What's the difference between organic and regular lawn treatments?

"The organic product we use is granular pellets made from processed, pasteurized poultry litter, so it's environmentally sound and safe.

"Most organic fertilizers are more well balanced than normal fertilizers because they're produced from living organisms and contain all the nutrients a plant needs, including those needed in smaller supply like iron, copper and zinc.

"Regular fertilizer mostly contains significant amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, which are the three main nutrients a lawn needs to stay healthy.

"Organic fertilizer is more expensive and it has a smaller concentration of these nutrients in each bag, so you have to put down more to have the same effect, and we have to charge more for it.

"We price by the size of the lawn to be treated, so it's best to get an estimate. Our minimum charge is $38 per treatment and a full program usually consists of up to seven applications throughout the year.

"Organic treatments are also strictly fertilizer. If you're going with organic lawn care, your lawn will have some weeds, because you can't kill them without chemicals.

"You also won't have the grass monoculture you might be used to seeing with a very clean lawn. There are also no organic fungicides to treat disease, and no organic insecticides to eliminate pests.

"As far as maintaining a green color, we can get the lawn the same color with an organic fertilizer as we can with our normal fertilizers, although it might take longer.

"It's not as efficient in the short term, but organic fertilizer releases its nutrients more steadily over time, which means they'll help the plant longer.

"Organic methods can also be safer for homeowners to apply because there's no risk of it burning or killing the lawn if it's spilled or overapplied.

"With proper watering and mower height, and a thick healthy lawn, you can prevent a lot of weeds. The majority of our area's grass is Bermuda, but because we're in a transitional climate zone, we also have a lot of fescue grass.

"For Bermuda grasses, you want to mow at a height of 2 inches or less, and fescues should be mowed at 3 to 4 inches.

"The mowing height matters because if mowed properly, the turf should be able to shade out weeds, making control easier.

"When it comes to watering, you don't want to water every day for 10 minutes. You should water about once a week for about an hour. That encourages the roots to grow deeper down into the soil. That way it can ride out the dry periods."