Mother Earth News 1990 by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub

What, No Pesticides?

Whenever I challenge a synthetic-turf manager, it always comes down to this final line of defense: How can I ever control the hordes of pests waiting to devour my lawn without pesticides? Indeed, there are a number of weeds, insects and diseases that can seriously affect a lawn’s health and aesthetic value. In an organic lawn care program, however, the groundwork for effective pest control has already been laid down. A rich, biologically active soil growing thick, healthy, well-cared-for grasses will essentially eliminate the need for chemical toxins.

However, you will need to be vigilant: Pests move in whenever the lawn is less than healthy. Furthermore, an organic lawn-care program does not eliminate pests; rather, it encourages Mother Nature and the grass plants themselves to keep them in check.

This is particularly true of weeds. A thick, vigorous lawn mowed high will shade out most of the weeds.

A research study cut crabgrass 75% by stimulating a good grass stand with proper fall and early spring fertilization. So if you keep your grass dense and mow at a three-inch height, you will essentially eliminate crabgrass and many other common lawn weeds. Inevitably, though, some weed plants will establish themselves. For a truly organic lawn, you may have to accept some extra diversity and tolerate a few.

If you can’t stand dandelions and other tough weeds, your simplest weapon is handpulling or cutting. Timing is crucial: You must cut the plant roots in spring when the food reserves are lowest. This technique works even better with plantain and other broad-leaved weeds.

Defoliation also works. Shearing off the leaves with a sharp hoe each time they come out is effective. While impractical for large lawns, it is certainly feasible for smaller ones. (Of course, you might rather cultivate an appreciation for the dandelion’s beauty in flower and its good summer color.)

Safer’s Sharpshooter is a new broad spectrum herbicide which breaks down very quickly and is nontoxic to humans. But it is toxic to your grass plants, so use this herbicide very carefully.

Warm-season grasses such as Bermuda grass and zoysia are generally excellent at choking out weeds (as is bluegrass in the North). However, these are dormant during the cooler months of late fall, winter and early spring. At these times, weeds can get a foothold in your lawn. To prevent this, try overseeding with some of the improved perennial ryegrasses and fine-bladed fescues in the fall, just as the warm-season grasses are going dormant.

There you have it: a lawn you can let your children and pets play on without concern. A lawn that won’t leave toxins for future generations. A lawn that requires less work and expense but still looks lovely and green. Perhaps it’s the beauty and simplicity of ecological turf management that at synthetic lawn managers can’t accept. But as the word spreads, we will all come to see the virtues of ecological lawn care. As Peter Luff of Sagamore-Hampton Golf Club put it, “we do not have the right to toxify even the smallest share of the environment for the sake of a game.

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