Safe, simple organic lawn care

By Paul Tukey

Every decade has a G word connected to it that somehow defines the period forever. Think the groovy �?0s or the greedy �?0s, followed closely by the Gen-X, grungy �?0s. Always fun to revisit in our minds, but of little social consequence after their moments atop our lexicon, the words represent trends that came—and went—in the blink of a marketer’s eye.

This decade’s signature word, I’m guessing, is green. Today’s obsession with everything eco extends from the natural food movement that began in the �?0s and �?0s. If organic food tastes better—and is better for us—then we ought to go more organic in everything, from our homes and cars to our cosmetics and mop supplies.

The eco movement has shifted into high gear at garden centers, where people shop for products that will render their plants and lawns a kinder, gentler green than the tone achieved by potentially toxic chemical fertilizers and pesticides. "Sales of organic lawn and garden products comprise the fastest growing sector of the horticulture industry as a whole," says Bruce Butterfield, director of research for the National Gardening Association in Vermont. "Ten years ago, the only people who bought organic fertilizers were wearing Birkenstocks. Now, it’s soccer moms with minivans."

Only three years ago, Butterfield’s research showed just 5 percent of consumers were buying all-organic products, spending about $450 million of the roughly $8.5 billion total for the year. By his conservative estimate that number has already more than doubled to 10 to 12 percent of the market—making organics a billion-dollar industry in lawn and garden.

Still, questions remain for the rest of us: Are the organic products necessary and safer? Do the organic products work? What will they cost? And will they be around a decade from now, or are they yet another fad?

Safe haven for all
Twelve years ago, when I began lecturing about the need for organic lawn and garden care, I would’ve had an easier time drawing sunbathers to a snowy beach than getting people to show up and listen to my talk. Today, more people realize pesticides can cause considerable harm. "Pesticides, including insecticides and herbicides, are intentionally toxic substances," says John Wargo, PhD, of New Haven, Connecticut, who co-authored the results of a landmark study about children and pesticides published by Environment and Human Health Inc., a nonprofit organization of doctors and scientists from Yale University. "There is broad scientific consensus that children are especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of pesticides. Children’s low body weight and rapidly growing organ systems combine to make them more susceptible to many toxic substances, including pesticides."

Those same health risks extend to adults, pets, and wildlife, as well as insects and even the tiniest single-celled organisms. "I am very concerned about pets who have access to lawns that are treated with pesticides," said Diana Post, DVM, a veterinarian from Washington, DC, who is executive director of the Rachel Carson Council. "The US Environmental Protection Agency is not required to evaluate pesticides for their safety for dogs and cats. Even when they know that a pesticide is harmful to dogs and cats, they are not required to put that on the label, nor are they required to reduce the levels to be safe."

Although not all organic products are safer simply because they are natural, they are, by and large, far less toxic. Many don’t even require "caution," "warning" or "danger" labels because they are naturally derived from plants and minerals. Always read labels carefully, however, before purchasing and applying any product—natural or otherwise. If you’re wondering if the product is truly organic, look for the letters "OMRI" printed on the front—this designates approval by the Organic Materials Review Institute. Products labeled as "organic-based" or "natural," or that have ingredients listed as "inert" may or may not be safe or environmentally friendly. It pays to be a careful shopper and good student of marketing language.

Transition time
Although people often want to make a product-for-product swap when "going organic," organic lawn and garden care requires a different mind-set. First off, you need to change how you think about and treat the weeds in your yard. Whereas chemical lawn products are designed to kill everything except the grass, organic lawn care programs recognize that everything is alive, including organisms within the soil, as well as the weeds and the grass. Weeds reveal so much about the soil. Think of them as messengers sent by Mother Nature to tell us we need to fix things. Of course we can kill them, but that won’t change the message.

"We call certain plants indicator weeds," says Michael Bosco, an organic lawn professional from Dallas. "Certain weeds indicate certain soil conditions, and until we adjust the soil, those weeds will keep coming back."

Many weeds, for example, thrive in overly compacted soils. In these areas, most commonly found next to driveways and walkways, Mother Nature will send in plantain, chickweed, and crabgrass, all plants that grow well in dense soils. Unless we aerate the soil or loosen it up with compost, the weeds will keep coming back. Other weeds show up simply because the soil is unhealthy and, in effect, dead.

