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Many people believe that a lawn is the easiest way to maintain your yard. This is exactly opposite from the truth. The lawn is the highest consumer of water, chemical fertilizers, herbicides and your time as it needs to be mowed weekly. The pollution created by the inefficient motors used for landscape maintenance equipment accounts for 5 to 10% of urban air pollution during the growing season. The two-stroke engine will leave approximately 30% of its fuel unburned and the pollution created from running your lawnmower for 1 hour has been estimated at the equivalent of driving your car from Calgary to Vancouver.
Getting rid of your gas lawn mower will go a long way towards creating a greener environment in your yard and neighborhood. Luckily there are other options like electric mowers and new battery powered lawn mowers. The best option of course is the push reel mowers, which by design are better for your lawn as they slice the grass tips off where blade mowers rip the blade and leave jagged edges that are more susceptible to diseases. You might be thinking that it will do you in to mow your entire lawn with a push mower, which leads me to my next point - minimizing your lawn space. Ask yourself what you really use your lawn for and then try designing your space with that in mind. Removing excess lawn and replacing it with perennial, tree and shrub beds will reduce maintenance, water consumption and chemical usage not to mention creating a more comfortable and inviting space for all.
A healthy chemical free lawn can be achieved without much effort. Below are some suggestions:
- 4 to 6 inches of soil allows for healthy root systems which absorb and retain moisture for longer with less frequent and deeper watering.
- Allowing your lawn to dry down between watering forces the roots deeper and produces a more drought tolerant lawn. Look for signs that your lawn is ready to be watered.
- When you water use a Frisbee or something similar and measure how much water you apply. 1" of water is effective and water in the morning or early evening to reduce water loss from evaporation.
- Let your grass grow to a height of 3 to 4" before mowing. The taller grass allows for a greater leaf surface that enables the plant to create more food. The shade created will protect the grass from extreme heat, reduce evaporation losses from the soil and help prevent weed seed from germinating.
- Make sure you have sharp blades on your lawn mower; dull blades will rip and tear the grass making it more susceptible to diseases.
- Allow grass clippings to fall on the lawn where they will break down and help feed the soil which in turn will feed the grass. This will not create a thatch issue which is commonly created by over-fertilization that encourages rapid root growth and shallow watering that causes roots rhizomes to mat on the surface.
- Aerate compacted soil under your lawn to improve water absorption and bring soil up to top-dress the lawn as the soil plugs break up.
- Top-dress the lawn with compost or well-rotted manure.
- Fertilize with organic or natural fertilizers like Corn Gluten Meal in the spring which can also impede dandelion seed from germinating: a natural weed and feed.
- Over-seed your lawn in the spring as a form of weed control. A thick healthy lawn that is allowed to grow a little taller will help choke out weeds.
- Finally, lower your standards and allow some weeds to co-exist in your lawn. If one of the reasons for having a lawn is to provide a place for your family and pets to play, then perhaps a few weeds is a price worth paying for a safer environment.
Grow Green and Support Your Environment!
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