By Doug Oster

May 12, 2021

It’s hard to imagine even one more little plant could be squeezed into the lush landscape created by Chris Kosin and Josh Koshar. This stunning city garden in Lawrenceville is a work of art. I actually tripped on the sidewalk, mesmerized by the plantings, not paying attention to where my feet were going. Hopefully, my misstep went unnoticed.

You can’t help but smile when entering this overflowing garden. Pots filled with a bald cypress tree and other plants wait patiently for their gardeners to conjure up planting space somewhere.

The pair has spent three years transforming the old house, surrounded by rubble, into an urban paradise called Hallowed Ground Homestead. In 10-months they renovated the house and planted the garden.

“The maintenance is all in the art of trying to jam it all in there,” Kosin says proudly. “Trying to get the most out of the space.”

He’s inspired by Ruth Stout and others’ no-fuss gardening style. To convert the rock, gravel, clay, brick, stone area into a fertile and lovely garden, a layer of clean cardboard was laid down and then covered with three to four inches of compost.

“You can plant it that day,” Kosin says smiling. Over time compost is added to amend the soil.

He has gardened since childhood, his first gardening memory is of a plant given to him by his grandmother, who named it “Tommy Tomato.” Kosin has gardened just about every place he has lived over the years, and like most gardeners, it was a journey of discovery through trial and error.

“I learned how to do things the absolute wrong way,” he says laughing.

Although his partner Koshar enjoys the planting, it’s the design aspect of gardening which interests him — cooking all the great stuff from their prolific vegetable garden too. “He grows it,” Koshar says of Kosin, “and I cook whatever it is.”

The deck is covered in flats filled with deep green vegetable seedlings, annuals and perennials, which the couple will either give away or sell as a way to fund the creation of a garden at West Penn Hospital, where Kosin works. Proceeds are also donated to Grow Pittsburgh.

(The West Penn Hospital garden is in the planning stages. The idea is to convert 12,000 square foot space into a garden to help the community.)

For now, the pair grow countless flats in the basements but fantasize about building a greenhouse on the property.

Why give the seedlings away?

“They are either going to go to someone who can use them, or eventually they are going to go into the compost,” Kosin says of the plants. “I want to feed people, and teach people as much as possible. Cost shouldn’t be a factor.” If you can, they’ll take a donation, but it’s not required.

“People are far more generous than I would have ever thought”, Koshar added. “Because they realize we’re not doing it to make a lot of profit.”

When talk turns to the tomato seedlings they love, the couple’s eyes light up and the first variety mentioned is ‘Costoluto Genovese,’ an Italian heirloom that Kosin describes as a “ribbed, red, juicy, a really full-flavored tomato that doesn’t crack.” They love the sweet orange cherry ‘Sungold,’ even know it’s prone to cracking. The famous heirloom ‘Paul Robeson,’ named for the black singer and political activist, has a tasty, almost smokey flavor, according to Kosin.

‘Garden Peach’ has a soft layer of fuzz around the fruit and ‘Yellow Pear’ is even sweeter than ‘Sungold,’ the couple added.

There’s the gnarly yellow tomato, found years ago during May Market at Phipps. They saved the seed. It’s another favorite for its low acid, taste and huge size.

“You almost need to use two hands to hold it,” exclaims Kosin.

As canning has become a pandemic staple, ‘Amish Paste’ and ‘Hungarian Heart’ lead the pack for a big meaty tomato to preserve.

The interview comes to a screeching halt as the two announce they don’t have to battle deer. But continues, as they lament the groundhogs, a rabbit who enjoys their mustard greens and sparrows who are only interested in spring pea shoots.

Anyone who grows figs would be jealous, as their plants are already filled with early fruit. When that happens it’s called the breba crop, which means there’s a possibility of a second crop of figs at the end of the season.

It took 16 garbage cans filled with leaves and the trees wrapped in burlap and plastic for winter hibernation. They even put holiday lights around them for a little extra warmth. “Those are Christmas figs,” Koshar would tell friends.

“The biggest thing for me has been the unexpected response from the community,” he says of the garden. “People literally light up when they pass the garden. It’s really brought a neat community, young and old, a really diverse group of people together.”

This garden invites you in, and if you can get these two to stand still for more than a minute, you might leave with a few plants, some sage garden advice and possibly a couple of new friends.

