letting lawn go natural

It requires planning, hard work, patience and a lot of tender loving care. You would certainly have more free time. For me, growing a natural lawn doesn't mean just letting it go. • Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) If you like, plant a hardy ground cover that requires no regular maintenance or chemical inputs. Let the maintenance managers know you would rather have a few weeds than be subjected to sprays. In fall, we rake fallen leaves from the lawn and often remove them from the yard. 9. Most lawns, indeed most yards, are maintained at an unnaturally low level of biological diversity, largely through the use of lawn herbicides and the systematic removal of shrubby vegetation that might invade it. The taller the lawn, the more drought resistant it will be. It has been estimated that 30 to 60 percent of our nation’s urban water supply goes to water lawns. Home » Sustainability » Let Your Lawn Go Wild. Seeds need to come in contact with dirt to grow properly. Purslane is one of the richest sources of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Here's the scenario: in spring, we must mow the lawn weekly; that uses fossil fuels. 3. Once established, meadows offer a host of environmental, financial, and aesthetic benefits. • Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) The aeration process creates thousands of new growth zones throughout your lawn by removing 1-3 inch cores of soil. The chances are that at … Natural landscaping is not just "letting the lawn go" or letting botanical renegades run rampant. • Pussy toes (Antennaria neglecta) • Pineapple weed (Matricaria matricarioides) Today's obsession with perfect, park-like lawns is not only a waste of time and money; it's bad for the environment. The British aristocracy of the 1860s and ’70s first introduced the idea of the weed-free lawn in an attempt to show affluence. • Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) But in fact, the exhausted, infertile soil made it the perfect place for a host of wild flowers to take up residence - some from planted seed, others blown-in, or from long buried seed lying dormant in … Make all your actions conscious of conserving, nurturing, and honoring the earth. It was a very healthy time. An estimated 80 percent of American households have a lawn; in aggregate, lawns would cover an area about the size of North Carolina. Unless you are an avid fan of croquet, lawn tennis, or summer garden parties, let your lawn go natural. Embrace a natural yard, as our household has done on about half of our property. Group together plants that require similar amounts of water. However, if you choose to allow you lawn to go dormant, you have to be careful. Use a drip system or soaker hose to get to the roots, rather than sprinkling. Even the prickly thistle can be dug up, its roots consumed, as Lewis and Clark once did while traveling. Before this trend took over, people actually pulled grass out of their lawns to make room for weeds, which were often incorporated into family salads and herbal teas. Pure native seed types Homeowners were encouraged to display their wealth by keeping pristine grass lawns instead of using the space to grow food. In their absence, somewhat ironically, we depend on chemical pesticides to maintain a "healthy" looking landscape. Another way to bring the wilderness into your yard is through natural elements. 1. your lawn would not look like a lawn, but some wild, run down place. For most plants, autumn is the perfect timing. wise, it would stand out as a scrubby place, where other lawns are well cared for. Without ever planting grass seed, you can have a lawn that you never need to water, fertilize or treat with herbicides. Leaves form a natural mulch that helps suppress weeds and at the same time fertilizes the soil as it breaks down. Do a soil test and find out what your land requires. And running a power mower for just a half hour can produce as much smog as driving a car for 172 miles, according the California Air Resources Board. The next year plant only fall crops. We dig these alternative methods for making your yard both stunning and environmentally-friendly. Leave clippings on the ground as mulch and fertilizer. • Strawberries (Fragaria species) Many people are looking for lawn alternatives to create a pretty front area without all the watering, fertilizing, and mowing.Wildflower lawns or areas of flowering lawn weeds can be charming and easy-maintenance once established. Compost. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. Green Light Therapy: A New Tool For Holistic Pain Management In Migraines, Prevent Dementia With These 12 Lifestyle Changes. 2. 10. That represents a lot of Saturday afternoons spent mowing, even on a riding lawn-mower. A 1991 report by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute revealed that dogs exposed to the lawn herbicide 2,4-D more than four times yearly were at risk of developing canine malignant lymphoma. We should focus more on our education of “weeds” and less on eradication. This stresses the grass, encouraging sparse turf … "That is why we advise to water once every two weeks with one-half inch of water once the turf … Then let them experience the winter cold as they sit on the soil, enjoying a time of cold stratification, before they germinate. A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent … Letting turf go dormant "Once the lawn turns brown and goes dormant, we can't tell if a lawn is dying unless we water and wait to see the response," Patton said. For two and a half years in the 1970s, I lived in The Ozarks in a tepee, totally subsisting on all the wild edible fruits, roots, leaves, and berries that were provided in the untamed wild. Nitrogen fertilizer is one of the most energy-intensive products known, made by the combustion of natural gas under high temperature and pressure. For instance, one year only plant spring crops, then let the ground go fallow. 