Should Bath's Ballfields Go Organic? Residents Will Help Decide

In 2010, Bath Parks Director Mike Rorar agreed to try an experiment with organic fertilizer at the township's baseball fields.

Two of the eight fields would be treated with all-natural ingredients by Good Nature Organic Lawn Care while the other six would get the traditional synthetic fertilizer from Davey Tree.

"They said it would take three years to notice the difference," Rorar said. 

So this is judgment year. Rorar is seeking input from Bath residents on field conditions before deciding how to treat them in the future.

"If everyone feels confident organic is the way to go, I'm okay with it," Rorar said.

But there are drawbacks.

"It's very pricy," said Rorar, noting that Good Nature's cost is more than double Davey's.

And last year, the two fields treated by Good Nature did not fare the dry summer well. The company had to come in and re-seed both.

The experiment hasn't cost the township any extra money -- Good Nature agreed to meet Davey's price for the three-year trial.

But organic lawn care doesn't come cheap. When the two companies submitted bids in 2010, Davey offered to do the eight ballfields for $3,024, while Good Nature's bid was for $7,351.

For all the areas that are fertilized, including the soccer fields, Davey's bid was $5,707, while Good Nature's price was $14,254.

Rorar said while Davey clearly won the bid, the company agreed to withdraw two baseball fields -- and reduce its contract award -- to cooperate with the experiment.

"Davey is interested in seeing how the organic fields do, too," Rorar said.

The debate over organic vs. synthetic fertilizers isn't new or local. Good Nature founder Alec McClennan said his goal is to "grow healthy grass and plants that don't require pesticides."

If problems occur, "you want to eliminate the cause of the problem, not just mask it by using a pesticide," he said.

But landscapers argue that just because fertilizers use chemicals, it doesn't mean they are unsafe.

In addition, Rorar said Davey makes a point of applying fertilizers to the fields at 4 a.m., so the chemicals have had 12 hours to be absorbed before kids play on them.

Anyone with an opinion can e-mail Rorar at mrorar@bathtownship.org.