I was working on the front lawn with my son when he asked why our lawn doesn't look nice like the neighbor across the street. I really don't know the neighbors across the street. I know he graduated from the naval academy and he grew up in Texas. I said to my son that he puts chemicals on his lawn and we don't. Then we talked about the importance of watershed management for the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
Well, later that day my son walked over to the neighbor and asked him if he puts chemicals on his lawn. Well, it turns out that this guy follows a very intensive 'environmentally friendly' regime of lawn care. Of course, I was a little embarrassed.
His lawn is perfect. I knew people that tried to maintain a perfect lawn without using dangerous chemicals, but they failed miserably. Is it really possible to have a perfect lawn without damaging the environment?
Perfect Lawns
Why would you want one? It always makes me laugh when I think about lawns (usually while I am mowing mine. We put so much energy and time into them. We water them (usually paying quite a bit for this scarce resource), we feed them so they will grow, and then we complain about having to sit our buts on out $3500.00 riding mower to cut the grass every week because it grows so well. Those of us who are ecologically minded then gather the grass clippings and other yard waste and put them out for the city to pick up. (We pay for this service) Later we buy composted yard waste from the city (made from our yard waste we paid them to take) to put on our gardens and lawns so everything will grow better so we have more stuff for the city to pick up.
Gene Logsdon in his book All Flesh is Grass talks about how many chickens one could pasture on the lawns of America. It would go a long way toward the dream of a chicken in every pot, and they do a pretty good job on the lawn, the weeds, and the bugs.
lawn care
Yes, it is very possible to have a beautiful and organic lawn without synthetic chemicals. check www.safelawns.org for a very practical approach and helpful videos. full disclosure that I work in PR and SafeLawns is a client, but I am also a long time organic gardener and a "master composter" and I know first hand that the newest generation of organic products are far superior to those first on the market. Your lawn can look greener longer using organic products and natural methods!
And I know some people don't think there should be lawns at all, but I wanted some lawn when my kids were younger and even now I like having some lawn for soccer practice.