April 24th's Tip
Chemical free tips to grow your lawn greener: With spring here and weather getting nicer, we're going to see more and more people tending to their lawns. Maintaining your lawn without the use of chemicals is important, not only for the environment's health, but also for your health and the health of any children or pets who might be playing on your lawn. Here are some tips for keeping a healthy looking lawn in a healthy, chemical-free way.
- Mowing height: The depth of your grass roots is proportional to the height of the blades - any lower than 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 inches can kill the root system by preventing photosynthesis, and can aid in the growth of weeds. In general, a good lawn height is 3 to 3 1/2 inches. Don't mow more than 1/3 of the grass blade at a time, and keep your mower's blades sharp so they cut the grass rather than tear it.
- Grass Clippings: Leave them on the lawn after mowing. They contain about half of the nitrogen needed for your lawn and improve soil conditions. You can use a mulching mower and leave the leaves on the lawn, too.
- Raking: Rake as little as possible. With a mulching mower and leaving the leaves, you might be able to avoid it. If you do rake, do it gently so you don't damage your grass.
- Watering: This can be site specific, depending on your soil type and weather. Keeping your grass longer and helping establish a deeper root system will help your lawn need less water. Wait 7 days after rain, and soak your lawn in about 1 inch of water. Make sure to water in the morning, and avoid windy days to minimize evaporation.
A great site for more information on maintaining your lawn and on gardening is Beyond Pesticides. For reasons why avoiding chemicals in your lawn care is important, check out their Lawn Pesticides Facts and Figures sheet (PDF).
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8 Responses
1
Wind
April 24th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Starting a nice clover lawn is a great way to cut back on maintenance as well. Thanks for the great tips!
~Wind
2
powerball
April 25th, 2009 at 5:06 am
All the above four tips will definately make grow my lawn more greener
3
Blogroll: Green Day | Green + Chic
April 27th, 2009 at 2:18 am
[...] Now that summer is almost here (!) this is a good post from Focus Organic on how to make your lawn a little more eco-friendly on Eco-Friendly Friday Tips #44- Chemical free tips to grow your lawn greener. [...]
4
travel to palawan
April 27th, 2009 at 5:17 am
This article give us an idea to maintain our lawn without the use of chemicals... It is not only fot the environment health, but also for our health.
This is such a good idea for us..
5
Yanic A.
April 27th, 2009 at 6:28 am
Great topic! One that is very close to my heart!
About grass clipping : Quebec City (where I live) has actually passed a law that prevents people from putting their grass clippings in the trash for pick up between erly june and mid-september. People are required to either leave them on their lawns to help with moisture retention and natural fertilizing or compost them in their home composter!
6
John @ Wollongong Web Design
April 28th, 2009 at 8:39 am
I thought of raking the ground that way to lessen the damages to our grass. This is a great post. I never use any chemicals in my lawn, to keep it green, we must do it the natural way, it is healthy to us and to nature as well.
7
jason
April 29th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Don't forget about aerating. Aerating can improve your lawn without chemicals by allowing the roots to grow deeper and more easily penetrate the soil.
8
pays to live green
May 4th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Great tips for keeping our lanws looking great. Many people feel that they need to back the clippings to get them off of the grass. It makes complete sense to leave them on the grass to help provide nutrients to the soil.