LENNA HIMMELSTEIN | KITSAP SUN file photo Nick Penovich opens a bag filled with a mixture of organic and inorganic material that he uses in place of pesticides to help combat weeds and create a greener lawn for his clients.

By Ann Lovejoy | Sustainable gardening
Kitsap Sun - October 5, 2006

Tired of constantly weeding and feeding the lawn? Ready to try something easier? Luckily, the maritime Northwest is a pioneering development center for safe and simple natural lawn care.

Nick Penovich, owner of The Lawn Jockey, is a local expert on natural care for lawns. Nick studies with innovators all over the country, learning about new developments in soil science.

He also invents and builds his own equipment and brews his own liquid organic solutions. Fortified with proprietary biotic blends, his fertilizers build better soils and improve both root systems and top growth.

One happy Lawn Jockey customer with 25,000 feet of turf could only find three broadleaf weeds after Nick’s treatments. The secret, Nick says, is balance: "If you get your soil nutrients in balance, you won’t have a weed problem."

For instance, excessive amounts of clover (a natural nitrogen fixer) reveal a soil nitrogen deficiency, while calcium imbalance promotes the proliferation of dandelions and red sorrel.

Though he may occasionally spot-treat with safe herbicides, Nick can usually adjust soil micro-nutrients to force weeds out. He suggests that one easy way to eliminate certain weeds is to use a mulching mower.

"Potassium and nitrogen levels go up when mulching lawn mowers are used, so quite a few weeds just vanish," he explains.

"The most important fertilizing time is fall," Nick finds, because so much root growth occurs in winter. "Feeding a combination of organics and inorganics in October and November gives you strong and steady spring growth."

Nick warns against early spring feeding because lawn roots are not ready to take up nutrients, so a lot of fertilizer ends up in Puget Sound.

"We never feed lawns until May," he notes, adding that his individualized client feeding schedules are tied to complete soil tests.

"The soil test is the ticket to the whole program," he explains. "We look at many factors, including humus levels, the relationship of macro- and micro-nutrients, soil pH, and an URGS test for compaction."

With that specific knowledge, Nick creates a program for sustainable care. He often recommends compost topdressing, followed by a balancing blend of fertilizers and micro-nutrients. "The blend will change each year, depending on changing test results" he says.

In fall, Nick combines his fertilizer blend with a natural digester that breaks down excess thatch naturally. (We are also using Nick’s digester to compost my huge ivy pile, which would cost $1,500 to haul away. I will keep you posted about the results.)

"If people have crane fly or nematodes, I add Bavaria bassiano, a special fungus that eliminates soft bodied insects," Nick comments.

In winter, he sprays dormant oils to avoid pests and problems from tent caterpillars to fungus.

Lawn Jockey lawns really do look different, remaining green and vigorous when neighbors’ lawns are failing. Like me, Nick topdresses lawns and beds with cow manure and compost.

"The combination gives you a good blend of micro-nutrients and humus, plus you double up on biotic diversity, which is so important for healthy soil," he points out.

When customers are in a hurry to improve their lawns, "I tell them it isn’t like painting the house," Nick chuckles, adding, "It takes time to create healthy soil, but it is absolutely worth it."

Nick finds that the best way to make plants drought resistant is to improve the soil, add humus, balance nutrients, and improve root growth. Topdressing with aged cow manure and compost is a great way to start and it’s something you can do right now.

You contact Nick Penovich at (360) 876-3734 or www.lawnjockey.net.

Bainbridge resident Ann Lovejoy can be reached at 8959 Battle Point NE, Bainbridge Island, WA, 98110.

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