I moved into my current address five years ago. It is small lot by some standards. But for me it is feels down right spacious compared to where I lived most of my life. When I moved in, I saw it as a vacant canvas. I could see the potential in the too few garden beds and the lack there of any existing plant life. And of course there was the issue of the lawn. I can still hear the home inspector saying that with a year or two of lawn care treatments, the lawn would look as good as my neighbors. A few years later and my lawn still does not look as good as my neighbors.
I never was obsessive compulsive about my lawn care as some people tend to be. After all, grass is just another form of ground cover. I have always set my sites on establishing my garden beds. I figured I would be cutting out much of the lawn, so why spend time trying to improve something that would eventually disappear. But as time went on, I found myself apologizing to people every time they complimented me on my yard. Deep down, I wondered if they were saying, "Now if only she could get her lawn looking good". Was I being sucked into "the perfect lawn" vortex that so many men and some women have been caught up in? I had to take a step back and re-examine my increased fixation about having a better looking lawn.
I have no one to blame but myself and the former owners for the way my lawn looks. I did not run out to the big box store and grab a boat load of pesticides and fertilizers. The former neighbors had young children and did not want to put chemicals down on the lawn. I honestly can not blame them for it. But they did little or nothing to help the lawn survive. The first year, my lawn was made up of mostly moss. I can say that had it not been for the green color of the moss, my lawn would have looked like the fenced in area of a dog run. It was obvious that it was hurting in the desired pH department. The second year, I started putting compost tea on the grass. I knew of all the wonderful benefits of compost tea and started reading into the real science behind making it. So I got me a compost tea brewer and started brewing up the stuff. I did that for the next two years. I also started removing the dandelions and other noxious weeds when they appeared. Last summer I spent an hour each day, tediously removing ground ivy as I watched it making a bee line for my neighbors lush and perfectly weedless lawn. The results are still out on this issue because much of my efforts have been reduced due to an extremely wet spring. I am still making a stand at the borders.
Despite the fact that my lawn still looked pathetic, I refused to dump fertilizers and weed killing chemicals on it. Instead I started two years ago by applying corn gluten. Now corn gluten is not 100 percent full proof but it does work to halt the production of new weed seeds from developing . You do have to wait at least six weeks before putting down new grass seed or for that matter any kind of seed. Corn gluten should also be applied in early spring to prevent crab grass. A good rule of thumb is to put it down when the forsythia blooms. I saw little results the first year, but there was definitely a decrease in weeds the second year. One also needs to remove weeds that are already established because corn gluten does not work on existing weeds.
I got a chance to talk to author and organic lawn care guru, Paul Tukey at a garden symposium and he told me that unless I had a good four to six inches of organic material built up on the lawn, all the compost tea in the world was not going to help because there was nothing for all the beneficial microbes to attach to and grow. (You can go to the Safe Lawn site listed below to see how he renovated the National Mall lawn in Washington, D.C. )
So last fall, I started flinging compost on the lawn, at the rate of about a one inch thickness. I am sure that my neighbors were saying ,"That crazy garden lady had flipped her lid. Now she is out there flinging dirt across her lawn." Guess what? I did it again this spring and I can honestly say that my lawn is looking better. I still have some weeds but I continue to mulch in my lawn clippings when I mow. My moss is gone, which probably means that my lawn pH is improving, and because I have been cutting higher, the grass is coming in thicker.
All this has taken me four years. I am sure some of you are thinking that four years is a long time to wait for good results, and you are correct in thinking so. But I can honestly say.... I like my not so perfect lawn and here are seven reasons why.
1. My yard has been certified as a wildlife habitat. I know that birds, bees and critters are not going to be harmed by pesticides. They can enjoy eating the clover and pollinating my flowers without any residual effects. Statistics shows that approximately 7 million birds die annually from pesticide exposure. Where pesticides are used, 60 - 90% of earthworms are killed. Earthworms are important for soil health. I am doing my part to protect and provide a safe habitat for lots of species of birds, beneficial insects and animals.