Kosin laughs as he talks about this inviting space.

“The next thing you know our neighbors are poking around in your backyard stealing herbs from you.” Of course, they are welcome, as these gardeners love to share. He pauses for a moment, reflecting on the garden and quietly saying, “This has been my therapy.”

At every turn, there is another gardening treasure. A container is filled with pansies and violas along with unique luminescent lewisia blooms. A large laughing garden statue, low to the ground, welcomes visitors to the back garden, a gift from Koshar’s father.

Near the deck, an unusual, pretty dogwood tree is filled with pink and white blooms standing guard over the soft leaves of lamb’s ears. There’s even a dawn redwood for God’s sake, behind the compost bin.

This account barely scratches the surface of what’s planted in this urban garden.

On the edge of the vegetable garden are vigorous ‘Fairfax’ strawberries flowering. It’s another variety Kosin learned about through the late Ruth Stout’s garden writing and continues to swear by. “I had a hell of a time finding that one,” he says with a proud smile.

Sitting on the deck on a cool spring afternoon, Koshar explains a little bit about what working in the garden means to him.

“I think it grounds you,” he explains. “The weather, the lifecycles, plants, you can’t trick them. They are either going to work or they are not going to work. They like what they like. You kind of know what a plant needs. It keeps you paying attention to things like the weather, the sky, the birds, the seasonality, the frost dates.”

For Kosin, he echoes his partner’s sentiments, especially about the connection he feels with their ever-expanding community.

“The giving part of it — growing the seedlings, sharing seeds with people, sharing produce with people. It’s a cool thing,” he says. “It brings a lot of people into your life. It’s more than just the gardening and the plants.”

As the afternoon fades and the cold finally works its way from fingers and toes inward, it’s Koshar who sums up a feeling just about every gardener can understand. 

“There are also those really wonderful calming moments of sitting on the front porch with coffee in the morning and watching the dew on the plants,” he says. “All the flowers have that glow and shimmer to them. Those are the best moments. Unless you live in a garden you can’t really explain it.”

Kosin and Koshar are presenting a garden workshop in their home garden on May 16 from 2 – 4 p.m. “Growing with your Garden,” focuses on vegetable gardening in small spaces. The details can be found on their Instagram and Facebook pages.

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Watch the show here.

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May 5, 2021

When I posted a picture of my pearl bush (Exochorda) in full bloom on my Facebook page, Karen Tarr commented, “OMG, I have one blooming in honor of my mom, whose name was Pearl. Love the bush.”

I reached out to Tarr, to find out the details and learned there was so much more than just that one plant in her garden, planted to remember love ones.

It was a decade ago when she and her husband Dick began to search for something to plant in memory of her mother. Karen knew right where the plant should go, near the driveway where it would on display every day.

The couple often shop at Snavely’s Garden Corner, near their home in Chambersburg, Pa.

“They have great service, she says, you can ask them anything.” When Dick stumbled onto the pearl bush, they had plenty of questions for owner Chris Snavely about the culture of the plant.

The planting site had morning sun until 11 a.m. and then shade. Snavely gave the couple a rundown of the plant and they left the nursery to go home and plant.

“I was still working,” Tarr says. “Every time I’d come in, I would see it, every time I would leave, I would see it. Kind of like saying, hi mom, goodnight mom.” It was reminiscent of their life together. Tarr would call her mother every morning at 5:30, checking on her before work and then often call in the evening too. “Kind of like when you were a kid, you’d see your mom every day, she says of the shrub.

The plant has not only survived by thrived, it’s certainly special while in bloom, but is a reminder of her mother year-round.

“She had a big heart and helped a lot of people. Davis worked at a school cafeteria and loved the children,” her daughter said. “When we sit on my front porch, I get to see it bloom,” she said happily.

The pearl bush is an unusual plant that you don’t see that often in the landscape. The neighbors came over to check out the unique shrub and were amazed at the special meaning it had for the family.

“Everybody in the neighborhood just loved it,” she says proudly. “It’s for my mom, and everyone thought that was such a neat idea.”

Her childhood fascination with stargazing continues, as she shares evenings looking skyward with the pearl bush next to her.

