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Home > Blogs > Down to Earth > Archives > 2008 > May > 13 > Entry
Tips for “Going Green” With Your Yard
I’ve never really minded dandelions all that much, which probably explains why my yard quickly takes on a “wild and woolly” look the day after I mow it, in contrast to the well-manicured lawns of many of my neighbors.
But why resign yourself to having a jungle in your backyard, even if you loathe using chemicals? A reader of this blog back in January remarked she’d like to know about local companies she could turn to that don’t use conventional lawn pesticides, adding she didn’t want to fall into that “green lawn” trap.
At her suggestion, I made some phone calls, and found Miami Valley yards have begun “going green” as their owners seek lawn care options they perceive as better for the environment, pets and children.
Mark Grunkemeyer, owner of Buckeye Ecocare, said about 50 of the 6,000 lawns serviced by his Centerville company are on a strict organic program. That is up from virtually none a couple of years ago.
Some property owners are mindful of any potential harm to children, pets and the environment from lawn chemicals, much as they were during a short-lived organic lawn care boom in the early 1990s.
“What we do in our backyards goes straight to the Ohio River. We should be good neighbors,” said Marvin Duren, a Vietnam veteran who said he was influenced by the effects of the defoliant Agent Orange.
Duren’s company, Marvin’s Organic Gardens near Lebanon, has about 25 first-time organic lawn care customers this year — four times what the company had a year ago.
Sales of corn gluten, a pre-emergent used in early spring to suppress weeds, were up 4 percent from a year ago despite a big price hike.
Good results from an organic lawn care program typically take three to five years, said Ken Cline, manager of Deal’s Landscape Inc. of Beavercreek, whose organic lawn care division has had 40 estimates this spring, double last year’s. “Organic is not a quick fix, that’s for sure,” Cline said.
Organics made up 5 percent of all turf pesticide purchases by lawn care operators in 2007, according to Lawn & Landscape magazine.
Those products will have to improve and become more competitively priced to be a bigger part of the lawn care business, Grunkemeyer said.
“We’ve created a marketplace where people are not willing to pay for a service that doesn’t deliver a perfect lawn,” he said. “We’ve spoiled ourselves.”
Here are a few basic tips for organic lawn-care:
• Raise the deck of your mower about half an inch between mowings until you’re cutting only the tips of the grass, leaving 3 inches to 4.5 inches. This will help grass shade out weeds. • Make sure your blades are sharp so they don’t rip the grass. • Test your soil to see what nutrients, insect and weed control are needed. • Don’t bag grass clippings. • Do your homework on product claims. “People seem to think ‘organic’ means it’s safer for the environment and the person, and that’s not necessarily true,” said Tom Delaney of the Professional Landcare Network. • Aerification, or the process of removing small plugs of soil, can be used to improve soil health, though local lawn-care business owners differ on how often to use it. • Make sure your lawn is adequately watered. • Products: Milky Spore (kills grubs); horticultural vinegar (spot-treating weeds); corn gluten (pre-emergent seed suppressant) Source: Local companies that provide organic lawn-care services.
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By ComeRoundRight
May 16, 2008 9:42 AM | Link to this
‘tis a gift to be simple… Plant a vegetable garden. Use your land for food. Save money. Exercise. Reconnect with the bounty that soil, water and air provide us….with just a little effort. Be proud to provide for yourself, family and neighbors. What good is weed-free green grass? It says, “I have a lot of time and money on my hands. So much time, I choose to drive to the supermarket to buy some melon grown 1500 miles away, purchase some more gasoline, so I can get back to mow again.”