TOXICS INFORMATION PROJECT
(TIP)
P.O. Box 40572, Providence, RI
02940
Tel. 401-351-9193, E-Mail: TIP@toxicsinfo.org
Website:
www.toxicsinfo.org
(Lighting the Way to Less
Toxic Living)
SIMPLE STEPS FOR SIMPLE LAWNS
Prepared by
the Barrington Conservation Commission, the
Barrington
Land Conservation Trust, and the Pokanoket
Watershed Alliance.
Updated 2004 by Sandra Wyatt, 401-246-0747.
1. FERTILIZER
-Use slow
release natural organic fertilizer
-Apply
only in spring and/or fall
-Apply
only over lawn; avoid driveway, street, etc.
-If your
lawn’s pH needs to be raised, use ground limestone
2. MOWING
-Mow
high, at least 2-3 inches
-Keep
lawn mower blades sharp
-Leave
clippings on the lawn
3. WATER
-Water only during dry periods (less than 1 inch every 1-2
weeks)
-Water up to 1 inch; do not give light, frequent waterings as it harms the root system
-Consider planting trees, shrubs and ground covers that are
native to our area and thus can better
adapt to our climatic conditions.
4. WEEDS, INSECTS AND FUNGAL DISEASES
-All three problems are best controlled by maintaining a
healthy lawn as described in 1,2,3 above
-Responsible homeowners are turning their attention to low
maintenance, natural techniques and not worrying so much about a
"perfect" green lawn. New grass varieties are on the market (called endophytic grasses) that resist
both diseases and insects, There are even “lo-gro”
types that need little mowing or fertilizing. You may want to overseed with one or more of them; several varieties of grass
growing together are better able to resist the above problems. New research
confirms that organic fertilizers are better for the lawn, and that cultural
practices like mowing and watering properly can reduce weeds. Researchers are
learning that common pesticides actually harm the lawn.
-If any of the above is a serious problem, check on natural
organic products for help (see next page). Remember that most herbicides,
fungicides and insecticides are harmful not only to your family and pets, but
to your neighbors and to all those who share the use of our rivers.
5. COMPOSTING
-Compost
leaves (except oak, since they take a long time to decompose) and other yard
debris; turn, sift and re-use as loam or mulch. Compost bins are available from
Solid Waste Co or Home Depot. Directions for composting can be picked up at the
DPW office.
-Leaves
dumped in woody areas kill off native growth and encourage exotic pest species;
be sure to put leaves in paper compost bags for collection by the town Yard
Waste truck; if you use a lawn company make sure they take all yard
waste to Walker Farm or other composting area.
SAVE THESE NOTES FOR REFERENCE
NATURAL
ORGANIC LAWN CARE
Natural
organic fertilizers are much less soluble than chemical fertilizers, and thus
do not run off so easily; your lawn will turn green just as surely, but more
slowly. Natural fertilizers may be more expensive per pound, but need to applied less often and are considerably safer in the long
run to environmental health.
The
following is a partial list of organic products that can be found at convenient
locations:
Other
types are: alfalfa meal, bloodmeal, castor pomace, cottonseed meal, and Nitro-l0. Natural cedar
fencing with no preservatives can be found at Redwood Nursery.
An excellent mail order source for
many natural organic products is:
Gardens Alive, 5100 Schenley
Place, Lawrenceburg,
IN
47025, phone: 513-354-1482 fax:
513-354-1484 web address:
www.GardensAlive.Com
Good reference books can be found
at the library. Look for books under
natural and/or organic gardening.
Barrington Books has or will have the following within the next two
weeks:
Our Stolen Future, Colborn, Dumanski, and Myers
Redesigning the
American Lawn: A Search for Environmental
Harmony
Yale
University
Organic Home
Gardening: How to Grow Fruits and Vegetables
Naturally Patrick Uma
A Garden
for Life: The Natural
Approach to Designing. Planting and Maintaining a North Temperate Garden,
I)iana Beresford-Kroeger
LAWN CARE
These lawn care companies will work with you to achieve a 95-100%
natural lawn:
*Naturalawn,
North Attleboro, MA, 508-695-6060
to make an appointment call
Janet Keene 401-658-5200
*Nick’s Organic Lawn Service,
E. Providence, RI, 434-8893
*Thompson
Organic Landscaping, Providence, RI 861-3616
GroPro, 764-0207
Lawn Doctor, 1-800-323-6330,
1-800-286-8505
ProTurf Lawn
Services, 463-7600
TruGreen/ChemLawn, 732-6883,1-800-685-9550
These same companies have
available many other products which they commonly use in their regular (non
natural, non organic) lawn care. They may suggest spot treating with one or
more of these chemicals; if so, find out exactly what
they suggest and compare to the list below.
AVOID
THESE PRODUCTS
A List of Common Pesticides that
are known to cause environmental damage of one kind or another:
Insecticides:
Diazinon 2-4
D
Dursban
(chloropyrifos) Dicamba
Oftanol,
Amazel (isophenfos) Roundup (Glyphosate)
Lindane MCPP,
Dimetrop (mecoprop)
Prometon
Betasan (bensulide)
Trimec (mixture of 2-4D, mecoprop,
and
dicamba
Fungicides Benlate,
carbamic acid (benomyl)
TREE CARE
SERVICES
Smaller owner operated companies
will have a licensed arborist on site, usually with a college degree in
forestry. This is not always the case with larger tree care companies. Toxic
sprays should be rarely, if ever, used on trees. Emphasis should be on feeding
and removing diseased branches. Every effort should be made to avoid synthetic
chemical sprays, including replacing diseased trees with disease resistant
varieties. Keep in mind that spraying is a business. One operator, Robert
Choate (1-508-252-9947), is known to provide environmentally responsible
service.
THE GOAL
“Garden designers, garden writers,
and homeowners need to take up the challenge of creating a new standard of
suburban beauty, one that moves away from the green carpet aesthetic and revels
in a diversity of plants adapted to local conditions. Because this ideal of a
homogeneous, flawless greensward fights a natural tendency toward diversity, it
is demanding by its very nature, requiring fertilizers and pesticides, frequent
watering, and a great deal of time and effort. Like flawless fruit, flawless
lawns come at a high price. The time has come to change our attitudes and
redesign our yards and gardens with plantings that grow comfortably in the
place we live and with mowed play areas that will flourish without constant
chemical support. A pioneering team from Yale
University recently
published a manifesto for this suburban revolution, titled Redesigning the American
Lawn: A Search for Environmental
Harmony which includes practical guidance for non specialists seeking to
make their yards safer, saner havens.”
-from Our Stolen Future
Colbom, Dumanoski, and
Myers, 1996
Handout provided by Toxics Information
Project (TIP), P.O.
Box 40572, Providence,
RI
02940. For further info, contact TIP at
401-351-9193, or TIP@toxicsinfo.org Website: www.toxicsinfo.org
return
to menu