Elaine R. Ingham, PhD, of Corvallis, Oregon, and founder of the international Soil Foodweb laboratories, has perfected techniques that both measure life in the soil and add life when necessary. "An incredible diversity of organisms make up the soil foodweb," she says. "They range in size from the tiniest one-celled bacteria, algae, fungi, and protozoa to the more complex nematodes and microarthropods, to the visible earthworms, insects, small vertebrates, and plants. As these organisms eat, grow, and move through the soil, they make it possible to have clean water, clean air, healthy plants, and moderated water flow."

To add living organisms to the soil in the most economic and efficient way, simply apply compost and compost teas in conjunction with organic fertilizers. For a full understanding of how the compost tea-brewing process works, check out Ingham’s book, Compost Tea Manual (Soil Foodweb, 2005). Several companies sell compost tea-brewing kits, which make it quick and easy to make your own. Applied at a rate of one quart per 1,000 square feet of lawn approximately six to eight times a year during the growing season, compost tea will help facilitate an inexpensive transition from chemicals to organics.

I also recommend top-dressing the lawn with a half-inch layer of dry compost twice each year in spring and fall. Look for a bulk source; one cubic yard will cover 600 square feet at the half-inch depth, but that can add up to a hefty expense when it comes out of 40-pound bags. For all the steps to a green growing lawn, see "10 Essential Tips for an Organic Lawn" on page TK.

Present and future costs
Organic lawn care products and services—especially the fertilizers—sometimes come with a hefty price tag, but they eventually pay off. "During the transition years from chemicals to organics, the cost can be about 25 percent more than you’ve been used to paying," says Todd Harrington, founder of Organicare landscaping in Windsor, Connecticut, and author of The Organic Land Care Standards (Northeast Organic Farmers Association, 2003). "In the long run, though, our organic customers pay less overall for their landscapes because they’re mowing less, they’re watering less, and they have less in the way of insects and diseases. By the third or fourth years of the organic program, when the soil is really healthy, the landscapes become more self-sustaining."

Skeptics may cast aspersions on the long-term viability of this decade’s hottest trend. We’ve been groovy, greedy and grungy, and now we’re green. Soon, they say, we’ll be on to something else.

For a glimpse of the future, though, it might make sense to look back to Hudson, Quebec, a small Canadian town that fought lawn chemical companies in court for more than a decade. Finally, in 2001, the Canadian Supreme Court ruled that Hudson did, in fact, have the right to ban chemical fertilizers and pesticides in its town back in 1991. Now, the entire province of Quebec has followed Hudson’s lead and is phasing out all cosmetic uses of lawn chemicals. Other Canadian communities, as well as many in the US, are considering following suit. "This bold action sets a standard for excellence that other governments ignore at their peril," says Warren Bell, a physician and board member with the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment based in Toronto.

To paraphrase Kermit the Frog, it may not be easy to go green. But a commitment to organic gardening and lawn care may make green the most enduring and important G word of our lifetimes. Paul Tukey is the author of The Organic Lawn Care Manual (Storey Publishing, 2007) and the founder of [www.SafeLawns.org]

Knowsy Neighbors
What is possibly the most disturbing fact about weed killers, insecticides, and fungicides—collectively known as pesticides? Even if you never touch the stuff yourself, these products can still make you sick. A study by David Pimentel, PhD, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, found that as little as one-tenth of one percent of applied pesticides ever reach their target pest. That means most of the product your neighbor applies winds up in an unintended destination—maybe in your yard, in your home, on your skin, or in your lungs. Communication is key to keeping these potential poisons at arm’s length. Here are some suggestions:

�?Offer to share your knowledge about pesticides with neighbors in nonthreatening, friendly terms. Angry approaches rarely work, but chatty banter can get people’s attention.

�?Photocopy and disseminate helpful information among friends and family. Some of the best online sources: [www.BeyondPesticides.org], [www.chem-tox.com], [www.panna.org] and [www.ehhi.org]

�?Organize a local seminar and recruit an expert to speak. Invite local garden clubs, watershed alliances, and civic organizations. Offer to buy your neighbor dinner (all-organic, of course) on the way.

�?Give your neighbor a book about the dangers of pesticides. One of the best new releases: Pesticides: A Toxic Time Bomb in Our Midst by Marvin J. Levine (Praeger Publishers, 2007).

