Sustainable Lawn Care 

Paul Goettlich Fall 1998

Lawncare industry come-on photos like this give the impression that: 1.  Chemical lawn treatments are safe for children and animals 2.  Your lawn must be this color or people will think you're a bum. 3.  It's good for the lawn. 4.  Lawns need these chemicals to be healthy. More about this topic

What comes to mind when the word summer is mentioned? I get an immediate flash of hiking, swimming and a comfortable hammock under a shady tree while contemplating the peaceful warm breeze.

Lawns are America’s passion in the summer time. Summer means lighting the grille and taking a dive into the pool next to freshly cut grass. Summer wouldn’t be the same without it right?

With visions bolstered by chemical companies' advertising and greener grass on the other side of the street, our lust for close-cropped Fujicolorã green lawns that glow in the dark has gotten out of hand over the years. The reality of summer is the perpetual dissonance of lawn mowers droning on into the dusk hours of each day. Recently joined by the high pitched wail of the leaf blower, this duo is enough to destroy a family’s sense of calm after a hard day’s work. And families need all the help they can get these days.

Along with this intrusion into the deepest corners of our homes has come another threat, synthetic chemicals and pesticides. We’re left gasping for air after the ChemLawn guy covers the whole neighborhood with a layer of chemicals promising to create a utopia and eliminate every insect in its reach. As a matter of fact, lawns that glow in the dark are not the healthiest turf. A lighter green lawn has better fertility, root development, and disease resistance. Many other landscape options are available, from neatly tended vegetable gardens to meadows of wild flowers. These alternatives are better by far.

Our reliance on synthetic chemicals, highly polluting lawn mowers and plastic bags benefits only those who create these products, and that benefit is short term. In reality, we are destroying the very diversity of life that would maintain the yard naturally without these chemicals. At the same time we are endangering the health and long term viability of our families and pets. Fluffy, the cat, licks its paws clean many times a day ingesting all that comes underfoot. Spot, the wonder dog, is a walking dust bin, bringing the great outdoors into our houses. And our children role around in the grass and even chew it.

I interviewed a some golf course superintendents and the one thing in common that they tell me is they don’t like using dangerous synthetic chemicals but are forced to by what the public demands. They also say that the difference in cost between the chemical and natural methods of maintaining lawns can be very low or no difference. What they don't include in their cost comparison is the damage done by pesticides, the human and environmental health effects. The list of problems caused by pesticides has grown quite rapidly, while at the same time, our knowledge and use of natural systems in our lives is also growing rapidly. Let's face it, the so-called Green Revolution was a instrument used to sell chemicals, farm and lawn equipment, and to control farm profit. Our lust for lawns grew out of that era. However...

. . . it's now time for something entirely different!

Creating your own environmentally safe and sustainable yard is not nearly as hard as popular myth and advertising portray it. The chemical companies have a vested interest in maintaining access to your wallet. 

The first thing required is an attitude adjustment. We all need to expect a few dandelions in our yard. I mean that both literally and figuratively. Expect and strive for more diversity in your yard, reversing the current trend to reduce it through the use of synthetic chemicals. If 10 percent of lawn-owners began using organic methods, 2.5 to 5 million pounds of toxic chemicals would be removed from the environment every year.

Tips for Growing Grass Cut at a minimum height of 3" Water less often but for longer periods of time - water for a minimum of 30 to 60 minutes before the sun is high in the morning. They frequency depends upon the weather, but three times a week is good. Watering for longer periods help create deep root systems, thus making the turf more drought resistant. Mulch the clippings rather than bagging them - Thatch, a mulch of dead grass is created. It helps to retain soil moisture and feeds the microorganisms in the soil. The savings will be millions of plastic bags, fertilizer, extra work in bagging and the lawn will get the benefit of all the work it did by getting back the nutrients in the clippings. Plant a hardy variety of grass - A variety that needs less maintenance and doesn’t need chemicals to survive is best. At the same time match the variety to the conditions. Nonchemical Fertilizers - Grass clippings, compost, seaweed, steamed bonemeal, and other slow-release fertilizers should be used to feed the grass. Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides destroy essential beneficial microorganisms, insects, nontarget plants. Some of these plants may be a home to beneficial insects and animals. Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides also contaminate the soils and ground water. Many of these chemicals are readily found in Indiana’s ground and surface waters. They can actually promote an imbalance in the soil that will foster the growth of weeds, disease and insect damage. Composting - Composting is the natural process of decomposition and recycling of organic material into a humus-rich soil know as compost. As a natural process it is occurring all of the time whether we assist it or not, but we can speed up the process if we chose. The important variables are; available moisture, how often the pile is aerated (turned to allow oxygen in), size of material and the type of organic materials.

Why Compost?
In the United States, roughly 30% of our household waste is organic material, which includes kitchen scraps and yard and leaf waste. Traditionally everything we generated went to the landfill or the incinerator, but with landfills closing and incinerators prohibitively expensive in cost and to the environment, alternative disposal methods have been explored. Composting is an easy, effective, and cost efficient way to manage organic waste generated in homes, with an added benefit.

Compost is a foundation element of organic and biological agriculture. Feeding the soil with it provides broad spectrum nutrition. It allows the stable and biologically active organic matter (humus) levels in the soil to be increased and maintained. It also contributes to and supports soil life, improves water storage in the soil, provides long-term availability of key plant nutrients, and improves soil tilth.