2. I can allow my niece, nephew and pets to roam on the grass without worrying that they are going to be exposed to all those chemicals. Did you know that a report by the National Academy of Sciences shows that the health of 1 in 7 people is negatively impacted in some form by lawn pesticides. Numerous studies link lawn chemicals to cancers and other long-term diseases. Several studies also link exposure to artificial lawn chemicals to an increased risk of cancer and other health problems in pets. Children are especially at risk for negative health consequences due to their size, physiological development and proximity to the ground. Studies from Yale University, Mt. Sinai Medical Center and several others point to children’s health risks associated with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. The average suburban lawn receives 10 times as much chemical pesticide per acre as farmland. Over 70 million tons of fertilizers and pesticides are applied to residential lawns and gardens annually.
3. I am helping to save the environment. All those chemicals flush out of the lawn, into the water tables and sewage systems and flow into our streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. According to a Long Island study, lawn run-off contributes to about 60 percent of contaminated ground water. And synthetic pesticides destroy beneficial organisms in a lawn's ecosystem. By deceasing the number of times I cut my lawn, I am helping to reduce greenhouse gases being produced from my mower exhaust fumes. Per hour of operation, a gas lawn mower emits 10-12 times as much hydrocarbon as a typical auto. A weed eater emits 21 times more and a leaf blower 34 times more.
Mulching your lawn clippings instead of bagging adds nitrogen to the soil and reduces yard waste in landfills. Eighteen percent of municipal solid waste is composed of yard waste.
4. My lawn is not becoming addicted...yes, a fertilizer junkie. The more synthetic chemicals that are applied, the more chemicals are required to maintain the lawn. Organic lawn care increases the build up of nutrients and beneficial organisms in the soil while reducing the need for lawn fertilizers. The lawn is better able to withstand drought, pest and other lawn problems. Synthetic fertilizers are a quick rush of nutrients to the lawn. They make the grass greener and grow faster. Faster growing lawns means more frequent cuttings. Organic products break down slower into the lawn, last longer and reduces the rapid lawn growth experienced by the use of synthetic products.
5. Reduced mowing means reducing risk of injury. NBC's Today show did a special piece on The Danger of Lawn Mowers. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25453506#25453506 Every year 8300 children under the age of 15 go to emergency rooms for lawn mower injuries. One quarter of them are under the age of five. Many years ago, my aunt got some of her shrubs caught in the blade of her gas powered mower. She did not shut off the machine, but instead reached down and attempted to pull them out. She permanently lost several fingers on one of her hands.
A John Hopkins Bloomsburg School of Health study found that nearly 80,000 people are treated each year for lawn mower injuries. The most common were strikes from debris, such as rocks or and branches being propelled by the lawn mower blades.
6. I am saving money. Who wouldn't want to save money. Especially if you knew that you were literally flushing all your efforts down the storm drain. Organic lawn products may be a bit more expensive, but you use less of them than the conventional fertilizers. Reduced mowing and watering means more money in your pocket. Thirty percent of water used on the East coast goes to watering lawns.
7. Green is in and I don't mean lawn. Going green is on a rise and more and more people are jumping on the green wagon. Doing something that is good for the environment, your health and your wallet is a good thing. Reduce, reuse and recycle never looked better for lawn care.
I probably could state lots of facts and statistics for establishing an organically grown lawn, but have provides some helpful and informative sites and books for you to read for yourself. Perhaps they will make you look at your lawn in a whole different way.
http://www.safelawns.org/index.cfm
http://www.eartheasy.com/grow_lawn_care.htm
http://www.organiclawncaretips.com/
http://www.neutonpower.com/ (Battery powered lawn mowers)
I never was obsessive compulsive about my lawn care as some people tend to be. After all, grass is just another form of ground cover. I have always set my sites on establishing my garden beds. I figured I would be cutting out much of the lawn, so why spend time trying to improve something that would eventually disappear. But as time went on, I found myself apologizing to people every time they complimented me on my yard. Deep down, I wondered if they were saying, "Now if only she could get her lawn looking good". Was I being sucked into "the perfect lawn" vortex that so many men and some women have been caught up in? I had to take a step back and re-examine my increased fixation about having a better looking lawn.
