Amanda Adams, IMES UR, Overdue answers to good questions...

1. Hello all. Thank you ladies for your questions. I now have answers: 
2. Angela Boney:  Unless you've already covered this in another post, I'd like to know what these alternative companies use. Also, is there a reason to use pesticides/chemicals/fertilizers on lawns other than it looking nice? There is no reason I can see that is beneficial to using pesticides/chemicals/or fertilizers. I'm a fan of leaving my clippings behind to nourish my grass with the decomposing material instead of bagging them, however, have never seen a neighbor do this. I'm fanatical about letting my clippings work to my advantage by leaving them behind after we mow too; half my neighbors do leave the leaves and clippings but unfortunately there are some baggers here too!
3. Bethany Cobb, Sec. 1: What kind of alternative/natural methods do Go Organic and other similar companies use? What are the results of these methods in comparison to the harsh chemicals?  I finally got to speak to the co-owner of Organic by Design; according to Terry they do a soil test from the client's yard and send it their lab out west. The results come back telling them what the yard is deficient in or has too much of; her husband then makes a custom organic blend of fertilizer specific to their yard. One of our neighbors uses them and their lawn is immaculate with lush green grass and is safe for their dogs to play.  After talking to Terry I felt very confident in their ability to nurture any yard. They are so organic that they are almost off grid at their farm. They use only natural and organic substances, oils and products. She said it does take effort and time on their clients part to understand that some organic methods take time since it is a natural approach. Again, education is key!
4. Bethany, I like that you are curious like I am about organic methods. To add to what I already said, Terry told me that most who come to them either have health issues or have a pet that they don't want in a chemical lawn. She said her husband is the lawn guru whereas she runs the farm, but she did mention that they use cedar oil, other essential oils, and no chemicals.
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   The results are a spectacular and safe yard
   
   
   

   Anna S. Sec. 01: what is a Hach Colorimeter? How does it work?

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   Anna, This is the Hach Colorimeter. Basically, whatever you are testing (e.g.: N, P, Cu) you can set the colorimeter to read. When you place your sample in the colorimeter, it reads the levels and let's you know what your concentrations are in mg/L. It's an awesome machine and has been very helpful to me and other classmates when analyzing water samples.
9. Thanks for all the questions and I look forward to sharing more very soon.
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