�?Lead by example. If you grow a beautiful lawn and landscape without using chemicals, your neighbor will willingly follow your example.

10 Essential Tips for a Nontoxic Lawn

Obtain a soil test. Never spend money on any fertilizer or soil amendment without first evaluating the results of your soil test.

Grow the right grass. The most common lawn grasses in North America, Kentucky bluegrass and Bermuda grass, also need the most water and fertilizer to grow well. Other species such as perennial ryegrass, fescue, seashore paspalum, and centipede grass may work better in your region of the country.

Water well. Water in the morning so that the surface of the lawn dries off during the day. Water deeply and infrequently so the roots of the grass learn to grow down into the soil to get the water they need.

Think of your soil as alive. "Dirt" is what you track into your house. The material that grows your lawn, the soil, lives with organisms large and small. Nurturing that life through proper use of natural materials will lead to a successful natural lawn.

Mow properly. Recycling your grass clippings by leaving them on the lawn will provide approximately half of your lawn’s fertilizer needs for the season. Keep your mower blades sharp. Depending on the species—Bermuda grass and seashore paspalum are the exceptions—lawns should be mowed no lower than 2.5 inches (even higher in the summer).

Avoid synthetic materials. Fertilizers manufactured in a laboratory often burn lawn grasses and soils. Fertilizers and soil amendments should come from materials that were once living plants or animals, or mined minerals, such as lime or sulfur.

Add compost. Nature’s most magical soil additive, compost, contains all sorts of beneficial microorganisms that add life to the soil. These organisms will interact with the organic fertilizers to provide the green lawn many of us covet. Liquid compost, known as compost tea or extract, should be used in combination with dry compost because the soil and grass readily absorb the liquid form more quickly. This is especially important during the years of transition from synthetics.

See weeds as messengers. Weeds usually appear on lawns only when something is wrong with the soil. Even if we kill the weeds, they will come back unless we fix the underlying problem within the soil.

View insects as messengers, too. A rush of new grass growth caused by synthetic fertilizers will often attract insects. Predatory insects rarely become a problem in a naturally balanced system.

Overseed regularly. In nature, all plants produce seed to reproduce themselves. In a lawn system, where we mow regularly, grass never gets a chance to reproduce and even the healthiest plants grow tired. By overseeding in spring or fall, you are introducing robust young plants that will fill in bare areas and compete aggressively against weeds. Source: [www.safelawns.org]

SHOPPING FOR ORGANICS

When I compiled a list of organic fertilizer products in North America five years ago, I found fewer than 20. Today that list has easily swelled to more than 100. These essential tools make organic lawn care easier than ever before.

FERTILIZERS
Bradfield Organics. Manufactured from harvested alfalfa and cornmeal residue; gets high marks for sustainability, safety, and effectiveness. $19.95 to $24.95 / 40-pound bag; [www.bradfieldorganics.com]

Multi-Bloom. The best-performing organic liquid fertilizer in our independent tests; made from Mississippi catfish. $14.96 / quart; [www.multibloom.com]

SEED SUPPLIERS
Outside Pride. Offers a full range of eco-friendly options as well as organic soil amendments. Prices vary; [www.outsidepride.com]

Jonathan Green. Specializing in cool-season grasses for the Northern tier of the nation; ‘Black Beauty�?is a slow-growing environmentally friendly blend. Prices vary; [www.jonathangreen.com].

Prairie Nursery. A tiny, but tremendous seed source for native grasses and lawn alternatives, including a "no-mow" mix of slow-growing fescues. $5.95 / pound; [www.prairienursery.com]

WEED KILLERS
St. Gabriel Laboratories. Specializing in organic solutions for weeds and pests, their signature product has become Burnout II, a vinegar-based version of glyphosate, a nonselective plant eradicator commonly known as Roundup. $25 / gallon; [www.milkyspore.com]

Nature’s Avenger. Also similar to Roundup, this product utilizes citrus oil as its active ingredient. $60 / gallon; [www.naturesavenger.com]

COMPOST TEA KITS
Gardeners Supply. The nation’s largest mail-order gardening company has embraced a full range of natural products, including several models of portable tea brewers. Prices vary; [www.gardeners.com]

GardensAlive. Offers a full range of organic tools and products. Prices vary; [www.gardensalive.com]