Natural and Sustainable

Getting a green, healthy and eye-appealing lawn takes patience and care. But does it have to come at a chemical expense? No. Here are four ways to get that lawn you want, without going the chemical route and even making it worse for the environment and you wallet.

1. Choose the right fertilizer: Synthetic fertilizers damage the health of the lawn by offering a quick burst of nutrients that quickly dissipate. In turn this leave your grass weak and wanting more, and more. And the run off from this synthetic fertilizers will eventually run off into the water ways and ground water supply. Natural and organic fertilizers like manure, compost, seaweed, however, release nutrients slowly, allowing the grass to take them up over a long period of time. This preserves the quality of the soil and encourages earthworms and healthy microbes.

2. Remove the thatch: Thatch is that brown layer of old grass and other debris that builds up ion the surface of the soil under you grass. If it is left to remain on the grass it can prevent water and even fertilizers from reaching the roots of the grass in your lawn. Be sure and remove the thatch in the early summer or around the end of spring. Be sure and sue a sturdy rake to remove this.

3. Top-dress your lawn: Adding a fine layer of homemade or animal-based composted manure to the lawn surface during the same time you go to remove the thatch will help stimulate the growth of new shoots on the grass shaft. This in turn will help the quality of the soil in your yard as well.

4. Control the weeds in an organic and natural way: Pulling by hand is the best way to combat weed issues, but if your lawn is way to big to be going around and pulling the weeds, be sure and use organic and natural weed killers on the market today. There are ones that are specifically made for crabgrass, dandelions and even other types of weeds such as clover.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Victoria’s Secret is going all-organic in their “Pink” line of women’s clothing. This is just one more way that Victoria’s Secret is still the favorite among men.

1. Pick the right kind of grass for your own area: Having grass that’s adapted to your own climate area will be a natural grass and end up being less work for you or your lawn maintenance person in beginning, as well as the end.

2. Raise the lawn mower height on your mower: Making your lawn look like a golf course weakens the grass by creating a very shallow root system in turn this brings on drought, disease, and even more weeds. Raising your lawn mower height to about 2 1/2 to 3-inches helps the lawn by preventing weeds. The taller the grass, the better this tall grass helps shade the soil surface from the sun and this encourages a deeper root system.

3. Leave the clippings: As the clippings decompose, they end up adding nitrogen to the soil and reduce the need for fertilizers. If you fertilize twice a year, that means you skip one of the two fertilizing needs for your lawn.

4. Water with care: Water infrequently, but deeply is the old saying and it stands true. Water grass too much and it ends up sending contaminated runoff straight into the nearest storm sewer system. Grass needs about 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches of water per week during the growing season, including rain, to stay green and to keep the root system healthy. So be sure and water early in the day so that the wet grass will have plenty of time to dry before the cooler night air arrives.

5. Aerate the soil: This is not only important for grasses growth, but it also makes the lawn more resistant to drought by improving the water and air movement within the soil itself. Aerate once a year, mainly in the spring.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: If you are in the Oregon area and are looking for bamboo ideas to use in your own yard, check out Bamboo Valley in Albany, Oregon. They are licensed, bonded and Insured and will bring you the landscape design and consulting and installation. They also help you with control of bamboo and even the removal of. They sale custom dug bamboo, timber bamboo and even help with bamboo privacy screens. Give Dain Sansome a call at (541) 223-5142. Remember, bamboo is a sustainable resource and add beauty and value to your very own home or business.

The details on air filtration devices: After doing all you can to try and solve your air-quality problem at its source, an air filtration unit with a HEPA filter may still be a worthwhile investment. Before you buy, speak to a reputable vendor about the specific problem you are trying to solve and what ever else you have done to address it. If possible, always test the noise level when the system is operating to be sure it doesn’t sound like a 747 during take off.

Other things to keep in mind:

• While a variety of technologies exist, there are no standards regarding the performance, efficiency and effectiveness of air filtration devices.

• Air filters designed to filter a single room will perform well when there is central air circulation. Isolating the room may yield better results, but remember to allow for some fresh air too.

• There is no filtration or ventilation system that can effectively remove secondhand tobacco smoke.

WATCH THE WATER TOO:

There’s no better way to water efficiently than with drip irrigation. In fact, in some water-strapped states with regulations, it’s the only way you can supply H2O to thirsty plants regularly. Have a system installed or put on in yourself with components from the hardware store. To save even more water, get a programmable timer with a rain sensor. No more turning the faucet on and off or having the system come on when it rains. These handy gizmos can be added to an existing system. Even more high tech is the “smart” controller. It communicates with area weather stations or satellites to supple the right amount of water for your garden based on current weather and rainfall. Get a controller just right for your garden from a dealer such as Rainbird or a local irrigation specialist. (Source: Garden Gate 2008)

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Green Fatigue: [/gren fuh teeg/] noun 1: a term (first spotted in media coming out of the über-eco UK) referring to the growing backlash of apathy among people for whom the initial buzz of going green is wearing off.
n. 2: the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness that can get greenies down, resulting in occasional indulgence in plastic and conventional fruit.
n. 3: doing and trying everything you can to live a more eco-friendly and eco-conscious life and still feeling like you haven’t done enough.

Usages in a sentence: “Hey, don’t succumb to green fatigue; it too shall pass, and your convictions will be restored again soon. Let’s do something green together, shall we?”

A lawn filters out pollutants, prevent erosion and add to your property value. Keeping a lawn doesn’t have to come at the expense of the environment. There are more organic lawn care products, such as the Cockadoodle DOO® fertilizer and weed control program, out these days. But remember, whether you use organic or inorganic fertilizer, more is not better. To avoid polluting ground water, read the label carefully and don’t use more than the recommended rate. Be sure to sweep granules that fall on the sidewalk or driveway back into the lawn and not into the street. (Source: Garden Gate 2008)

Here are some other tips to greening your lawn:

1. Set your mower as high as it will go (3 to 4 inches).

2. Water only when your grass shows signs of drought stress and then water deeply (put a cup in your sprinkler zone and make sure it gets at least an inch of water).

3. Fertilize with an organic fertilizer in the fall and spring.

4. Have the pH of your soil professionally tested. Add lime if it is below 6.0 and gardener’s sulfur if it is above 7.0.

5. How much top soil do you have? See how deep a shovel will go into the soil. How deep can you dig a hole in one minute? Four inches of topsoil will make for an okay lawn. Eight or more inches of topsoil will make for a great lawn.

6. Use a reel mower saves on gas and oil. If a regular reel mower is too hard for you to push, try a battery powered mower.

7. Make your own compost pile with scraps from your kitchen and lawn. They are going to end up in the trash in the long run, might as well put them to work for you.

8. Add organic matter with well-aged leaf compost.

9. Don’t water between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. or in strong winds. Water deeply but infrequently — about one inch of water per week.

10. Mow at 3 inches. This height promotes deeper root growth and reduces moisture loss. Short grass is more prone to drought and disease.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Cancel the phone-book delivery to your home. If you own a computer, it is just as quick if not faster to look up a number on the internet than a book full a paper. If you must have a phone book in hand or don’t own a computer, once you receive your new book, place your old book or books in the recycling pile.