Her late father Garnet Davis has also inspired the plantings in the garden. Tarr moved irises from their family home, they bloom in purple, lavender and yellow. She has embraced native plants in the garden too, by adding pretty purple wood irises which also remind Tarr of her father.

Spruce trees throw their seeds throughout the garden, sprouting wherever they are happy. They conjure childhood memories for her.

“As a kid, we wouldn’t buy a Christmas tree, we would go into the woods and cut one willy nilly,” she says with a chuckle.

Tarr moved one of the seedlings when it a sapling, now it’s nearly five feet tall, growing right outside her window.

“I’m just so happy, she says, I’m going to decorate it for Christmas. That’s the type of tree we had in our house because it was free.”

Her mother-in-law’s peonies were transplanted before her property was sold and now bloom annually in her garden.

“I always get purple petunias,” Tarr says. “My mother-in-law loved purple.” She liked portulaca too, so the couple always buys portulaca in her memory.

A hydrangea was planted at her childhood home, now there is also one in her garden.

“We always had one outside of my front door when I was a kid,” says Tarr. “We called them snowball bushes.”

She’s finding a space for a spirea bush which also was part of the landscape when she was growing up. Trumpet vines climb on a fence away from the house as another reminder of childhood.

Mae Davis was Tarr’s beloved grandmother who never wore perfume in favor of a little bit of Avon’s Lily of The Valley Cream Sachet behind her ears.

“It was kind of overwhelming,” Tarr says with a laugh.

She planted a small pot of lily of the valley, which has spread around the house and is blooming now.

“I always cut them and bring them in the house because they remind me of my grandmother,” she added quietly about the sweet fragrance. “She never wore trousers — always in her little dress and apron. I can just see her sitting on her porch when we would go visit her on Sundays,” Tarr says affectionately.

When thinking about the pearl bush, wondering what her mother’s reaction would be, she says, “I think my mom would love the fact we bought it for her, and I didn’t kill it,” Tarr said laughing.

This year she pruned it a little late and the blooms aren’t quite as spectacular as they’ve been in the past. “I think she would say, ‘you pruned it at the wrong time, Karen!’”

“I’ll do better next year,” she said, just like she was responding to her mom. Then, after thinking for a moment, Tarr added, “She would have approved.”

The post Tribute to Pearl With a Pearl Bush: A Memorial Garden to Honor Loved Ones appeared first on Doug Oster.

Mark Honess has property in Cranberry that’s going to be sold and converted into townhouses or some type of development. He want’s people to come dig the daffodils and take them to a good home.

Just text Mark at this number and he’ll work out the details for you to get the bulbs, 412-389-7487.

I hope all these daffodils get saved and are enjoyed by their new owners from decades to come.

I recommend digging clumps, and doing everything possible to keep the foliage in tact. Dig some nice sized planting holes and gently tease them apart. Replant with the foliage in a mostly sunny spot and you should get blooms the next spring.

The post Free “You Dig” daffodils appeared first on Doug Oster.

I’ve been friends with John Wassel of Jeannette in Westmoreland County for quite a while now. He wants to help people and loves to grow plants. He’s got way more than he can use.

This is one of the reasons I love gardeners, they have big hearts. John donates most of his plants to lots of worthy causes. He grows thousands of seedlings in his greenhouse. “95 percent of what I grow is heirlooms,” he told me. Some were actually brought from Italy.

I wrote about John back in 2018 when I was still with Everybody Gardens. He told a wonderful story about Uncle Punzo, who taught him to garden. You can read the original story here.

John wants to share some of his plants and knowledge, especially with new gardeners. “You don’t need a 20 by 20 foot garden, he says, you can plant next to the house or on the patio.”

He’s got tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, other greens and much more, but wants the plants to go to gardeners who need them. “I’ll leave them out for them, with their names on the plants in April or May,” he added.

This season he spent $180 on seeds and asks people who are able to help his seed fund with a small donation if possible. “I don’t want people to think I’m selling plants though,” he says. “I just want to make new gardeners happy.” Be honest, if you need the plants and can’t donate, no problem, but if you have a little extra, John is an honorable person and will use the money the right way.

Contact John Wassel at jabud2@aol.com to find out what plants he has and which varieties you’d be interested in.

“I want to be able to inspire people to garden. For them to have a fresh tomato, lettuce, or a frying pepper.”

