At Organic Lawn, we love bees and saving water.  We are constantly looking for creative ideas to help homeowners who share those common goals. Erica at The Little Shovel, a customer and friend who does regenerative, native plant driven landscape design, has a couple of projects we would like to share. The first one, out with the cookie cutter subdivision shrubs and in with the bee loving perennial beauties! Before: Two Small Shrubs, Rocks, Plastic Edge After: Mix of Native & Cultivar Plants, Mulch, Redwood Edge She replaced the run-of-the mill shrubs with Montana Native Maximillian ..read more

Our friend Dan and his wife Kristyn recently bought a home in Manhattan. The lawn was in rough shape…hardly a lawn at all. Dan and Kristyn have three dogs.  When it rained this “lawn” turned into a muddy mess, which soon was transported into the house by 12 lil muddy paws.  Dan wanted a thick, healthy lawn with NO mud, but also didn’t want to spend a small fortune on sod. The key to getting healthy perennial seed germination instead of annual weeds is balanced soil biology.  Annual weeds like a bacterial dominated soil while desirable perennial grasses, like our favorite lawn ..read more

We know, we know: you’re not supposed to hate. But it’s hard to find anything to like about Canada thistle. We can give it credit for being a pioneer species capable of recolonizing bare ground, but no one is thrilled to find it in their yards, especially if you like walking barefoot in your grass.   It can be tempting to reach for an herbicide after a thistle leaf stabs the sole of your foot for the umpteenth time, but it’s worth trying out some natural approaches to thistle control first. While some herbicides have proven marginally effective against thistle, they also decimate the micr ..read more

While we normally aren’t focused on killing at Organic Lawn, thistle is the WORST!  Canada thistle is a perennial noxious weed that is the bane of Montana organic food and lawn growers.  We recommend a holistic approach, focusing on growing thicker turf to outcompete thistle by mowing and watering properly only using organic fertilizer programs that encourage healthy soil life, build more top soil, and increase soil organic matter (aka soil carbon); and weed-wacking or pulling thistle patches adjacent to the lawn well before they can go to seed.  That said, Canada thistle has an ..read more

Spring is full of frenetic energy.  There is buzzing of Bees, melting of snow, and frantic homeowners trying to keep up with their yards.  Don’t get caught up in the hustle this year and make the classic mistake of spraying for weeds in the spring. Let’s start by addressing that term: “weed”.  It means, “a wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants.”  You could be a real hero at your next HOA meeting if you lovingly reminded your neighbors that Kentucky Bluegrass is the “weed,” not diverse and essential forbs and legumes. But I digre ..read more

Many of us weren’t around when our lawns were installed or planted. It’s unlikely that you were able to insist that your lawn installation was preceded by six inches of topsoil, much less make the call to plant native water-saving grass mixes. As a result, many of us are trying our damndest to manage Kentucky bluegrass that was laid on construction hardpan or dense clay. That’s a recipe for frustration and excessive water-usage anywhere, but, especially in this semi-arid and drought prone region. Bozeman recently declared a Stage 2 Drought Advisory. If you’re not already managing to minimize w ..read more

Since World War II, we have gotten our asses handed to us every time we have decided to declare war on something. Vietnam, Drugs, Terror, etc.  The War on Dandelions is no different.  For as long as I have been alive, and granted that’s only three decades, I have grown up in the Great Dandelion Offensive.  Every spring, we rally the troops, fill the spray tanks, and absolutely bombard the HECK out of those sunshine thugs with a cocktail of toxins.  We mow short to knock their heads off, trying to stop them from going to seed, sometimes even resorting to hand-to-hand combat ..read more

Everyone knows that if we eat healthy food, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep, have a healthy gut biome, and a generally low stress life, you are infinitely less susceptible to getting sick.  Trees and other landscaping are no different.  They need to be watered properly, planted in good soils, and have deep strong roots in a healthy soil microbial community. In urban areas, trees and landscaping are often fighting adverse, stressful conditions.  They may have been planted up against cement or a building, planted in construction hard pan, not native to this climate, or hav ..read more

Call Helena! Your lawn microbes may go dormant when it’s -13 degrees, but at Organic Lawn, we love to keep to keep the fire of change burning. Our new co-owner, Austin, and our friends at Regenerative Land Solutions and Grow Montana, are urging everyone to call their state representatives to support Pat Flowers’ SB 180. You can read the bill fact sheet here, look up your local rep here, and read Austin’s letter to the Bozeman Chronicle here. Thanks for helping make Montana the place we all want to live and we look forward to seeing you when the snow melts ..read more

As a child, I spent my springs playing little league baseball.  Outside of chewing bubble gum, swallowing sunflower seeds and putting my rally cap on, I wasn't exceptionally good.  I spent a lot of time in left field.  For those of you who have never seen a little league baseball game, I can tell you there is very little action in the outfield.  Any kid past shortstop is going to get bored. I, however, was never bored in the outfield.  I had tens, if not hundreds of bright yellow friends to keep me company.  During the long innings of our team’s terrible pitchers ..read more