I Got Roasted Recently in a Chat Forum: When Watering Advice Meets Soil Science
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...
Tradition, Habit, and the Ham That Was Too Big
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.”...
Managing Symptoms vs. Solving Problems: Why the Synthetic Fertility Model Fails Lawns
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:...
Why You Can’t Afford Not to Have a Beautiful Lawn
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...
Humus: The Fuel and the Finish Line of Healthy Soil
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...
Why Our Basic Soil Program Isn’t Meant to Fix Dysfunctional Soil
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...
Beyond Mechanical Aeration: Why Biology Outperforms Machines in Building Healthy Soil
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...
Why We Can’t Fertilize Our Way to a Healthy Lawn
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...
What It Really Means to Have Balanced Soil
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...
The Sure-Fire Ways to Destroy a Lawn (A Field Guide to Lawn Sabotage)
…and how to avoid them if you actually want a healthy, resilient, guilt-free landscape. Most people don’t set out to destroy their lawn. They just accidentally follow the exact recipe for soil collapse, plant stress, and runaway costs. After years of walking...
The Modern Lawn Debate: Why the Critics Are Right… but Also Misguided
Walk into almost any community discussion today—online or in person—and you’ll hear it:“Lawns are wasteful!”“Lawns destroy the environment!”“Lawns are killing biodiversity!” And here’s the twist… they’re not entirely wrong. But they’re also not informed.And that’s the...
The Top 5 Things You’ll Experience When You Automate Your Landscape With Robotic Technology
If you’ve ever dreamed of a lawn that just handles itself, robotic mowing and automated landscape technologies aren’t some far-off sci-fi solution — they’re here, and they’re transforming the way people maintain turf. Whether you’re a homeowner, a commercial...