The post Free plants from Jeannette gardener appeared first on Doug Oster.

Their annual spring plant sale is amazing and it’s one of the ways they support the important programs at Angora. It’s the only place you will find plants for the 3945 tomato. It was originally found on the battlefield during WWII, and then grown out locally for decades. Here’s the story of how the tomato was discovered. They also have a rare tomato I offered a couple of years ago called Clint Eastwood Rowdy Red, which also has a wonderful story. There are also beautiful looking tithonia or Mexican sunflower plants. It’s one of my favorite, easy to grow pollinator plants.

That’s just scratching the surface, there are flowers, vegetables herbs and more. The event was Saturday May 1st, 2021 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Angora Gardens is located at 3 Muse Lane in White Oak, Pa. If you didn’t make it on Saturday there’s curbside pickup while supplies last after the sale from May 3 through May 8. Call 412-675-8556 for more information.

Check out this amazing list of plants on their order form. You can email your order if you cannont attend on Saturday, but there’s no guarantee of plant availability. Email orders will be filled after the in person sale You can use this address.

The post Angora Gardens Spring Plant Sale continues this week. 3945 tomato plants available appeared first on Doug Oster.

It’s a place for gardeners to trade with each other. Bring divisions from your garden to swap, be sure plants are labelled and please don’t bring anything invasive.
I’ll also have lots of ‘Limbaugh Legacy Potato Top’ tomato plants to pass out while supplies last. One plant of each per family please. BE THERE AT 11 a.m., IT’S CRAZY!

The Limbaugh Legacy tomato is a huge, pink beefsteak that’s been grown in the Pittsburgh area for generations. I ask gardeners to grow out the plant and send me some seeds back to keep the program going.

Here’s how I found the ‘Limbaugh Legacy Potato Top’ tomato-

We meet lots of people over the years. Some come and go, but others always hold a place in our hearts. Fred Limbaugh was one of those special people.

I first met Fred on a warm day in the spring of 2000. After reading about my love of heirloom tomatoes, he was compelled to call and tell me about the tomato his family had grown for generations, ‘Potato Top.’ He invited me over to pick up a couple of plants to try.

“They’re the best-tasting tomato you’ll ever eat,” he bragged.

I listened with interest as he talked about the plant he loved and had given away to friends and family for years. Once they grew ‘Potato Top,’ they were hooked, said Fred, who didn’t even like to eat tomatoes but grew them for everyone else.

Over the years, Fred and I became good friends. We would visit at his home in Robinson, and on hot days he would offer me a cold beer but never drank one himself. We talked about gardening, his love of the outdoors, his beloved German shepherds and how he was getting along in his 80s.

Together, the two of us would walk down a steep embankment in his back yard to his cold frames filled with deep green tomato plants; they had thick stems and sometimes were covered in bright yellow blossoms. As he got older, he couldn’t get down there anymore. It was even hard for me to navigate, and I was 40 years younger.

Years ago, I started giving away the seeds of ‘Potato Top’ with the condition that gardeners send me some seeds at the end of the season so I would have more the next year to keep the program going. I wanted everyone to taste it and hoped that by sharing the seed, we could guarantee the survival of this tomato with potato-like foliage for a long time. Every year the project grew, expanding from Western Pennsylvania to other states and eventually to many other countries. One summer, I got 140,000 seeds back from readers all over the world.

Fred was never one for the limelight. As ‘Potato Top’ became more and more popular, he would call me and say with a laugh, “I never thought one phone call would turn into this.”

One time his daughters brought him to North Park, where I was giving away the plants. Wanting to recognize Fred for starting the whole project, I tried to make an announcement. But Fred wouldn’t hear of it, and in an instant he was gone, slipping away so he wouldn’t be noticed.

His health took a turn for the worse several years ago. When I went to visit him at a nursing home, he was figuring out a way to grow tomatoes on a windowsill so he could still provide plants for everyone who asked.

That was the year I started growing plants for him, as many as I could in my little home greenhouse. They never looked as good as Fred’s; he just had a knack for getting nice stocky, healthy transplants. Eventually, I turned the job over to friends at Soergel Orchards, who were able to produce quality plants.
Several years ago, Fred passed away at 86. He was out for dinner the night before with his family and then was gone early the next morning.

