANS, and you should get an idea of what I am talking about. Happy birthday to hubby! Hope you both have a great time. Good gracious, that first answer really missed the mark. Organic with all that garbage in it, lol. Think something got lost in the translation.

Answer 6

I work for a citrus company in California. We use a fertilizer from Romeo's. You can check our their website or our website (www.fourwindsgrowers.com). I don't know if this fertilizer is organic though.

Answer 7

have your dog take a dump on the weeds, and spread horse or cow manure where you want to fertilize.

dog crap is highly acidic and will kill pretty much anything.