Lawn Pesticides

Most people have a love/hate relationship with their lawns. If we just have to have one, grass – as opposed to a yard full of food crops or ornamental beauties – just has be fed and cared for to look good and this is where the ‘hate’ thing comes into play. I’ll admit that sometimes I don’t mind taking the hour it takes to walk behind my little mower to cut the grass but there are a ton of other things I would rather do.

The pesticides and fertilizers required to give the lawn that lush green look is something else that goes against my desire to live ‘chemical-free’, as if that bit of ‘nirvana’ can ever be achieved.

In a home garden environment the pesticides can be non-existent if you follow good companion planting techniques. But on lawns, short of allowing anything to grow there that wants to, if we want that wide expanse of lush green carpet without dandelions and crabgrass and grubs etc then we reach for the chemical sprays.

According to Beyond Pesticides, a national coalition against the misuse of pesticides, herbicides or weed killers account for the highest percentage of use in landscapes and gardens. Collectively Americans put down more than 90 million pounds of herbicides on their lawns and gardens each year, and suburban lawns and gardens are blanketed with more pounds per acre of pesticides on average than agricultural land. And of course, pesticides used in food and ornamental gardens can be hazardous as well, both in the environment and as residues on food.

Consider these other facts compiled by Beyond Pesticides in their Lawn Pesticide Facts and Figures Factsheet. Many commonly used lawn pesticides are probable or possible carcinogens and have been linked to liver and kidney damage, childhood asthma, and disruption of the endocrine system. Children are most at risk; one study showed that home and garden pesticide use can increase the risk of childhood leukemia almost seven times. Dogs exposed to herbicide-treated lawns and gardens have double the risk of lymphoma. Birds, aquatic life, and bees are harmed by many commonly used lawn pesticides.

And it's not just the "active ingredients" in pesticides and herbicides that are cause for concern. The composition of the "inert ingredients" that form the bulk of the product don't need to be disclosed on the label, but are often quite toxic, sometimes even more so than the active ingredient.

To read more about the dangers that lawn and garden pesticides and herbicides can pose to people, pets, and the environment, go to Beyond Pesticides.

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Truly 'Green' Lawns

Originally posted in Grist

The American lawn. Symbol of prestige! Source of unending drudgery! Environmental nightmare!

Why do we have this thing, anyway?

The lawn originated in Europe, perhaps first as an areacleared near castles to allow for the easy sighting of potential attackers, then later maintained as a sign of social standing -- all that open space without food growing on it meant you had to be pretty rich.

These days, many American neighborhoods require either a well-tended, well-watered lawn (although more environmentally friendly types of landscaping are sometimes acceptable as well). Failure to maintain the standard lush green carpet can result in nastiness from neighbors, or even fines.

All this has become a problem now that the economy has hit the skids, because keeping grass in tip-top shape is not as easy here as it was in ye olde England.

I had heard before of stiff fines for grass that grows too high in places like Florida. I hadn't thought about the opposite problem: Lawns in dry parts of the country that just shrivel up and die for lack of intensive watering and other expensive maintenance.

But let's not forget that wonderful thing called American ingenuity. If you're worried that your neighbors are getting ready to call the lawn police because of your withered grass, you can just pull out the paint gun! That's what some folks in Phoenix are doing, according to a report in TheNew York Times:

Doug McGraw, who lives in the Dreaming Summit subdivision in western Phoenix, has been cited for neglecting his lawn. Like many homeowners here, Mr. McGraw saw his finances in turmoil of couple of years back and had no extra money to spend on the lawn. "I just let it go one year, and it went to brown," he said.

A citation letter arrived from the homeowners' association.

That is when his wife, tongue in cheek, remarked that if food could be dyed, why not lawns? Mr.  McGraw began researching the issue and discovered that those who operate athletic fields and golf courses do indeed use lawn dye to keep their grass green year-round.

Unsure whether this would be allowed by his association, and somewhat embarrassed to be taking the easy way out, he dyed his lawn one night in the spring of 2009 without telling a soul in the neighborhood.

The idea that painting lawns green is a growth industry -- an income source that might enable people to keep their own lawns painted green and the homeowners' association at bay -- says a lot about where we've come to as a country.

I couldn't help thinking about the scene in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland where two hapless lackeys are caught painting white roses red by the Queen of Hearts, who shouts "Off with their heads!" (Alice saves their lives).