I always felt we were kindred spirits whose love of gardening transcended the boundaries of age. I’ll never forget that first day we met when he gave me two large plants, their roots surrounded with newspaper.

In memory of Fred and with the blessing of his family, I’ve renamed the tomato ‘Limbaugh’s Legacy Potato Top.’ For decades to come, I hope gardeners will search the name of the tomato and rediscover its origins. They’ll learn about a wonderful man who wanted nothing but to share a big, meaty pink tomato with some friends. Little did he know that he would be sharing it with thousands of strangers, too. That always made him feel good, to know so many people were enjoying the tomato.

I miss that old guy and always will think of him as I sit at home filling seed envelopes and giving away plants. It feels good knowing that his name will always be linked to a family heirloom that will live on in gardens around our area and the world.

The post 18th Annual Doug Oster Plant Swap and Gardening Hullabaloo 5/23/21 at Soergels 11am appeared first on Doug Oster.

I’ve got one filled with seeds right now at Hahn Nursery in Ross. I’d like you to go and get some seeds to see how the box works. If you have suggestions, let me know.

The nursery is located at 443 Babcock Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237.

There’s also a secret compartment filled with some rare tomato seeds to entice you. There are some really interesting tomato varieties in there. You’ll be able to find the compartment.

Let me know what you think by emailing me at dougoster@comcast.net.

The post Testing for Doug’s Free Seed Shack at Hahn Nursery appeared first on Doug Oster.

HERE’S A SAFE PLANTING SCHEDULE TO FOLLOW MOVING FORWARD

By Doug Oster

April 7, 2021

On my mature tree, the buds held their color as long as they could but they eventually lost their beautiful hue, transforming to a dull and disappointing brown, frozen as temperatures dipped to the 20s.

I wasn’t alone. On my Facebook page, many gardeners lamented the loss of their magnolia flowers. It’s nothing new, and it happens every several years — but that doesn’t make it any easier. Like those buds, we’ll all wait patiently until this time next year, hoping for a tree covered in flowers.

As the forecast worsened, questions abounded about what to do: cover, protect, pray? My answers were always the same. Anything out in the garden that is supposed to be there doesn’t get covered — they are on their own as far as I’m concerned.

Yes, the daffodils drooped, tulips looked awful, small flowering bulbs like corydalis were bent under snow, but covering them would have done more damage than good, in my opinion, unless expertly done.

Two days later, sans magnolia, the garden is thriving again. Daffodils, tulips and other spring bulbs are on the rebound. Sprouting peas, radishes and leafy greens laughed at the cold weather, not missing a beat.

For newer gardeners especially, the spring garden is filled with fear and frustration. Although veterans still feel the pain, experience tells us, when one thing fails, another will persist.

For spring bulbs, perennials, trees and shrubs already in place, what happens to them is out of our control. But when it comes to planting many other plants, timing is everything.

My gardening mantra was repeated again for this story about how to garden and it comes into play again today. It goes like this — improve the soil, know when the plants go in the ground and don’t let them dry out and you’ll have the start to a successful garden.

It is that second part, about when to plant, that comes into play right now.

Another week of 70 degrees sends the uninformed masses to box stores packed with flats of tender plants, but lacking the information needed to stop newbies from planting tomatoes, peppers, impatiens and others before they should be out in the garden.

If you see someone yelling, waving their arms and jumping up and down near that store, it’s probably me warning gardeners their plants are in peril.

Buy your plants at a good nursery, staffed with friendly, knowledgeable people who WANT to hear your questions. You’ll get plants that have been cared for properly and might even meet a few characters in the process.

Another piece of advice from this old man, take your time when looking for plants, as it should be fun. Fantasize about the sting of a hot pepper, texture of an heirloom tomato or beauty of flowers on a full-grown plant at the end of the season. They should be planted in the garden when the soil and air warm-up, usually in the middle of May.

As a people watcher, it saddens me to see people rush through a good garden center. There are wonders and fascinating treasures to be discovered in the corners and back areas of nurseries.

It will get cold again, it always does and tender plants will struggle or die before then. Every year I meet a young couple who feel like they have a brown thumb after losing all or part of their garden to frost.

