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Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing Article Summaries |
Green Lush Lawns: That Isn't All You May Be Making Green!!!So the summer has started, the neighbors have all tuned up their lawn mowers and weed whackers and the "friendly" competition has begun to see whose yard looks the best. It may just be another example where that competitive spirit generates some nasty community consequences. Perhaps I'm just a socialist at heart but sometimes individual competition does not generate the most good for the greatest number. The drive of many landowners to create and manage their prize "lawnscape" is one case in point. Each year, an average family with a lawn of one-third of an acre will:
That's 18 gallons of fuel per household. With 120 million U.S. households, that's the equivalent of almost 2.2 billion gallons of fuel used for lawn care each year. An attractive lawn can be grown without regular use of pesticides (weed, insect, or disease controls) and little or no added fertilizer. Researchers have been analyzing every facet of lawn production and maintenance to see what works and what doesn't. Old guidelines have been refined and new ones developed. Following these amended guidelines will help us to have truly "green" lawns that can significantly reduce the risks for our children, pets, and the environment. What are the options for people who still want that great, green and lush yard? You need to ask yourself a few questions:
The following is some useful information: Contrary to common practice, spring is not the best time to fertilize a lawn. At that time, nitrogen will encourage top growth at the expense of roots and will promote germination of weed seeds. If and when fertilizer is applied, ideally it should be done only once or twice a year in late August or September. This approach provides fertilizer when the grass can best utilize it, not when it is likely to run off into waterways (always sweep fertilizer back onto the lawn from sidewalks and driveways). Fertilizer should never be applied to frozen or saturated soils, or in advance of expected heavy rain. Select a type of grass seed that works in your area and demands less maintenance. Turf-type tall fescues and fine-leaf fescues require less fertilizer and water and are more shade-tolerant. These are the "green" species we want on our lawns. In small amounts, perennial ryegrass, because of its quick growth rate, is perfect for overseeding bare spots but it is not as suitable for covering an entire lawn. Mow your lawn to maximize its health. It is well established that the higher the cut when mowing the lawn, the deeper and more extensive the root system. Deeper-rooted lawns recover more quickly from drought. Higher mowing heights leave a lawn with more resistance to water movement, therefore reducing runoff. Higher-cut grasses can also tolerate a higher population of pests without significant damage. Last, and certainly not least, taller blades of grass shade out weeds and reduce the number of seeds that germinate. In much of Maine, an appropriate lawn will need little watering. In the Northeast, except for a few weeks in the summer, most lawns rarely need watering. Only if absolutely necessary, deeply soak the lawn once or twice a week with a total of 1" of water. Frequent, shallow watering encourages shallow root growth, thatch buildup, and increases the potential for pesticide and fertilizer runoff. If you have read articles on lawn care, you have probably heard all these recommendations before. But try and remember why you like spending the summer here in Maine with its great lakes and streams and greenery. Here is a hint — It's the water! How you manage and care for your yard, when multiplied by all your neighbors trying to do much the same can have a disastrous impact on water quality. Personally I've tried to move my yard care from the socialist to the anarchist philosophy. I seldom water the grass, then only a small patch in front of the house. Much of the original lawn is now garden with various trees, shrubs and other plants mulched with old leaves and stump grindings. These gardens are situated to collect nearly all the water runoff from my yard. And, last but not least, the lawn I still have is only mowed in selective areas. Whole sections just have pathways mowed through or around them and the "wild stuff" is allowed to grow until late fall when I cut and compost the summer's growth. For information about any of our conservation projects please contact Dale Finseth at | ||