I have no one to blame but myself and the former owners for the way my lawn looks. I did not run out to the big box store and grab a boat load of pesticides and fertilizers. The former neighbors had young children and did not want to put chemicals down on the lawn. I honestly can not blame them for it. But they did little or nothing to help the lawn survive. The first year, my lawn was made up of mostly moss. I can say that had it not been for the green color of the moss, my lawn would have looked like the fenced in area of a dog run. It was obvious that it was hurting in the desired pH department. The second year, I started putting compost tea on the grass. I knew of all the wonderful benefits of compost tea and started reading into the real science behind making it. So I got me a compost tea brewer and started brewing up the stuff. I did that for the next two years. I also started removing the dandelions and other noxious weeds when they appeared. Last summer I spent an hour each day, tediously removing ground ivy as I watched it making a bee line for my neighbors lush and perfectly weedless lawn. The results are still out on this issue because much of my efforts have been reduced due to an extremely wet spring. I am still making a stand at the borders.
Despite the fact that my lawn still looked pathetic, I refused to dump fertilizers and weed killing chemicals on it. Instead I started two years ago by applying corn gluten. Now corn gluten is not 100 percent full proof but it does work to halt the production of new weed seeds from developing . You do have to wait at least six weeks before putting down new grass seed or for that matter any kind of seed. Corn gluten should also be applied in early spring to prevent crab grass. A good rule of thumb is to put it down when the forsythia blooms. I saw little results the first year, but there was definitely a decrease in weeds the second year. One also needs to remove weeds that are already established because corn gluten does not work on existing weeds.
I got a chance to talk to author and organic lawn care guru, Paul Tukey at a garden symposium and he told me that unless I had a good four to six inches of organic material built up on the lawn, all the compost tea in the world was not going to help because there was nothing for all the beneficial microbes to attach to and grow. (You can go to the Safe Lawn site listed below to see how he renovated the National Mall lawn in Washington, D.C. )
So last fall, I started flinging compost on the lawn, at the rate of about a one inch thickness. I am sure that my neighbors were saying ,"That crazy garden lady had flipped her lid. Now she is out there flinging dirt across her lawn." Guess what? I did it again this spring and I can honestly say that my lawn is looking better. I still have some weeds but I continue to mulch in my lawn clippings when I mow. My moss is gone, which probably means that my lawn pH is improving, and because I have been cutting higher, the grass is coming in thicker.
All this has taken me four years. I am sure some of you are thinking that four years is a long time to wait for good results, and you are correct in thinking so. But I can honestly say.... I like my not so perfect lawn and here are seven reasons why.
1. My yard has been certified as a wildlife habitat. I know that birds, bees and critters are not going to be harmed by pesticides. They can enjoy eating the clover and pollinating my flowers without any residual effects. Statistics shows that approximately 7 million birds die annually from pesticide exposure. Where pesticides are used, 60 - 90% of earthworms are killed. Earthworms are important for soil health. I am doing my part to protect and provide a safe habitat for lots of species of birds, beneficial insects and animals.
2. I can allow my niece, nephew and pets to roam on the grass without worrying that they are going to be exposed to all those chemicals. Did you know that a report by the National Academy of Sciences shows that the health of 1 in 7 people is negatively impacted in some form by lawn pesticides. Numerous studies link lawn chemicals to cancers and other long-term diseases. Several studies also link exposure to artificial lawn chemicals to an increased risk of cancer and other health problems in pets. Children are especially at risk for negative health consequences due to their size, physiological development and proximity to the ground. Studies from Yale University, Mt. Sinai Medical Center and several others point to children’s health risks associated with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. The average suburban lawn receives 10 times as much chemical pesticide per acre as farmland. Over 70 million tons of fertilizers and pesticides are applied to residential lawns and gardens annually.