Maybe an even more appropriate echo can be found in the mythical Potemkin villages erected to impress Russia's Catherine the Great on her tour of the newly acquired Crimea region, back in 1787. No one is really sure if the story is true, but legend has it that the empress's minister, Grigory Potemkin, had fake houses built along the monarch's route so that she would not be able to see the poverty of her new subjects.

Here in the good old U.S. of A., even as our nation gropes along in financial and environmental freefall and entire subdivisions go down to foreclosure, we've got to keep up appearances. Because otherwise, what would the neighbors think?

- - - -

An alternative, of course, is to tear out that lawn and plant something more to your liking, say, native plants or edible plants.

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My ‘to do’ list is burying me

Over this spring and summer I have been making a list of all the cool ideas I have seen in magazines, books, blogs, websites, etc that I would like to put into my yard and garden.

Last week, I took a look at that list. Then, after stepping back, taking a deep breath, and developing a very skeptical frown, said to myself "There is no way you are going to get all of that done!" I may have created a monster. One that will most assuredly demand every free minute of my time. I know me well enough to know that I won’t do all of this. Hmmm, maybe if I break it down into smaller pieces so it doesn’t look so overwhelming, I can get it done. I am a hopeless optimist. Time management will definitely play a huge roll if this list is going to be completed.

Projects:
1-Replace grass under the fruit trees with groundcover so I don’t have to mow under them.
2-fill low areas in lawn with top soil
3-replace west gate with new gate, trellis and plant bed
4-replace grassy area at east gate, next to garage/shed with brick pavers in a lattice design (with thyme growing in the open areas)
5-build a cover over the deck, to block out sun, and to hang plants from
6-build trellis over B3 perennial bed to provide some relief from the intense sun
7-build a ladder trellis for containers to set on back deck
8-build shelves in back shed to store pots, plant trays, etc
9-lay a flagstone walkway to back shed
10-install walkway lights along driveway and front/back walkways
11-design an herbal bed and make herbal vinegars, potpourris, teas, etc
12-design and build a row cover system to extend growing season
13-design and build a cold frame
14-paint bird bath and shed doors deep blue?
15-make edging more permanent with bricks or stone
16-make hose guides for garden hoses until irrigation system is installed
17-build another tower for runner beans
18-build a better trellis for tomatoes, those wire jobs are just not strong enough
19-install irrigation system, tired of dragging garden hose around, timer would be a life saver
20-design a trellis for front of house to grow clematis and or honeysuckle

I am sure the list will get longer before it gets shorter. I find so many great ideas from reading garden blogs, etc that I can't help but want to try them myself. Maybe I should just learn to restrict myself a little. Oh, where's the fun in that?

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Bumpy, rough lawns

I have one of these. It was bumpy when I moved here. It was bumpy, lumpy and treacherous to walk on. And mowing was no picnic either. Almost every neighbor I talked to about it told me the same thing. They told me that the lumpiness is caused by an over-abundance of earthworms. I believe earthworms in the lawn is a good thing. Earthworms anywhere is a good thing. From hearing them talk this soil should be rich enough to grow anything I wanted without having to add anything to the soil. I was thrilled to hear that this might be the case, but I found it difficult to believe that the noble earthworm was the cause of my bumpy, rough lawn.

Since I had never lived anywhere where I had to take care of a lawn, I was a lawn-maintenance virgin. And as such, I could not dispute what I was being told so I began reading and searching for other causes of bumpy, rough lawns.

There are several possible reasons for bumpy, rough, uneven lawns. Older lawns become uneven and bumpy as the Turfgrass gradually thins. These lawns have less foliar growth and cushioning effect than thick, dense Turfgrass.

When I first moved in the grass was browning and thin in some areas and so I thought this must be why this lawn is lumpy. The solution seemed clear, if I simply feed it and water it on a regular schedule I could ‘save’ this lawn by myself. This great delusion began in the Summer of 2004. By the end of 2005, after following the commonly prescribed practice of weed & feed at regular intervals, it was very clear to me that what I was doing was not working. After two Summers, two Autumns, and one Spring, I still had no idea how to save this lawn and I still had brown areas, thinning grass and a bumpy, rough surface along with ever increasing water bills.

