Current Issue

Sierra Club, Indiana Chapter

Stay Connected

facebook
youtube
twitter

The Baby Fair, Bloomington, Feb. 7, pregnancy
Regions Bank
Local Food, listing, Indiana local farms, producers, vendors, support
CSA, Community Supported Agriculture, listing, Indiana
subscribe, support, magazine, living green
Show your support, get your badge, badge, support ILG

Subscribe by Email

Subscribe to ILG by Email
Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Keep lawns safe for you, your family, pets and wildlife
Magazine Articles - Gardening & Nature
Thursday, 24 April 2008 06:41
For many folks, the term “organic” conjures up a picture of the 1960s’ homesteading hippie, bedecked in bib overalls. So, the word “natural” may be a better word to describe the best gardening and lawn practices. Plus, it gives a little leeway if there is the rare occasion when one must step off the organic path to handle something truly out-ofcontrol.Furthermore, since the U.S. Department of Agriculture has commandeered the word “organic” with its regulations, “natural” seems a more natural way to go.

lawn.jpg
The lawn guy with the chemical spray has become as common in many neighborhoods as the milkman was in the l950s. Interestingly, that’s about when America’s love affair with the English concept of lawns took hold in an almost fanatic fashion. Post-World War II home ownership skyrocketed and with easy access to cars in our more affluent society, the suburbs with their expansive lawns became a reality.

About the same time chemical companies, which had been busy producing weapons, were anxious to continue at their war time production rate, so they tweaked their formulations and began advertising their products to the new homeowners in the newest American lifestyle: the subdivision with affordable, mass-produced, cookie-cutter homes — each with an expanse of front lawn.

With the proliferation of golf courses, beautification contests sponsored by the Garden Clubs of America, the lawn industry was riding high. Clover and violets didn’t have a chance. Yet clover is a nitrogen-fixer, pulling nitrogen from the air without the need of additional products. Plus the clover was an expected source of food for the honeybees that are necessary for plant pollination.

Violets, one of the prettiest signs of spring, are a larval food source for fritillary butterflies. So with the loss of the lovely blue-purple spring flowers, we also lost many butterflies. The heavily sprayed lawns also create victims, such as robins who can’t find worms in polluted soil, and family dogs who are exposed to the chemicals then lick their paws.

Many people wrongfully believe that any product approved for sale by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is safe. But in fact, approval for sale is no stamp of safety. Pesticides, herbicides and insecticides are all “cides,” a suffix from Latin meaning “to kill.” To assume that something is deadly to some creatures but does no harm to others is quite baffling, yet many people don’t make that connection and use “cides” indiscriminately. Moreover, the EPA has, more than once, recalled products it had previously approved. Dursban is just one recent example. In 2001, the EPA established a phased withdrawal for residential use of chlorpyrifos, Dursban’s main chemical ingredient.

Requirements for healthy lawn

A healthy natural lawn demands first, a new attitude about what to expect. If you insist on a thick green carpet for your lawn growing on soil barren of worms and other animals, you can either buy one at Cheap Carpet Outlets, or continue the chemical applications offered by the lawn guy. If, on the other hand, you want a live, healthy natural lawn that can give you safe passage for kids and pets, offer nourishment and shelter to birds, bees and butterflies, without harming the water we drink, then start with a new attitude about what your lawn should be.

Protect and feed the soil
Whether it’s lawn or garden, feed the soil not the plant. Soil is not dirt; dirt is what you sweep off the kitchen floor. Soil is the top layer of the earth and, when healthy, teems with life: microbes, bacteria, fungi and earthworms. This mostly microscopic community is critical to healthy soil and healthy plants, including grass. The living soil needs to be fed, and that is best done naturally by applying a 1/4- to 1/3-inch of organic compost over the lawn. Organic compost is ideal because it offers the full range of nutrients the soil needs while adding organic matter back to the soil.

Fertilize less
The standard for years for a natural boost in nitrogen has been alfalfa meal, available at farm or feed stores and some online retailers. Other popular organic fertilizers include ground corn, cottonseed, corn gluten meal and soy. Although the nutrient content is not as high as in synthetic fertilizers, the nutrients are more readily used by the organisms in soil, improving the physical structure of soil, allowing for better water-holding capacity and easier access to air by plant roots. There are prepackaged organic fertilizers available as well from Bradfield Organics and Gardens Alive! to name a few. For a natural lawn, a single application of fertilizer is often sufficient, but September is the optimum time to apply it, say the experts at Purdue University. If a second application is needed, apply another in November to encourage root growth and early spring green-up.

Control weeds
While many enjoy the beauty and benefits of clover and violets in the natural lawn, there may be other weeds such as dandelion or plantain that you wish to eliminate. Horticultural vinegar with 20-percent acidity works well in a spray bottle for attacking individual weeds; however, this is non-selective, which means it may kill or damage desirable plants. Consider corn gluten as preemergent for crabgrass and other annual weeds. Yes, the same corn gluten fertilizer also controls weeds. Apply in early spring to inhibit seed germination. The old standard of hand pulling is also effective for weed control with the added benefit of exercising the body.

Mow correctly

Higher mowing (3 to 4 inches) is best for the cool season lawn, such as bluegrass, fescues. The taller grass has more structure to receive sunlight for growing strong roots that will provide better drought resistance. Taller grass also shades out weeds seeds, reducing germination.