A composting unit can be easily made from wire mesh and/or a rot resistant wood such as cedar. The ideal compost bin design has a base which allows air movement, and sides with small holes for aeration. You can easily build your own or buy one that will suit your needs. 

Please don't use the plastic type. 
They have not been tested for the long term effects of low-dose effects from the synthetic chemicals they are made of. Many of the chemicals in plastics have been shown to migrate to the surrounding materials they are in contact with. This is especially true when a plastic is heated, and heat is the name of the game with composting. Contrary to the plastics industry's crowing about the safety of plastics, many have side effects that can be passed on to future generations. Pregnant mothers, those of childbearing age, embryos, and young children are most vulnerable to the toxic chemicals in plastics. Instead of asking what the safest plastic is, opt on the side of safety and assume all are bad until adequate testing is done.

Composted materials from your yard or kitchen will go a long way toward feeding and replenishing your yard’s soil. If you get clumps of grass when you mow then rake them up and place them into the compost.

For established lawns, aerate if possible, and broadcast or spread 2 to 3 cubic feet of compost per 1000 square feet of lawn. When broadcasting, best results can be achieved in low humidity conditions when Earth Perfect Compost is relatively dry. For new seeded lawns, apply compost in a layer 1" deep and prepare the seedbed by tilling. For new sodded lawns, compost can be applied prior to putting the sod down.

Do Compost
Fallen Leaves, Chopped, woody, prunings, pine needles, most sawdust from untreated wood, fresh, green, plant trimmings, lawn clippings & young weeds, fruit & vegetable trimmings, tea bags, coffee grounds & filters, herbivore manures.

Don’t Compost
Meat, bones or fish, dairy products or grease, gains, dog, cat or bird feces, sawdust from plywood/treated wood, diseased plants, newspapers or any other material that contains synthetic chemicals (including anything you don’t know the source of that might contain pesticides, chemicals, effluent or street run-off.)

What's a good compost recipe?
The idea is to mix organic materials containing nitrogen like most kitchen scraps, with materials containing carbon like dry leaves and woodchips, and make sure there is the right amount of water and oxygen. Contrary to popular belief, it is not at all helpful to layer different ingredients when building a pile. Mixing together materials of different textures will promote faster decay. Many kinds of invertebrates live in a compost pile including manure worms, centipedes, millipedes, pill bugs, and pseudoscorpions. They are part of the composting ecosystem and should be appreciated, not feared. Give it a little time to heat up properly and the result is a nutrient rich humus. The major ingredients are:

Water
A compost pile requires enough moisture for the tiny biological agents like worms, insects, bacteria, and micro-organisms to survive. A good way to tell if your pile has enough moisture is to squeeze a handful. If you see moisture seep between your fingers, then your pile has enough water. Remember, damp is good...soggy is bad. See troubleshooting tips

Oxygen
Aerating a compost pile is necessary for microbes to efficiently decompose organic wastes. Some decomposition will occur in the absence of oxygen (aerobic conditions); however the process is slow and foul odors may occur. Turning the pile several a month is enough to provide the necessary oxygen. A well mixed pile will also reach higher temperatures which will help destroy weed seeds and pathogens. See troubleshooting tips

Organic Materials
Browns and Greens: The ideal compost pile has a thirty to one ratio of Carbon to Nitrogen. The high carbon materials or the Browns are dry leaves, woodchips, straw, and sawdust. The high nitrogen materials, the Greens, are generally anything from your kitchen, green grass, and plant trimmings. The importance of the C:N ratio is that the organisms ‘munching' all of those organic materials require a certain amount of nitrogen for their metabolism and growth.

Material size
The smaller the size of the organic materials the faster the compost will decompose. Cut kitchen scraps into smaller pieces before putting on the pile. For leaves, either mow your lawn before raking it or run your lawnmower through the pile of already raked leaves.

Heat
If you have managed to put a compost pile together successfully (which isn't hard), you will notice that the center of the pile becomes quite warm. In fact the center of a healthy pile can reach temperatures of up to 160+ degrees. The heat is a result of all of the biological activity taking place and is important in destroying pathogens and any weed seeds that might have gotten into your compost. Compost thermometers can be bought that can tell you how hot the pile is. By following the temperature of your pile, you will know when is the best time to turn your pile. Aerate the pile after it has reached peak heat and has begun to cool down. See troubleshooting tips

Adding organic material
The easiest way to begin a compost pile is to layer the different materials. Start with a base of dry leaves, add kitchen scraps, wood chips or twigs, more leaves, and so on...Green/Brown, Green/Brown. Each layer should be between 5"-8". Be sure to add some regular soil or recently composted humus. This helps mask any potential odors, but more importantly it transports the necessary micro-organisms into your new pile. Continue to add material as you go along, remembering to cover new material with a layer of soil and to keep the pile moist.

Pile isn't heating up
If there isn't enough moisture for the organisms responsible for decomposition to thrive. Turn pile and check moisture level. If it seems dry, add water. If there isn't enough nitrogen in the compost mix. Add nitrogen-rich material like grass, kitchen scraps, or manure. The mass of the pile might be too small to hold heat in. This is especially a problem if you are composting in cold weather.

Pile is soggy
When the pile is too wet, the decomposition process slows down. Turn pile and add dry materials like leaves, saw dust, or wood chips.

Compost smells bad
Don't be alarmed if your compost smells at one time or another. A smelly pile indicates that aerobic bacteria ( living without oxygen) are doing the decomposing rather than the pleasant smelling aerobic bacteria. Turn pile thoroughly to aerate and add nitrogen-rich material like grass or manure.

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