Rabbit Poop is Great for your Garden!

April 11, 2023April 30, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ Leave a comment

I have noticed one thing in common in the gardens I have done spring cleanups in: lots of rabbit poop! There seems to have been an explosion in the rabbit population in my Kanata suburb of Ottawa. I see quite a few rabbits on my evening walks through our neighborhood so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at the increased amount of their poop in the gardens. Now that the snow has finally (mostly) melted away for another year, the rabbit poop is everywhere!

The good news is that rabbit poop is great for your garden.

Hot vs Cold Manure

Cow, steer, sheep or chicken manure is considered “hot” meaning it requires an aging or composting process before use. Otherwise, it will burn your plants. For that reason, be sure when you use this type that the label says “composted.” Rabbit poop, however, is “cold” manure requiring no such process before use. That’s because it is fermented and broken down in the rabbit’s gut before leaving its body.

The other advantage of rabbit manure is that it only has a mild smell to it. The smell actually brings back childhood memories of the pet rabbits my father used to bring home each spring at Easter time.

What it Looks Like

Rabbit poop presents in small, round(ish), light brown balls…you can’t miss them…

How to Use This Free Fertilizer

Simply dig the round pellets into the soil between the plants, providing a nitrogen-rich fertilizer for your garden. You can also add a pile of poop to your composter as a nitrogen layer. Another option is to make compost tea by adding a pile of poop to a bucket of water. Stir it well and frequently for a few days, and then pour the “tea” onto your garden.

Any way you use it, rabbit poop is a free and convenient fertilizer for your garden!

photo credit:

Best Time to Improve Lawns

September 24, 2020February 12, 2023 ~ Loreeebee ~ 4 Comments

With cooler nights as well as more and longer-lasting dew on the ground each morning, fall is the best time to improve lawns. If your lawn looks terrible due to a long summer drought, this post is for you!

Recovering from Summer

My lawn held up amazingly well (some weeds moved in along the curb, but the grass recovered) in the drought this summer, much better than many others in my neighbourhood, and also much better than it ever has other summers. I suspect the TLC I showed it last fall is the reason for that. This is one of the reasons I believe fall is the best time to improve lawns.

My Fall Lawn Regime

I believe that fall is the best time to improve lawns. I have more time to spend on my lawn in the fall but this belief is primarily due to my success with the following fall regime:

aerating
adding composted manure and seed
applying a fall fertilizer six weeks after seeding
cutting the lawn shorter than usual before the first snowfall

Aerating

When you aerate, ensure you use a proper aerator (hire someone to do it for you) that digs out plugs of soil. The inexpensive, so-called aerating tools that you step on do more damage to your lawn as they compact the soil instead of aerating it. Fall is the best time to improve lawns with aerating.

Composted Manure vs Garden or Top Soil for Lawns

I choose composted manure, either sheep or cattle/steer because I have yet to find a bad bag of it. By bad, I mean no weeds or junk in it. In the past, I have purchased bags and loads of soil, from garden soil to black earth, that were loaded with weeds seeds, garbage, and even cigarette butts. Never again! You can purchase composted manure at Home Depot, Lowes, or locally at Ritchies Nurseries.

Fertilize

If you plan to fertilize your lawn, pay attention to the three numbers on the bags. In order, they represent the nutrient levels of Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potash/Potassium in the fertilizer. In September, as lawns recover from the summer weather, choose a fertilizer highest in Nitrogen for a slow growth.

Later in the fall, choose one with a higher middle number to stimulate root growth and protection over the winter.

Reseed

If you plan to reseed your lawn because it has bare spots and lots of weeds, you should wait six weeks after seeding to apply fertilizer. Be sure too to invest in grass seed that is specific for your location and sun exposure. If you are one of the lucky ones and do not plan/need to reseed, you can fertilize twice as indicated, once in September and again in November.

I promise this regime is not nearly as complicated as it sounds! Next summer your lawn will be grateful for the extra TLC you provide this fall. You too will be convinced that fall is the best time to improve lawns.

Fall Fertilizer for Lawns: When is a Good Time?

November 16, 2017February 20, 2022 ~ Loreeebee ~ 2 Comments

Today was a good day for applying a fall fertilizer to lawns. Why? Because it is still not too cold out, the grass is no longer growing but still green, and it was drizzling. At least it was as I finished the five lawns I had to fertilize. It’s raining harder now, which is also ideal because the rain helps water the fertilizer in. However, try to avoid fertilizing before a downpour, so your hard work is not washed away.

Today’s conditions were ideal for fall lawn fertilizing. Most experts will tell you that fall is the most important time to fertilize your lawns. Fertilizer applied at this time of the year is to strengthen (deepen) the roots, repair the lawn from summer drought/stresses, and prepare the lawn for winter, so it is important to get the right product. These are two I frequently use for fertilizing lawns in the fall…

Both are pet and kid friendly, safe to walk on immediately after application. They can be purchased at your local garden centers or DIY (Home Depot, Lowes etc) stores.

Apply the fertilizer as instructed on the bags. I use a push spreader and apply the fertilizer in two directions to avoid patchiness (as pictured below). For irregularly shaped lawns, block off the lawn (visually) in squares or rectangles to ensure even distribution of the fertilizer.

Remember, a great-looking lawn enhances the appearance of your garden. We all know I appreciate beautiful gardens. If you miss/forget any fertilizer applications, don’t miss the fall one!