During this time of indoctrination by fire, I had dug up the lawn in several places looking for these nefarious earthworms but never did find more than a handful. I didn’t find the rich mountains of castings that I was told was creating the ankle-twisting mis-adventures that I had come to expect from simply walking across the lawn.

Other reasons for lumpiness could be poor maintenance, shade, insects, diseases and other factors. I suspect it was poor maintenance. There was no way it was shade because the lawn is in full sun all day long except for under the fruit trees and the grass was lush and thick there. As far as insects and diseases, I didn’t see anything that convinced me that these were the causes. And there are the ‘other factors’. I don’t have a clue what these could be. Maybe moles, voles and other rodents but that is not the case. Never saw any of these here.

Everyone said I should aerate. That should level it out in no time. They reasoned that aeration helps open up the soil to allow air and water down to the grass roots and thereby create a more lush turf. I can’t help but think that if I have such an abundance of earthworms then my lawn is already very well aerated by them. But, I had someone come out to aerate anyway, because it is good practice to do so. The ground was so hard that it was basically a waste of time.

So, if the ground is too hard to aerate, then earthworms is not the cause of my lumpiness.

Spring of 2006 came around and I was not looking forward to fighting a loosing battle so I spoke with a lawn service guy and decided to let them take care of it all for a couple of years. I figured I would pay close attention to when they came around and make note of what they used and then I would be able to take it from there. It is now two years later and my lawn has never looked better. But, I still have lumps.

Their advice was pretty much the same as everyone else who has lived around here for years. Aerate. Is this just a commonly accepted ‘cure-all’ for lawn problems? Even though it obviously does not work.

Just today I read an article that mentioned the freeze/thaw cycle here in Utah. I suppose it is the same in every northern state but it never occurred to me that this might, if not cause the problem then at least it could be contributing to the problem. If this is the case then the only course of action now is to sprinkle top soil and reseed every year. This may have to be the way to go because I don’t think it will ever ‘cure’ the lumpiness.

I guess I am just going to have to live with it. Or, I could replace all of it with wildflowers and sell my lawn mower. Now that sounds like a great alternative.

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Never mow again.

Boy, those three words just painted the most wondrous image for me.

Imagine, a beautiful plant-filled ‘yard’ with meandering, shrub and flower-lined stone paths that lead from one welcome view to the next. If you saw the pictures of my backyard you would know I desperately need something to liven it up. It is just so bland and grass-filled right now. The edges are beginning to take shape, but the middle is where the real fun will be.

I have seen so many of everyone else’s yards in your blogs that are filled with plants and paths and I get to longing for my space to look as colorful as those.

I was reading the latest issue of Garden Gate magazine just today and found an article about this very topic. This particular article displays a yard in Colorado, same zone as mine, 5, but on the other side of the Rockies, and it looks like it would be idea for my place. Of course, being on this side of the mountains we tend to get a little drier so that would require a slight adjustment to my available plant options.

In trying to determine just where the paths should be laid out I am using my ‘daily’ trek to the bird feeders as a guide and they should be ‘indirect’ paths, of course.

And of course the path should continue on to the back shed, and then to the raspberry patch, and to the fruit trees lined up on the west side of the yard. and the raised vegetable beds at the very back.

I don’t think there’s a shortage of ideas as to why I ‘need’ a stone path. And then, there is the biggest reason of all. I don’t like to mow my lawn! And I would like the yard to be more…I don’t know, 3 dimensional! Not just north to south and east to west, I want it to go up too.

I envision lots of evergreen shrubs (in several shapes, sizes and shades of green), yarrow, daylilies, dianthus, salvia, lavender, roses, ornamental grasses. Take a breath. My mind is just swimming with possibilities. I’m mapping it out as I’m writing this trying to get as much down as I can.

My back yard covers just under 1,000 square feet so this is not going to happen by next year. I’ll have to figure out how to break it down into stages so it can slowly (and more affordably) get to where I want it.

I love planning and designing. This yard is the first where I have actually been able to put my plans into action. Because of my job, the one I retired from, I could never plan on staying in one place long enough to realize my designs. Finally, I’m going to get to see if those plans will actually come to fruition. So far my wife, family and neighbors like what they see. But it’s so small and new still. I am so exited.

Sometimes I think they all just tolerate my enthusiasm. But, I guess I do believe they like the changes so far.

