Compassionate Lawn Care

Manicured, chemical-laden lawns are out, and organic, woodsy yards with groundcover, hedgerows, and dead wood are in. Today's ecology-minded, health-conscious citizens find the latter far more interesting and beautiful, and so do birds, fish, and other animals!

Toxic Dangers
Lawn chemicals are a threat to the Earth and all its creatures. Americans use 10 times more pesticides per acre on their yards than farmers use on crops.(1) These chemicals poison the yard they're applied to and travel via storm drains, streams, and toxic clouds to poison other areas. While most of us don't have overt reactions to lawn chemicals, there is little doubt that they are harmful to humans, companion animals, and wildlife.

A survey of Scottish terrier guardians conducted by Purdue University found up to a sevenfold increase in the incidence of bladder cancer among dogs exposed to lawn herbicides. The head researcher said, "The level of risk corresponded directly with exposure to these chemicals."(2) A study of golf course superintendents, who often apply or are exposed to pesticides, revealed brain cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma rates that were twice the national average, prostate cancer rates that were almost three times the national average, and a cancer of the large intestine incidence that was nearly twice the national average.(3)

An estimated 375 plants and animals listed in the Endangered Species Act are exposed to and possibly harmed by pesticides associated with lawn and garden care.(4) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that more than 65 million birds die every year from pesticide exposure on farmlands.(5)

Grass: Think Quality
A chemical-free lawn, like a tree, detoxifies the air, removes pollutants, and brings better health to four- and two-legged property users. The unseen underground activity of worms and microorganisms helps make lawns healthy. Allowing this biological activity to go on, unharmed by pesticides, causes roots to become stronger, making chemical fertilizers unnecessary.

Sow grass seed in the fall, when the weather is cooler and there is less competition with weeds. Keep the seeds moist.

Grow a mixture of grasses that do well in your area rather than a single variety. Zoysia, a spreading perennial grass, forms a thick mat, chokes out weeds, and stays green without watering.

Avoid walking on wet or soft lawns. Where the soil is compacted, use an aerator—available at rental stores—to punch small holes into the ground, or walk over the soil in shoes with cleats. Raking removes thatch and other dead organic material that can smother grass.

Maintaining Your Yard
Gas-powered mowers consume 580 million gallons of fuel every year.(6) They're noisy, and—along with other gas-guzzling accoutrements, such as blowers, trimmers, and chainsaws—they account for more than 5 percent of urban air pollution.(7) Consider using an electric or hybrid mower or, better yet, a rotary-blade push (reel) mower, which makes less noise, gives you a great workout, and is easier on your lawn, the environment, and your wallet!

However you cut your grass, use a sharp blade and mow high; a grass height of 2 inches will shade out crabgrass and many weeds. Leave grass clippings on the lawn after you mow. This natural, free fertilizer breaks down easily and provides as much as half the nitrogen and potassium that a lawn needs to stay green and thrive.(8) Plus, earthworms and other organisms eat the clippings, providing a natural cycle of fertilizing and aeration.

Even leaves, which provide winter protection for tree roots, can be left in place if they are ground up with a mower. If you water your lawn, replace wasteful sprinklers with soaker hoses or "impulse" sprayers, which shoot water out in an efficient jet as the head turns. Plant groundcover in difficult areas. Mulch exposed ground around plants with wood chips, hay, or pine needles (pine straw) to keep moisture in.

Increase activity in spent soil areas by top-dressing them once in spring and once in fall with organic matter such as compost, leaf mulch, or peat moss. This makes plants healthier and more resistant to insects, drought, fungi, and disease.

Lawns can survive with little to no fertilizer. If you use fertilizer, there are excellent new organic ones on the market, such as corn gluten, which adds nitrogen and discourages crabgrass growth.(9) Beware of harmful petroleum-based products that are falsely advertised as "organic" and contain only a little manure.

Remember, in a natural, healthy lawn, the grass will be slower-growing, stronger, and more drought-resistant.

Some so-called "weeds" are actually beneficial. Clover, for instance, has root nodules containing bacteria that are beneficial to grass and other plants. But if there are some weeds that you simply can't tolerate, use a nontoxic method to kill them, such as spraying them with vinegar or pouring boiling water on them. You can also dig out plants that you don't want by hand, while enjoying the exercise and the chance to spend time in your healthy yard.

