The right kind of fertilizer has a nutrients balance that will benefit your whole lawn, from root to tip, and it's safe for your children and pets. Organic lawn fertilizers can deliver on all of these points. Let us help you pick one that will bring out the best in your lawn.
Our favorite pick is Espoma LS7 Organic Lawn Fertilizer, hands-down. It is 100-percent natural, safe to use around pets and children, and works wonders on lawns that need to be rejuvenated. That said, for a larger yard, we recommend the Espoma EOLF28 Organic All Season Lawn Food as it covers more than double the area of our top pick.
Read our full reviews below to get all the details about these products and our other picks.
Backyard Boss Top 5 Organic Lawn Fertilizers for 2021
|
PRODUCT |
FEATURES |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
Best All-Around Organic Lawn Fertilizer
This food for your yard consists of an all-natural mix of ingredients with no unnecessary fillers.
- All-natural formula
- Safe for kids and pets
- Granulated form
- Takes a bit longer than other brands to show results
|
|
The formula for this organic fertilizer by Epsoma has proprietary bio-tone microbes as well as a higher level of phosphorus than other products. In other words, it is equally useful in thickening your already green yard and stimulating root growth for yards that lack some density.
Even though the fertilizer does indeed take longer to show results, the results are generally far better than other brands and mixes. It breaks down gradually over the seasons of the year and works slowly. But, it is absolutely eco-friendly and non-burning.
Best for Use in Yards with Gardens and Flowers
Made from worm castings, this organic fertilizer will give your plants an instant boost and it will continue feeding them for multiple seasons.
- Pure earthworm castings
- Multi-purpose
- Non-toxic/odor-free
- Takes a longer time to see results
- Lacks extra ingredients found in other organic mixes
|
|
If you are into organic gardening you may have already heard of the second item on our list; WiggleWorm soil builder, the organic fertilizer made up of pure castings from earthworms, and one of nature's best well-kept growing secrets.
This fertilizer is not only great for creating lush lawns, it is also an excellent food for your house plants, flower beds, trees, and garden plants. That said, it only takes a handful of this formula to lend massive growth to dead patches of lawn or to boost plant health.
The make-up of the fertilizer consists of two forms of worm castings. One is immediately taken in by the plant for a quick boost. The other has a pro-longed release that feeds your lawn or gardens and flowerbeds over the course of multiple seasons.
Best for Boosting Top Growth
If you just want to focus on improving the health of your lawn's top growth, Milorganite 0636 Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer can help with that, and it'll give a boost to the root system of your lawn.
- Easy to apply
- Works in all seasons
- Child and pet safe
- Used on golf courses
- Affordable cost
- Not as good for root growth as top growth
|
|
Milorganite Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer is primarily comprised of heat-dried microbes and 4% non-staining iron. It comes in 36-pound bags and has a 5-2-0 NPK formula. Milorganite is specifically designed for a deep green lawn, but it also works well with trees, vegetables, and flowers. It's a splendid seed carrier and meets the EPA's Exceptional Quality standards, which is known for its extremely stringent criteria in the fertilizer world.
This is an organic fertilizer with low concentrations of nutrients, so you can't expect intense greening three days after applying it. However, if you give it a little time, you'll notice a difference in the hue of your grass, the strength of the blades, and the overall health of your lawn. Plus, because of that low NPK formula, you don't have to worry about "burning" your grass.
Best for Use With Sprinkler Systems
If you are in the market for the easiest to use organic fertilizer, this may be the one. Every time you turn on your irrigation system your yard receives a healthy boost from the formula.
- Natural liquid fertilizer
- Works with sprinkler systems
- Easy to use
- Requires a sprinkler or irrigation system
- Smaller amount per package
|
|
GrassSoGreen'sAll-Natural Liquid Fertilizer contains a 30-percent Bio Builder and a 100-percent blend of all-natural ingredients. If you have a sprinkler system installed on your lawn, this may be the product for you to build a healthier yard.
The liquid formula works with Stow and Flow feeders, Rid-O-Rust injection systems, American Hydro Systems ProFeeders, Green Feeder Minis, and many other siphoning type systems. Even more, the fertilizer is made for both warm and cool weather. That makes it ideal for nearly all-year use.
Best for All-Year-Round Usage
This fertilizer by Epsoma will boost your lawn's health all-year long.
- BioTone microbes
- Stimulates roots and top growth
- Strong odor
|
|
Epsoma's all-season fertilizer is preferred by many homeowners who claim it works so well that it causes grass to crowd out weeds in addition to giving their yard the lush look they've been chasing after.
The formula is 100-percent all-natural and is safer than most lawn fertilizers on the market. If you spill it, you can simply scoop it back up and have no worries about finding a burned lawn next season. In addition, it is one of the longest-lasting and acting fertilizers for yards on the market.
