Sugar to Fertilize a Lawn

Why Sugar Works

• No matter how well cared for a lawn might be, weeds are inevitable. Once weeds gain a toehold in your lawn, they can be difficult to remove completely. It's possible to put harsh, toxic chemicals on your grass -- chemicals that are potentially dangerous to animals and children and chemicals which kill virtually everything in your soil, including the good microorganisms that your lawn needs to thrive. Weeds love nitrogen. In fact, weeds are lean, green, nitrogen-gobbling machines. Sugar removes nitrogen from soil. Because weeds need more nitrogen than your lawn, the weeds suffer and die first.

How to "Fertilize" Your Yard With Sugar

• Normal table sugar, the most inexpensive brand of sugar available at your local supermarket, is all you need. Apply approximately 1 lb. of sugar for every 300 square feet of lawn. Don't be stingy. You cannot put too much sugar on your lawn. Remember, the idea is to deplete the soil of nitrogen to starve the weeds. Use the same method to apply sugar to your lawn that you would use to apply grass seed or fertilizer. Apply the sugar as evenly as you can, but don't worry if some spots have slightly more sugar than others.

Water In the Sugar

• Once you have applied a relatively even layer of sugar to your lawn, water the sugar into the soil. Be generous with this first watering. Set a small, straight-sided container in your yard in which to measure the water that your sprinklers are putting out so that you can tell when you've applied at least 1 1/2 to 2 inches of water to your lawn.

Rake Off the Dead Weeds

• Water your lawn as you normally would after the first deep watering. Watch for the weeds to die. As the weeds die, rake them out of your lawn.

Add High-Nitrogen Organic Manure

• As soon as the weeds have died, spread 1 inch of high-nitrogen organic manure onto your lawn and deep water it into the soil. Organic manure will release its nitrogen slowly, over time, exactly as your lawn requires.

Set Lawn Mower Height

• Set your lawn mower to cut your lawn 3 inches high. This extra height will keep your lawn healthy and will allow the grass to shade out the resurgence of any new weeds. If new weeds appear in your lawn, spot treat them with 2 tbsp. of sugar watered into the ground around the base of the weed. Rake all dead weeds out of the lawn.