Landscape: Go Wild
Big lawns can require a lot of maintenance. Up to 60 percent of urban fresh water is used to water them, and billions of dollars are spent on millions of pounds of both pesticides and fertilizers derived from fossil fuels in an attempt to keep grass green.(10) Says one grass expert, "We call it the No. 1 spoiled brat plant in the plant kingdom."(11) For that very reason, corporations and apartment-complex owners often plant lawns only in the areas around buildings, leaving the outer areas of their property woodsy and natural, with tall grasses, wildflowers, evergreens, hedgerows, and bushes to provide cover and homes for wildlife. Homeowners can follow these examples on a smaller scale within their own yards.

Plant a mix of shrubs, trees, and flowers that will provide nuts, berries, seeds, and nectar throughout the year to attract birds—nature's best insect controllers—and provide homes and food for wildlife. Foster hollies, for instance, provide winter berries for food, winter foliage for cover, and places for wildlife to raise their young. A butterfly bush (buddleia davidii) is irresistible to its namesake. One family in Wisconsin boasts that it does little yard work, uses no chemicals, and is never bothered by mosquitoes during the summer because allowing hostas to take over the yard has all but eliminated the pesky insects.12 Leaf and brush piles as well as rocks also provide cover and places for animals to raise their young.

A pond with a shallow end makes a good water supply for birds and frogs. You might want to locate it in a place where you will be able to watch the wildlife activity from a window throughout the year.

A window-box planter containing marigolds, zinnias, or red salvia can attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Hummingbirds are attracted to almost anything red.

Your local garden-supply company is a good resource for more information.

Dead Wood for New Life
For birds and small mammals, snags (dead trees) and stumps are ecological gold. Many creatures—nuthatches, woodpeckers, squirrels, raccoons, bluebirds, owls, chickadees, wood ducks, and wrens—nest in them and feed on their insect tenants.

Top off—don't chop down—snags that are 12 inches or more in diameter. Remember to check for nests and dens first. Big dead logs and underbrush that are away from the house are also desirable. Mosquitoes will disappear from your yard as elegant, snag-nesting swallows, swifts, and purple martins sweep through the air. Huge great-granddaddy den trees can provide homes for peregrine falcons, barn owls, and ivory-billed woodpeckers.

If beavers live nearby, contact PETA for a free beaver pack, which contains detailed information about getting along with these gentle animals.

What You Can Do
Québec, Ontario, and some Canadian cities have laws that prevent or restrict the use of pesticides and fertilizers; similar restrictive ordinances apply to some schools, athletic fields, and parks in the U.S.(13,14) Connecticut lawmakers have passed legislation that bans pesticides on school grounds.(15) Some European countries have banned 2,4-D, a common herbicide.(16)
• Talk to your local government officials about introducing similar restrictions or bans in your area.
• Never use pesticides on your lawn or garden. Encourage your neighbors to follow your lead. Nothing will promote the benefits and joys of an organic, natural lawn better than your own beautiful, cruelty-free yard!

References
1) Joan Lowy, "More Lawns Go Green, Organically," Scripps Howard News Service, 10 Aug. 2004.
2) Chad Boutin, "Research Finds Lawn Chemicals Raise Cancer Risk in Scottish Terriers," Purdue News 19 Apr. 2004.
3) Burton C. Kross et al., "Proportionate Mortality Study of Golf Course Superintendents," American Journal of Industrial Medicine 29 (1996): 501-6.
4) Marla Cone, "EPA Pesticide Approvals Pose Threat to Species, Report Says; Agency Officials Respond That They Are Strengthening Their Evaluations of the Effects of the Chemicals on Endangered Wildlife," Los Angeles Times 27 Jul 2004.
5) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "Pesticides and Birds," March 2000.
6) Julie Young, "Blades of Glory," Richmond Times-Dispatch 2 Jun. 2007.
7) Lowy.
8) Nancy Lloyd, "Lethal Grass. The Perilous Pesticides on America's Lawns," The Washington Post 16 Sep. 1991.
9) Steve Grant, "Lawn Care Without the Chemicals; Many Landscapers, and More Homeowners, Adopt Organic Methods," Hartford Courant 15 Apr. 2004.
10) Young.
11) Grant.
12) Chris Martell, "Field of Greens; No Grass. No Problem," Wisconsin State Journal 23 Jun. 2004.
13) Lowy.
14) Canadian Ministry of the Environment, "Ontario's Cosmetics Pesticide Ban," factsheet, 4 Mar. 2009.
15) Office of M. Jodi Rell, "Governor Signs Law Extending Ban Use of Pesticides on School Grounds," State of Connecticut press release, 18 Jun. 2007.
16) Claire Gervais, "Curb Use of Harmful Pesticides, Lawn Chemicals," Wisconsin State Journal 3 Jun. 2004.