Increasing Fertility with Minor Lawn Renovation

1. Aerate lawn with power aerator or foot aerator to break up thatch layer and allow nutrients to get to the roots easier.
2. Remove largest patches of weeds & moss with garden trowel, rake, or shovel.
3. Over-seed bare areas in existing lawn with Hendrikus Sun/Shade Turf Seed.   Make sure seed makes contact with soil.
4. Fertilize lawn with Hendrikus Seasons 8-0-4 at 10#’s per 1,000 sq.ft. or Hendrikus Nitrogen Plus 10-0-2 at 8#’s per 1,000 sq.ft.
5. Apply AxisDE (diatomaceous earth) to wettest areas in non-irrigated lawns and wettest and driest areas in irrigated lawns and rake or stiff broom into soil.
6. Spray HuMagic Liquid on lawn with a tank sprayer at 6oz – 8oz per thousand sq.ft.
7. Apply a light top dressing of mulch on bare areas in lawn to help hold in moisture for seed germination.
8. Lightly water lawn to dampen mulch and seed.   Keep seed moist with light afternoon watering for the first 7-10 days to promote germination.   Dry seed will not germinate.
9. Apply lime to raise pH 3 weeks after fertilization.   20#- 40# per 1,000 sq.ft.

Increasing Fertility with Full Lawn Renovation

1. Aerate lawn with power aerator to break up thatch layer and allow nutrients to get to the roots easier.
2. Remove any excess grass, moss, & thatch with rake or power rake (Dethatcher).
3. Remove all existing weeds with garden trowel, rake, or shovel.
4. Over-seed lawn with Hendrikus Sun/Shade Turf Seed at 8#’s per 1,000 sq.ft. Make sure seed makes contact with soil.
5. Fertilize lawn with Hendrikus Seasons 8-0-4 at 10#’s per 1,000 sq.ft. or Hendrikus Nitrogen Plus 10-0-2 at 8#’s per 1,000 sq.ft.
6. Apply AxisDE (diatomaceous earth) to entire lawn at 100#- 150# per thousand sq.ft. with a fertilizer spreader and rake or stiff broom into the soil.
7. Spray HuMagic Liquid on lawn with tank sprayer at 6oz – 8oz per thousand sq.ft.
8. Apply a light top dressing of mulch on bare/thin areas in lawn to help hold in moisture for seed germination.
9. Lightly water lawn to dampen mulch and seed bed.   Keep seed moist with light afternoon watering for the first 7-10 days to promote germination.   Dry seed will not germinate.
10. Apply lime to raise pH 3 weeks after fertilization.   20#- 40# per 1,000 sq.ft

• Physical properties of soils are the inorganic particles, organic materials, water and air. The size, shape and arrangement of the soil particles, including the space between them (called pore space) will directly affect the movement of air and water, and the nutrient and water availability for plant uptake.
• Chemical properties of the soils regulate the supply of nutrients for the plants. The balance of the chemical properties, in particular the calcium, magnesium, potassium and sulfur, help create soil energy. This energy promotes better soil structure and nutrient availability.
• Biological properties of the soil include the community of microorganisms that cycle the nutrients to the plants themselves, made available through the physical and chemical properties.

Additionally, the presence and quality of HUMATES, a vital and often overlookedcomponent to soil,dramatically affectsthe ability of all 3 of these properties to perform.

Our program of Building, Energizing and Feeding the Soil improves structure, improves soil energy, feeds soil microbiologyand utilizes the finest humates to promote optimum fertility, health and vitality in your soil and plants.

We have seen incredible results with the Triad, be it on new plantings, vegetable gardens, medicinal plants, orchards, ornamentals, trees, and any situation of plant stress or substandard soil conditions.

APPLICATION RATES:

Application is easy. Follow the rates as indicated on the Complete label, and apply the same amount on all three products.

One of our other organic fertilizers, Organobloom, Bouquet, or Seasons can be switched with Complete to target the type of plant you are feeding, be it acid loving plants such as tomatoes or blueberries, annuals and flowers, or turf. Application method is the same, follow the rate as indicated on the food source label.

The YMCA Sports Field was in trouble…..mostly dead grass and bare areas, when Hendrikus Organics sat down with the Park Manager to write up an organic program that would breathe life and lush green back into their field.

The plan started with using soil tests to confirm the field observations of a nutrient deficient sandy soil that would not retain water or fertilizers, with a low pH. A solid organic plan for revitalization was exactly what would provide stable nutrients and a much healthier turf.

The plan started by over-seeding the entire field with Hendrikus Turf Seed (70% Perennial Rye & 30% Fine Fescue), using an aerator/seeder to inject the seed into the field.

Fertilization and soil amending with Hendrikus Organics followed:

1. Spring Nitrogen 10-0-2 with organic nitrate to give instant food to the turf and start building up the nitrogen.
2. Soil Enhancer 2-13-0 to add natural phosphorus to the field for proper grass seed root growth.
3. Lime to raise the pH to our goal of 6.5.
4. Axis soil amendment to half of the field (for comparison), to provide pores in the soil to retain water and nutrients. This was the first of several applications that will over time reduce the water needed to keep the sports field green in the summer.

Watering schedule was adjusted to include afternoon start time to keep the seed damp so it could germinate.

The results are outstanding. After just 7 days the seed germinated throughout the field. After 2 weeks the new grass was filling in across the entire field in beautiful green. The YMCA Sports Field went from being dead and bare to alive and rich green in just 2 weeks.

Their ongoing program will include additional applications with Hendrikus Organics fertilizers to continue getting it healthier, greener and lusher. Another bonus to their switch to our organic food source, their turf grows slower and steadier, cutting down on their mowing.

Stunning Image of the Bitterroot Wildfire

“The image was captured in the late afternoon of Sunday, August 6, 2000 from a bridge over the East Fork of the Bitterroot River just north of Sula, Montana. The elk sought refuge in the river bottom during what may have been the most extreme day of fire behavior on the Bitterroot in more than 70 years. ” Origins: The year 2000 became one of the worst fire seasons in U.S. history.By the month of August over 4 million acres (an area greater in size than the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined) had been burned by wildfires, and dozens of blazes raged out of control in eleven western states, with nearly half of the conflagrations occurring in Idaho and Montana. By the end of summer, the Bitterroot fires had merged with other wildfires to consume more than 10,000 square miles (6,650,000 acres), a total area great than the state of Maryland.

The Bitterroot National Forest is a 1.6 million acre refuge that is breathtakingly beautiful and as with all forests regularly experiences moderate wildfires. However, the massive wildfires in 2000 were catastrophic to the forest’s ability to regenerate.

Those wildfires burned so hot, up to 800 degrees, that the forestry service’s standard methods of reclamation were producing no results. They called upon Hendrikus to use our organic methods on a trial area to see if we could regenerate the vegetation.

Heading out to Montana in May of 2002, Hendrikus brought his arsenal of regenerative tools to bring forest life back to the Bitterroot. Using custom blended compost tea, mycorrhizae, and Hendrikus Organic Fertilizers, he hydroseeded the test area and taught the Bitterroot team how to continue on this process.

Results were outstanding and the first new growth in the forest floors in 2 years began to sprout and flourish. After supplying the Bitterroot team with their own brewer for their ongoingcompost tea applications, to this day Hendrikus Organics continues to supply the Bitterroot with our organic fertilizers for forest reclamation annually.  The Bitterroot rapidly regenerates burned areas now using organic methods fostered by Hendrikus and our Hendrikus Organics life-enhancing fertilizers.

Click here for some stunning before and after images of the Bitterroot Reforestation Project showing revitalization of the forest floor.