If you’re so inclined to try and beat the system and get warm weather plants in the ground during cold weather, just get a couple of things to experiment with. Don’t risk your entire garden hoping the stars will align, as they rarely do.

Celebrating the success of a few plants is always much more fun than replanting the entire garden.

In gardening there is always hope too, I continue to look up to the top of that magnolia as the days have warmed up, hoping that maybe a few buds survived to unfurl.

Doug’s General Planting Guide for Western Pennsylvania or zones 5/6

Direct sow vegetable seeds in the garden or containers in April

Lettuce

Other greens

Radish

Carrot

Beets

Swiss Chard

Peas

Turnips

Onions

Kale

Spinach

Transplant vegetable seedlings to the garden or containers in April

Lettuce

Other Greens

Beets

Swiss Chard

Turnips

Onions (plants or sets)

Cole crops (cabbage, broccoli, kale, etc.)

Spinach

Plants for transplanting into the garden or containers in April

Pansies

Perennials

Shrubs

Trees

Vegetables direct sowed in the garden in mid-May Beans

Cucumbers

Other vine crops

Beets

Carrots

Swiss chard

Lettuce

Other greens

Vegetable/flower seedlings transplanted into the garden in mid-May (Check the weather for possible frost before planting)

Tomatoes

Peppers

Lettuce

Other greens

Annual/tender flowers

Doug Oster writes a weekly column for The Green Voice Weekly Newsletter. He also the host of The Organic Gardener Radio Show every Sunday morning at 7 a.m. on KDKA radio 1020AM. 

The post Surprise Spring Cold Snap Tested Pittsburgh Gardens appeared first on Doug Oster.

STOP BELIEVING “THE GREAT LAWN LIE”

It takes a lot for me to jump up on my soapbox when it comes to organic gardening. Usually, it’s a diplomatic tone used, when explaining the benefits of a chemical-free landscape. When the ads touting a weed-free lawn doused in pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers start appearing — usually with beautifully composed shots of children playing on a lawn drenched in all three — my blood boils.

It gets old for my wife when I start yelling at the television or computer screen, but the anger is driven by the fact people have been brainwashed by Madison Avenue to think having a beautiful yard, means spending their hard-earned cash on a litany of products that can have such a negative effect on our environment.

I call it “The Great Lawn Lie.” The truth is, nothing can outgrow grass when it’s happy. That’s why we try so hard to prevent it from invading our vegetable garden and flower beds.

How We Came to Love Perfect Lawns

It was during the dawn of the suburbs that the lawn became part of our cultural lexicon. At first, grass seed was sold as a mixture, and it included clover. It was a brilliant idea, as the clover forms a symbiotic relationship with the grass. Clover does something called nitrogen fixing. The plant can make nitrogen available to the grass, obviously helping it grow.

Anyone old enough to remember running barefoot across those “quilted” lawns and stepping on a honey bee feeding on clover, will understand what I’m talking about. The yard wasn’t just a monoculture of perfectly manicured grass, it was filled with all sorts of other plants and no one cared. It was green and beautiful.

At some point, a marketing genius figured out the best way to sell the big three lawn chemicals was convincing suburban homeowners of extreme prejudice toward clover and that all the other plants, too, were invaders and needed to be stopped.

A Brief History of Herbicide

It was the introduction 2-4-D, an herbicide that could be applied to broadleaf plants which especially made the job easy. The thin blades of grass were unaffected as amateur “yardeners” happily spread the chemicals all over the lawn in an effort to quell these noxious weeds. Add a liberal dose of fertilizer to emulate the fairway of a golf course and then pesticides to kill anything that might threaten the precious plants and the rest of the weekend was for cooking out.

Homeowners were hooked, literally. Without a dose of all three, their lawn would go into withdrawal, and the soil life was detrimentally affected by the synthetic products. There was not much left to support the grass, so it was another trip to the store for another round to keep the color and texture just right.

By the way, 2-4-D is one of the ingredients of Agent Orange — an herbicide used during the Vietnam War which has been causing problems for veterans ever since.

“This is what you’re going to let your kids play on? These are the things you want washing downstream into our rivers?”

As I deliver my fire and brimstone sermon from said soapbox, I explained a much safer and, in my opinion, better way to have an awesome lawn. But like anything worth doing, it’s not without some challenges and it won’t happen overnight.

