Knowing Your Audience and Understanding Soil Differences Recently, I found myself in an online discussion about watering practices for lawns. The article someone had posted advocated for frequent and shallow watering—a method that’s pretty much the opposite of what I...

There’s an old story about a woman who always cut the ends off her ham before putting it in the oven. When asked why, she replied, “Because that’s how my mother did it.” Curious, she asked her mother. The mother shrugged and said, “That’s how my mother did it.”...

For decades, the lawn care industry has been dominated by the synthetic fertility model. Bags of chemical nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus have been sold as the answer to every yellow spot, every weed outbreak, and every patch of slow growth. But here’s the truth:...

Most people think a beautiful, healthy lawn is a luxury they can’t afford. The truth is just the opposite: you can’t afford not to have one. When managed the right way—through a biological system—a lawn stops being a money drain and starts paying for itself through...

When we talk about soil health, we are really talking about one thing: humus. This dark, stable form of carbon is both the primer and the product of the microbial activity in soil. Without it, the “engine of biology” sputters and stalls. With it, the soil transforms...

From time to time, we’re asked a fair question:“If you know there are soil problems, why wouldn’t you automatically address them with your basic program?” It’s a question worth answering — not because there’s anything wrong with our basic soil program, but because it...

Every spring and fall, homeowners are reminded — often by utilities or lawn services — that aeration is a must. The process of pulling plugs from the lawn to reduce compaction and allow water and nutrients to penetrate deeper into the root zone is, at first glance, a...

For decades, the lawn care industry has preached a simple formula: apply fertilizer, get a greener lawn. Bags of synthetic nitrogen line the shelves every spring, promising instant results. And while those quick surges of growth may look impressive at first, the truth...

When most people think of soil, they picture plain brown dirt—just a medium to hold plants in place. But soil is a living engine. It’s a dynamic, biological, chemical, and physical system, and when it’s “balanced,” that engine hums with efficiency. Balanced soil isn’t...

There’s a kind of “luxury” that doesn’t show up on a credit card statement like a new kitchen or a lifted truck. It shows up on a Saturday morning when your neighbors are getting their eardrums rattled by a string-trimmer symphony… and your yard is just quiet. No...

How plant life fuels clouds, cools neighborhoods, and why “rock yards” are the opposite of water-wise A lot of longtime Colorado Springs residents remember a certain summer rhythm: warm mornings, clouds building by early afternoon, and then—almost like clockwork—a...

If you’ve been living in the synthetic system, you already know the deal: quick hits, constant inputs, and a lawn that looks “fine” until it doesn’t. Then you’re chasing problems—dry spots, disease, weeds, compaction, thatch—while paying more every season for less...