3. I am helping to save the environment. All those chemicals flush out of the lawn, into the water tables and sewage systems and flow into our streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. According to a Long Island study, lawn run-off contributes to about 60 percent of contaminated ground water. And synthetic pesticides destroy beneficial organisms in a lawn's ecosystem. By deceasing the number of times I cut my lawn, I am helping to reduce greenhouse gases being produced from my mower exhaust fumes. Per hour of operation, a gas lawn mower emits 10-12 times as much hydrocarbon as a typical auto. A weed eater emits 21 times more and a leaf blower 34 times more.
Mulching your lawn clippings instead of bagging adds nitrogen to the soil and reduces yard waste in landfills. Eighteen percent of municipal solid waste is composed of yard waste.
4. My lawn is not becoming addicted...yes, a fertilizer junkie. The more synthetic chemicals that are applied, the more chemicals are required to maintain the lawn. Organic lawn care increases the build up of nutrients and beneficial organisms in the soil while reducing the need for lawn fertilizers. The lawn is better able to withstand drought, pest and other lawn problems. Synthetic fertilizers are a quick rush of nutrients to the lawn. They make the grass greener and grow faster. Faster growing lawns means more frequent cuttings. Organic products break down slower into the lawn, last longer and reduces the rapid lawn growth experienced by the use of synthetic products.
5. Reduced mowing means reducing risk of injury. NBC's Today show did a special piece on The Danger of Lawn Mowers. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25453506#25453506 Every year 8300 children under the age of 15 go to emergency rooms for lawn mower injuries. One quarter of them are under the age of five. Many years ago, my aunt got some of her shrubs caught in the blade of her gas powered mower. She did not shut off the machine, but instead reached down and attempted to pull them out. She permanently lost several fingers on one of her hands.
A John Hopkins Bloomsburg School of Health study found that nearly 80,000 people are treated each year for lawn mower injuries. The most common were strikes from debris, such as rocks or and branches being propelled by the lawn mower blades.
6. I am saving money. Who wouldn't want to save money. Especially if you knew that you were literally flushing all your efforts down the storm drain. Organic lawn products may be a bit more expensive, but you use less of them than the conventional fertilizers. Reduced mowing and watering means more money in your pocket. Thirty percent of water used on the East coast goes to watering lawns.
7. Green is in and I don't mean lawn. Going green is on a rise and more and more people are jumping on the green wagon. Doing something that is good for the environment, your health and your wallet is a good thing. Reduce, reuse and recycle never looked better for lawn care.
I probably could state lots of facts and statistics for establishing an organically grown lawn, but have provides some helpful and informative sites and books for you to read for yourself. Perhaps they will make you look at your lawn in a whole different way.
http://www.safelawns.org/index.cfm
http://www.eartheasy.com/grow_lawn_care.htm
http://www.organiclawncaretips.com/
http://www.neutonpower.com/ (Battery powered lawn mowers)
"Teaming with Microbes" by Jeff Lowenfels
"Organic Lawn Care Manual" by Paul Tukey
"Second Nature" by Michael Pollan
"American Green: The American Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn" by Ted Steinberg
"Grow Organic" by Doug Oster and Jessica Walliser
"Organic Lawn Care Manual" by Paul Tukey
"Second Nature" by Michael Pollan
"American Green: The American Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn" by Ted Steinberg
"Grow Organic" by Doug Oster and Jessica Walliser
Yippee, I finally did it! I grew my first delphinium. Now, some of you out there are probably saying, big deal, so she grew her first delphinium. But, for me, it is a really big deal. You see, my sister has grown prize delphiniums for years. You could say that she has the delphinium green thumb. Her delphiniums are down right gorgeous. She can manage to keep them blooming right through our first frost and into November.
