Have a healthy lawn
Q: I want a nice lawn, but some of my friends say that this is selfish and wasteful. Is there a way to take care of my yard and have it look nice without using so many chemicals?
A: Lawn care is one of the hot-button issues these days.
The grass plants that we use for lawns would all want to grow a couple feet tall if they were not mowed. We keep most lawns mowed to around 2 or 3 inches tall. Cutting any plant down to 1/10 its normal height means it needs more care to compensate for the harm being done to it. Any plant cut down to such a comparatively small size is more susceptible to insects and diseases and needs more careful watering to help compensate for the smaller root system that goes hand in hand with the smaller leaf area. By continually mowing a lawn, we are creating a bonsai landscape.
The amazing thing about grass is that it not only tolerates this reduction in size but can also handle some wear and tear from people and pets. Lawns are the safest and softest ground cover for kids and sports teams to play on. Lawns reduce
runoff, erosion and pollution into waterways and wetlands better than most ground cover materials. They produce more oxygen than ground covers and mulched beds.
Just because lawns need some care doesn’t mean they need all of the care that many people give them. Over $100 million a year are spent on grub-control chemicals in the U.S., but in my experience, the vast majority of that is wasted on lawns without grubs. Many lawn owners assume that products sold at stores are safe. They would be if applied properly, but many people don’t apply them in a safe manner. They apply too much, apply it at the wrong time and often apply the wrong product for the problem or products for nonexistent problems. Fertilizers applied improperly can pollute groundwater and surface water. So, if you are one of those people, then I would agree with your friends.
Since lawns require mowing and other care, reduction in the size of a lawn and the installation of low-maintenance plants will help reduce the environmental cost, but the trade-off is fewer of the environmental benefits mentioned above. There is no perfect choice of landscape plants.
Mow lawns as high as possible for the type of grass and the type of mower. Tall grass has fewer weed problems and requires less herbicide. Never send grass clippings to landfills, for they provide up to half of the fertilizer needs of a lawn if left on the lawn. Most lawns need very little fertilizer. Look on the bag to make sure that the nitrogen in lawn fertilizer comes from water-insoluble sources, so it doesn’t wash away.
Lawns should be inspected as they are mowed. Before any pesticide is applied, the problem should be properly identified. Then it should be monitored because most pest problems don’t rise to the level of needing chemical treatments. Hand-pulling weeds is not always possible, but a spot chemical treatment of the weeds is much better than spraying the whole lawn with herbicides.
In some regions of the country, additional lawn watering is unnecessary. In other regions, lawns cannot grow without it (there maybe shouldn’t be large lawns in these locations). Most lawns are located somewhere in between. Watering when the lawn doesn’t need it is wasteful. Water responsibly when your lawn does need it by watering when the water won’t evaporate. Water infrequently and deeply, so plant roots will grow deeper. Too much water harms grass plants, and watering more than is necessary may lead to additional mowing, which is also wasteful. Let your lawn go dormant when it is supposed to be dormant.
As you can see, there are plenty of alternative ways to begin caring for a lawn in a more ecological manner. Start now with some of them, and keep adding them as you get comfortable with how the lawn is doing.
The amazing thing about grass is that it not only tolerates the reduction in size but can also handle some wear and tear from people and pets.