Let’s see, this is going to require adjusting my irrigation plans. And if I can work out having some fragrant plants near the back deck…oh! See ya.

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Reflecting on past spaces

I was sitting on the back deck yesterday afternoon looking out over the beds I have planted. They really have come a long way from when we first moved here.

I went to the computer and began looking at some pictures I had taken before the projects were started and it felt good to compare how the yard has changed.

Here are a couple of pictures of the backyard in April of 2005:

This one shows the new raised beds I had just built and filled with soil and compost.

The back fence needs some sort of vine and shrubs to 'pretty it up' a bit. That's an apple tree in front of the beds.


This one shows a concrete pad that had a dog house on it and the area to the right is the future site of a perennial flower bed.

A plum tree is against the fence to the right of the apple tree.


These next two pictures show the backyard in May of 2006:

That's a cherry tree to the left and a box elder hanging over my shed from the yard behind us. This tree is the home to hundreds of box elder bugs. Nasty flying red things that are just bothersome. They say these bugs don't eat anything in the garden and so far I guess that has been shown, but they are messy.


Nothing much has changed here. I did dig up the future perennial bed on the right next to the fence and am getting rid of the weeds and will add compost etc before planting it in Spring 2007.

I have decided to pile compost material on the concrete pad hoping to get some compost. I know it isn't an ideal location, being on concrete, but at least it's a start.


These final two pictures show the backyard in July of 2007:

The 'Heritage' raspberry bushes behind the cherry tree finally produced and they were plump and juicy.The plants are five years old this year and I was told they don't produce before this age.



Here the perennial bed has finally been planted and almost everything is surviving, much to my surprise. I do have a record of killing off plants. I'm thinking that just maybe I am beginning to get the hang of this gardening thing. I did just feed everything a couple of days ago, so that's a positive thing.

Looking at the grass I can see it is beginning to return to a semi-healthy state. In 2005 I attempted to feed it on what I thought was a regular schedule but by 2006 I could tell that I did not yet understand how or when to do it. So, I hired a lawn service in 2006 before I did irreparable damage. Now I understand that I am supposed to sprinkle the lawn with some sort of compost/top soil mixture and aerate it every year.

I did have it aerated last year and again this year. When they aerated it this year their machine would barely dig into the ground which led me to ask questions about why. It seems that I may not be watering it well enough and I suspect there are other problems that I have not yet been 'made aware of'. It seems there always is something additional that needs to be done or I need to add a little 'finesse' in doing it the way I am.

As far as watering goes, I keep hearing and reading that you should water about 20 minutes several times a week with an occasional 'deep watering' but that is if you have an installed irrigation system, which I don't. You can see the garden hose laid out across the lawn and this is my irrigation system. I followed the 'experts' advice attempting to get enough water on the backyard and my wife took care of the front yard. I noticed she watered a lot longer than I did but I didn't say anything until towards the end of the year. The result was that the front yard greened up a lot better than the backyard. So, I am convinced that I need to water a lot more.

Boy, this learning process is long and arduous. If only I had an expert that can look at it and tell me (complete with a proper schedule) what to do then I would have the confidence to do it myself. I guess learning is a reward in and of itself so I have to keep learning in order to keep being rewarded.

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Mowed lawn for first time this year

Last year the first mowing wasn't until April 13. So, this is what about two weeks earlier. The grass was pretty tall because I waited as long as I could due to my lawn service spreading fertilizer and crabgrass preventer on top of the grass. It was already long at that point. I watered the lawn twice to get it all down as deep as I could before cutting it.

I got four full bags of grass. I put it all near the compost pile and spread it out so that any fertilizer and weed killer could be leached out before putting it on the compost pile.

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First lawn treatment of the year

Received a call yesterday from my lawn care people saying they wanted to do a weed and feed now. I told him I thought it was a bit early and my grass is still long from the winter. I like to leave it long so the soil doesn't dry out too much in our dry winters. He said it is best to get the treatment down as soon as possible and that the grass length shouldn't matter.

Well, I let him talk me into doing it against my better wishes. They spread granulated crab-grass preventer and feed and I can't figure how they expect ti to get down to the ground when the grass is long. Now if I cut it I will be pulling up everything they laid down. Doses anyone have any thoughts on this?

If I shouldn't worry about then fine I won't but it just doesn't sound right.

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