Water wisely
Indiana is blessed with more than 40 inches of rainfall annually, receiving about 4 inches a month during the hot summer months. Purdue agronomists recommend that lawns get about an inch of water each week during the growing season. If it rains that inch, no need to water that week. Most of Indiana’s lawns can easily withstand two to three weeks without water without any damage. Grass has a natural tendency to go dormant during a short drought and it will slowly recover as the rain returns.

Natural lawn care is easy on the soil, family and pets, as well as the wildlife that use the lawn. An added benefit is that it’s easy on the caretaker. Slow down and enjoy your lawn naturally this summer!


Comments (0)Add Comment

Write comment

security code
Write the displayed characters


busy
 
About the author Lynn Jenkins
Lynn Jenkins is the publisher of Indiana Living Green. She is also a Habitat Steward Host for National Wildlife Federation, editor of Hoosier Organic Gardener, the newsletter of the Indiana Organic Gardeners Association, and a member of Garden Writers Association.

Green Greeting (Jan/Feb 2010)
12.28.09
Old Resolutions Go GreenThe pleasures of winter holidays fall quickly to the stark New Year....
Read More...
A passion for stewardship - Footprints
12.28.09
A retired teacher with a deep admiration for Rachel Carson, Rosie Bishop has boundless energy for...
Read More...
Hooping While Hoping - The Last Row
12.28.09
Hooping While Hoping I’m an incurable optimist, so I’ve always believed that lack of complete...
Read More...
Fish and Wildlife Service works with Benton County wind farm to protect Indiana bats
Monday, 08 February 2010
Fowler, Ind. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the owners of the Fowler Ridge I Wind Farm in Benton County, Ind., have announced they are...
Read More...
Training set for backyard fruit growers
Monday, 08 February 2010
West Lafeyette, Ind. — The Purdue School for Back Yard Fruit Growers will take growers through "Adventures in Backyard Fruit Production" in a...
Read More...
Organic dairy practices reduce output and cost of feed
Monday, 08 February 2010
West Lafayette, Ind. — Although dairy producers can expect less milk when switching from conventional to organic production, they may be able to...
Read More...
Broad Ripple Park forms friends' group
Sunday, 07 February 2010
Indianapolis — The Friends of Broad Ripple Park is a newly-founded organization with a passion and appreciation for the park and its many...
Read More...
Bloomington's Winter Market Opens Saturday
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Bloomington, Ind. — Bloomington Winter Farmers Market kicks off its sixth year 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, at Harmony School, 902...
Read More...
Landscaping with Rain Gardens Workshop
Saturday, 09 January 2010
Rain Gardens are a hot topic in gardening now, along with native plants, vegetable gardening and wildlife gardening. Rain gardens are a good...
Read More...
Green Apps on iPhone/iPod
Thursday, 07 January 2010
Recently, I noticed there are more and more Green apps in the  App Store on my iPod (Stuck with Verizon Wireless, can't have iPhone :( , really...
Read More...
Another Indiana Farmer's Market!
Friday, 01 January 2010
We’re not perfect! Never claimed to be… we’re just trying our best to be green and share the info. So when we publish lists, we know there’s...
Read More...

HEC - Jesse Kharbanda
HEC - Jesse Kharbanda

Wouldn’t it be great if there were jobs in Indiana where you did something that you enjoyed, got paid pretty decently, and were healing
the planet, all at the same time? That type of job exists — and, no,
I don’t mean working as a senior executive at the Indianapolis Zoo!

Emerging in the background of Indiana’s tough economic climate are green jobs — opportunities to design, build and sell the next generation of sustainable products, from electrical vehicles to wind turbines to zero emission buildings. According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, Indiana  already has about 17,000 of those clean energy jobs.

More...

WendellThe initial question from those who want to eat local is: “How, in the dead
of an Indiana winter, can I obtain enough wholesome local foods to sustain a healthy mind and body?”

For a start, patronize your local winter markets. Produce shipped 2,000 miles from the field to your crisper is prized for travel, but not taste. At the market, you’ll find sweet potatoes; regular potatoes in various colors, such as white, red or blue; turnips; brussels sprouts; parsnips; carrots; mushrooms, salad greens and more.

More...
Rural Free: A Farmwife’s Almanac of Country Living
12.30.09
by Rachel Peden,Drawings by SidonieCoryn, Quarry Books,2009, .95, paperback  
Read More...
Native American Medicinal Plants:
01.31.10
An Ethnobotanical Dictionaryby Daniel E. Moerman, TimberPress, 2009, .95, paperback    
Read More...
When Changing A Lightbulb Just Isn’t Enough:
12.28.09
150 Ways to Slash Your Household Bills and Save Energy, Too by The Editors of Popular Mechanics,...
Read More...
Seed Savers Exchange
01.31.10
As you plan this year’s garden, Seed Savers Exchange is a terrific source for organic heirloom...
Read More...
Eco Yoga Mat
12.30.09
Yoga is the perfect practice for the New Year’s resolution to get into better shape, and a good...
Read More...
Organic Bouquet
12.28.09
Organic Bouquet has many selections for Valentine’s Day and other occasions, with flowers plucked...
Read More...