Who doesn’t like a lush and green lawn! If you could opt for a weed-free and healthy lawn, as a homeowner, you’d surely jump on that offer. But is your green lawn really “green”? i.e. Is it eco-friendly ? Is it friendly to the nature around you?
The quest for a green lawn need not be at odds with wanting to be “green” or “earth friendly”. Here are some ideas for lawncare and ideal of the green lawn .
Select the grass that is right for your lawn
Start with the kind of grass in your lawn. It is important to choose grass that will thrive in your climate. If you are living in the North or Pacific Northwest, you should plant fescue and Kentucky bluegrass, which survive well in these cooler and humid climates. If you live in the South or Southwest, you should plant zoysia, Bermuda and St. Augustine grasses, which survive well in warm and humic climates. People living in the cool and semi-arid Plains should plant Buffalo grass.
Get your soil nourished
Ok. Now you have the right grass to use. How’s is the state of your soil? Is it nutrient rich? Is it healthy? Choose organic products to feed your lawn instead of synthetic fertilizers. This will be a larger investment to begin with, but will pay off in the end. For example. organic fertilizers last longer than synthetic fertilizers, which means fewer applications of the organic fertilizer. Make sure to sweep your fertilizer off the sidewalks or driveways and back onto your lawn to prevent water pollution. Both synthetic and organic fertilizers can cause water pollution if they wash down into storm drains instead of feeding your lawn.
Keep the weeds under control
Pests are pesky. But before you reach for the toxic synthetic pest control product, give an organic, non-toxic pest control product a try. There are plenty of such safe alternatives in the market these days. There is no excuse any more to add more toxic chemicals to our lawns to control weeds, and increase the pollution to our streams and rivers and ground water in the process. This helps maintain an organic lawn.
Improve your watering habits
Most people over-water their lawns. Look for tell-tale signs of moss growing on your driveway or the edges of your sidewalk. This is a sure sign that you are over-watering your lawn. A cheap solution is to use an inexpensive lawn moisture meter to know for sure how much water you are giving your lawn. If you can afford it, an intelligent lawn irrigation system may be your best bet.
The other smart eco-friendly thing to do is to collect and reuse rain water. You can easily harvest rain water by placing a barrel under your gutter’s downspout. With that, you’ll have plenty of rain water for free. Nature’s own gift to you!
Another smart water habit is to avoid hosing down your driveway with water . When you hose your driveway, not only are you using valuable water, but you are also washing away oils and other toxic chemicals into the drain which ends up polluting rivers and other water sources.
Be smart about mowing your lawn
Who knew that the exhaust from lawn mowers is a major contributor to air pollution? Now that you do, it’s time to choose a push mower. For health or other reasons if you can’t pick a push mower, you can do well to choose a plugin mower. It has a better (smaller) carbon footprint compared to gas-driven mowers.
Also, when you are mowing your lawn, you generate a very useful resource that you normally throw away – grass clippings! If you used a mulching lawn mower, the grass clippings are crushed and left right on the grass, and this does two things for your grass – it provides it food, and it conserves the amount of water the grass needs to grow. Amazing isn’t it?
Eliminate your gas-powered blowers
Are you using a gas-powered leaf blower? Did you know that they are a major source of pollution with a major carbon footprint? You’d do well to revert to rakes and brooms for eliminating your leaves. And while this extra effort may seem too onerous, you will be pleased to know that you will be getting the exercise you need in the process. That’s a win-win. You help yourself while choosing a method that is earth-friendly.
Reuse your yard waste
If your city doesn’t collect yard waste (and even if they do), you can collect your yard waste and use it for composting. Composting is a simple way to convert yard waste, and other organic household waste like vegetable and animal product waste into a nutrient-dense compost for your soil.
And one real good reason to choose “synthetic” to go “green” …
Surprised by this suggestion? Consider this. Let’s say you are living in a dry area, but love to have lush, green grass in your lawn. Choosing the conventional way, you will be consuming huge quantities of water, a scarce commodity in your region – that is certainly not friendly to the place you live in. What choices do you have if you still wanted to be “green” with your lawncare ? One idea : Choose synthetic grass. Synthetic grass looks lush and can bring the green you wish to your yard. It can last for 10 years , and uses little water . And it looks very real ! Imagine that! Finally! A synthetic solution that is actually “green”!
All in all, these are sensible ways in which to ensure that your lush, green lawn is also “green”, and friendly to the environment of which we are a part .