Natural and Sustainable

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.