Tips for Choosing Organic Landscape Supplies

First and foremost, we all love to keep our landscapes clean and healthy because they are the most comfortable spot in every home. A well-maintained landscape adds beauty to your home and also brings joy to the children and guests. However, you can create an eco-friendly environment to ensure the safety of you, family and friends. Creating an eco-friendly landscape in your home requires the use of organic landscape supplies. These organic products range from organic fertilizers to natural weed control which will guarantee you the safest and healthiest outdoor environment for your home. Below are a few benefits of using organic supplies on your landscape;

PROTECTION - Organic landscape products are less harmful to the environment. They are not toxic or made with chemicals like that of an inorganic product. These organic landscape products work by nature. For example, chemicals like pesticides contain dangerous chemicals that can kill pests and when they are not kept well after usage or discarded correctly. They can cause serious health problems to family and even pets. However, the natural way of killing pests in your lawn or outdoor environment includes homemade organic sprays and concoction.

ENHANCES THE HEALTH OF YOUR LANDSCAPE - Inorganic landscape supplies like pesticides and insecticides offer a faster means of killing weeds and pests on your landscape. However, they come with a lot of damaging side effects for your environment. When you make use of organic supplies, there would not be a need for applying chemicals on your landscape, and this will enhance its health. Healthy soil has an active population of earthworms, fungi, bacteria, and microorganisms. These living things help to aerate the soil, reduce soil-borne pathogens and harmful bacteria. They also provide a host of micronutrients essential for growing landscape.

So using organic products in your landscape will bring more advantages than disadvantages to your home. But how do you know which organic product would be the right choice for your outdoor environment? Here are tips for choosing organic landscape supplies;

TEST YOUR SOIL (THE NUTRIENTS AND PH LEVELS) - Before you think of purchasing any landscape supplies, you need to check your soil's nutrients and know what nutrients it would need to flourish. You can do-it-yourself by using testing kits to figure out the type of nutrients your soil contains and the ones it doesn't. If you do not want to make use of the DIY testing kits, you can look for universities or nurseries that offer soil tests. A good soil test will show you the levels of elements like nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and lime. Conducting soil tests each year would you know what type of organic landscape supply to use for your outdoor environment.

CHECK THE SORT OF WEEDS GROWING IN YOUR LANDSCAPE - While testing your soil's nutrients and PH levels, you should also check for the type of weeds growing on your landscape. These unwanted plants can indicate the problems affecting your outdoor environment. And even though you remove them, they will still eventually regrow again if you don't address the underlying issues of your soil. When there are too many plantains growing in your landscape, then this indicates heavily compacted clay soil while dandelions can indicate an excess of magnesium (you can try using calcium-rich products to address this particular problem). Violets and creeping Charlie can be as a result of poorly drained soil that holds onto moisture, and Queen Anne's Lace wild carrot plants grow exceedingly in an alkaline environment. Weeds help to show the different problems that need your attention, and this will help you to know the right organic landscape supply to utilize.

RESEARCH YOUR COUNTRY'S ORGANIC CERTIFICATIONS AND LABELS - Check your country's organizations that evaluate the natural contents of landscape products. So do some research on these organizations and their standards for certifications. For example, in the US, organic products may be certified through the USDA program. While in Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) controls and manages natural products. When buying organic landscape products, make sure to check for the labels that indicate they are certified. Because some companies brand their products as organic, but in reality, they only contain few natural ingredients.

PREPARE YOUR LANDSCAPE - If you are using herbicides and pesticides on your landscape, then endeavor to follow the instructions when applying them to the soil. These fertilizers need a bit more effort to be effective. Before spreading your natural fertilizer, mow back the grass of your landscape to about two inches and pull up weeds and remove any dead grass or roots. Also, aerate your soil if you find out that it is low in microorganisms because an aerated soil will absorb the fertilizer and nutrients better. You can browse for a more detailed explanation.

Going organic is unique. It brings more benefits to your home than that of an inorganic or artificial lawn care product. Not only do natural landscape supplies enhance your landscape’s health but it also makes your outdoor environment eco-friendly.