How to Grow Great Organic Grass

It’s all about creating an environment for grass to thrive.

Step 1: Testing Your Soil

The first step is to get a soil test, your local county extension will have one that’s the most accurate and is also inexpensive. It involves taking soil samples and sending them off to the extension lab. The results will give you a scientific basis to get the pH and fertility back to optimum levels.

Those numbers will be accompanied by information on how to apply organic products to get everything right.

It’s going to take a few seasons to get everything working perfectly, but it’s worth it. Not only for pets, kids and others at your house, but everyone living downstream too.

Step 2: Choose an Organic Fertilizer

When it comes to improving fertility, Western Pennsylvania homeowners and others have a great, inexpensive resource called ReVita fertilizer from Ohio Earth Foods. These pellets are basically dehydrated chicken manure and available locally from Hahn Nursery and the Pittsburgh Agway Stores. I’m sure there are other retailers and there are many different great organic, granular fertilizers that would work if you couldn’t find the ReVita.

As the lawn is being improved and the soil comes back to life, it will get easier as everything under the ground will help the grass grow.

Step 3: Lawn Care

Keep the grass long, three and a half inches or more, this will help shade weeds. Be sure to sharpen the mower blade annually — this assures the grass is cut, not torn, which benefits the health of the turf. Water in the morning when rain is scarce and soak the lawn, not just sprinkle the area. A deep watering once a week, if we don’t get rain, will force the roots deeper, making the grass more resilient when the summer heat arrives.

Step 4: Grass Clippings Are Great

Leave the grass clippings on the lawn as long as they are not forming a mat. They make excellent compost as they decompose and do not create thatch. In fact, an organic lawn rarely has any issue with thatch build-up. In the fall, rent a machine called an aerator. I like to share the cost with a neighbor. The machine will take thumb-sized plugs out of the soil which reduces compaction and allows fertilizer and water to get down to the root zone easily.

Step 5: How to Prevent Crabgrass Organically

There is an organic weed and feed called corn gluten meal. It’s a great crabgrass preventer as it stops seeds from completing the germination process. The product is benign to us and is the product of the corn milling process. It can be purchased in two forms which are ground differently. When bought from the garden center, corn gluten meal will go through a spreader. When bought as livestock food from a feed store, it’s applied by hand but is usually less expensive. The key to using it is timing. It must be applied before the weed seeds sprout, our indicator for that is when the yellow forsythia shrubs begin to bloom. Wait too long and it’s useless, as the seeds sprout. It’s applied in the spring and then again in the fall around September.

Corn gluten meal works on all seeds, not just weed seeds. For overseeding, wait at least six weeks after an application of the organic product.

Step 6: Maintain Your Lawn

Adding fresh seed annually to the lawn helps too. The new plants are more vigorous than what’s been there for years.

Step 7: Learn to Love A Bit Of Healthy Variety

As an aside, did you know that dandelions are one of the most nutritious plants on the planet? Every part is edible except the seed head. The flowers are a great food source for a multitude of pollinators and are beautiful. They are only reviled because gardeners have bought into the Great Lawn Lie.

Find a safe patch of emerging dandelions — an area that has not been sprayed by chemicals or the family pet. Pinch the center greens from a plant, and see what you think.

They are traditionally prepared with bacon grease, so you get the best of both worlds: healthy dandelions and tasty bacon.

Don’t Believe You Can Improve Your Lawn Without Chemicals?

There are organic lawns thriving all over the country. In Pittsburgh, a drive-by Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden’s extensive organic lawn should convince anyone that this can be done by following these simple steps.

A chemical-free lawn will be beautiful, but safe to use as a play space and best of all, walk barefoot through the pretty green blades. Just be sure to tiptoe around those honey bees.

Doug will be teaching four free virtual organic gardening classes every Thursday at 4:30 p.m., beginning on March 25. The classes will cover indoor and outdoor seed sowing, composting, soil amendments, organic pest and disease management, gardening with children and much more. Classes sponsored by Farm to Table of Western Pennsylvania. For details and registration information go to dougoster.com

Doug Oster writes a weekly column for The Green Voice Weekly Newsletter. He also the host of The Organic Gardener Radio Show every Sunday morning at 7 a.m. on KDKA radio 1020AM. 

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