Organic vs. Synthetic: Battle for the Ages
The two real competitors in lawn fertilizers are synthetic types and their organic counterparts. They are very different in almost every way you can think of, except that they can both give you a beautiful lawn, albeit in very different time frames and for very different lengths of time.
Organic fertilizer is "natural" or "raw" fertilizer. That said, it may be more work to apply, a bit more expensive at the checkout, and it might not be as fast-acting as the synthetic version. On the other hand, organic fertilizer gives you stronger soil and a greener yard in general. If you were to expand into a garden from just a lawn, some organics can help lay the groundwork for that, making that job much easier later as well.
Synthetic fertilizer is a chemically composed and water-soluble substance that does provide a quick and, if done right, efficient means to a greener lawn. Though there are some definite advantages to the synthetic way (cost, speed of result, availability), that doesn't mean it's right for you necessarily, or that it isn't.
Another advantage to the synthetic is the ratios and nutrient amounts are much more accurate and possibly higher. By that same token, if there is too much build-up of said nutrients, you can get leaching and/or run-off, and that's when you start doing more damage than doing good for your yard.
Why Choose Organic?
One of the primary benefits of going organic is that if you spill or over-apply an organic fertilizer, the consequences are generally limited to wasting the resource itself, whereas, with a synthetic cousin, you are more than likely looking at a burned lawn.
The usual suspect in a burned lawn is typically the nitrogen salts in a synthetic fertilizer; when in too large a quantity combined with sunlight, it "burns" the grass which is basically just browning and scorching away the nutrients from the grass itself. There are ways to dilute and rescue a lawn from a burn. With organics though, you don't need to worry about burns at all.
Organic fertilizer is more soil-dependent, to begin with. Furthermore, usually takes more time to take hold and really show results. However, organic requires fewer applications and lasts longer than its synthetic counterpart. Plus, the best organic fertilizer promotes a healthier soil content for a much longer time. It also allows for better plant life and offers up a very minimal risk of run-off or leaching into the soil.
What Is NPK?
NPK stands for Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. The K for Potassium originates from the element's letter on the periodic table, which in turn is based on its German name; "Kalium."
All things considered, organic fertilizers typically have a lower NPK than synthetic varieties. But, to be fair, they also feed plants for a much longer sustained period of time as well. Organic is often more expensive than synthetic brands, too.
However, if it is more expensive, but you can apply it less, the cost over time balances out. If the NPK is higher it contains more of those nutrients, but that may not be a positive thing in the long run if there is a spill or over-application of this particular type of fertilizer.
If your main goal is to have the greenest and lushest yard out there, organic is without a question the safer of the two types to pick. Even with a much lower NPK count, organic types fertilizer your lawn longer and yield more extended results.
I Have No Idea What I'm Doing!
If you have just received your card from the Green Thumb Society, and you wish to have the lawn that's on the bag of the fertilizer that you are using, but you are also concerned about screwing it all up and having a fertile pile of brown dirt in front of your house, no worries. All you need to do is take a few precautions.
One of the easiest ways to destroy a lawn is over-application. Even more, nutrient build-up, leaching, run-off, ratios being off, or any number of things that a synthetic fertilizer may cause or intensify. Much of this also depends on the state of your lawn at the time of fertilizer-application.
Going organic may not give you immediate results, but the overall product, with the minimal health risks overall, and if done right, can afford you a much longer-term dividend on investment.
I've Decided, And I'm Going Organic!
So, you've decided to go with the organic option. Figuring out which brand is the best comes down to a lot of different factors.
The ingredients that go into organic lawn fertilizer are almost as varied as the brands offering it. Make sure you pay attention to what is in the organic fertilizer you choose rather than purchasing on brand reputation.
In addition, pay attention to the one-size-fits-all organic fertilizers out there. They can help your yard, but it is better to choose one that has higher nitrogen levels. Or, depending on how scrawny your yard is, look for one with extra phosphorus added to it.
More than anything, you want to make sure that the fertilizer works for your lawn type and state specifically. If you do, your yard should be Instagram-ready in no time.
Picking the Best Organic Lawn Fertilizer for Your Yard
The one thing all of these organic lawn fertilizers on our list have in common is being child-safe and pet-safe. Hopefully, our article and guide help you pick out the very best one for you and your lawn.
At any rate, our overall best pick is Espoma LS7 Organic Lawn Fertilizer. This stuff is made by one of the most respected brands in the business and will definitely give you a greener yard. That said, it does take a bit of time for results, and it does have an odor to it.
If you arent into organic, after reading through this guide, why not have a look at our top picks for the best lawn fertilizers in general?