7. Learn to use wild plants that grow easily and might even provide salad fare or herbal teas. OK, they don't have the uniform geometric shape as grass, but that should be OK. • Clover (Trifolium pratense or T. repens) Collect water from washing vegetables. And then the wild things, which are naturally hardy and require no special care, would grow. Use a non-gasoline push mower for less noise and pollution. Use an organic landscape service. Write them a letter and tell them why you are no longer giving them your business. Learn to eat dandelion, malva, purslane, and violet. Rain washes pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers into local streams, eventually leading to the pollution of major water bodies, such as the Hudson River, that are our source of drinking water. Preserving the environment by letting your lawn go wild. • Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis) Little by little, I've shoveled away our patchy lawn and planted flowers that catch the eye and provide nectar for bees and butterflies, such as milkweed, butterfly bush, purple coneflower, goldenrod. Let’s be real, no one actually likes mowing their lawn. The 13-Year-Old Who Has The World Planting Trees, 30 to 60 percent of our nation’s urban water supply, one-fifth of our country’s overcrowded landfills, according the California Air Resources Board. Green is your go-to for lawn aeration. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of HoneyColony and his community. For others, summer will be it. Choose plants that tolerate dry conditions. In the eastern United States, a natural landscape is usually more efficient at carbon storage. In addition, an estimated 70 million pounds of herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides are applied around people’s homes and gardens. • Periwinkle (Vinca species) If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content. • Dwarf cinquefoil (Potentilla species) The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. Tall grass shades the soil and helps keep it moist. • Speedwell (Veronica officinalis), 3. it would be more natural if it were in the wild for real;other . The taller the lawn, the more drought resistant it will be. The increased demand for natural plants has spurred amazing research and development of new native blends that work well for creating lawns. Expert Lawn Care Advice: Let it Go Natural Many Americans’ lawn care routines focus on creating manicured monoculture lawns. 8. 4. Making the switch to natural lawn care may be one of the easies and cheapest switches you can make. 12. A dormant, or "sleeping," lawn will turn brown, but with proper care the underground crown … Let it go: you'll enjoy the return of wild songbirds to your yard. Instead, you could rotate spring and fall crops in an area. Natural and Organic Lawn Care Basics. Boycott businesses that use lawn pesticides. It is certainly an easier process than things like improving the water in your home or even overhauling your meals with meal planning (though I recommend those too!). Recalibrate to a new normal and return to nature - something many Americans pay dearly for by traveling to "natural" vacation spots. 8. All rights reserved. They also affect honeybees that pollinate 90 percent of our fruits and vegetables. Choose whether you want to seed your lawn with a single native grass, or a blend of several. Turning your perfectly unnatural (yet impressively green!) They follow rules written into community bylaws that say lawns must be kept mowed to a certain height, be free of weeds and in perfect order at all times. Those who live in condominiums and apartments can organize the neighborhood to create edible landscaping and community gardens. A 1987 grant from the National Cancer Institute revealed that children were six times more likely to develop leukemia in households that used lawn pesticides. Furthermore, studies show the pesticides we use to kill weeds are also bad for humans. Letting our lawns go natural helps the pollinators so much more. 6. Don’t water, don’t fertilize, and in many cases you won’t need to mow. Letting natural weeds grow in the backyard lawn, instead of grass? In the absence of decomposing leaves, soil becomes depleted of nitrogen, phosphorus and other minerals that help plants grow, so the following year we need to buy fertilizer. Two cautions: First, do not bring your lawn in and out of dormancy--that is, let it go brown and then water it to green it up and then let it go brown again. If you do mow, keep the mower’s height around three inches, or the highest setting. Decades of regular mowing left my front lawn looking bare and sterile, writes Jo Cartmell. Why spend money on mulch and fertilizer when you can make your own?” When sprayed, chemicals can drift to other neighbors, kill birds (who eat insects), and endanger precious water supplies. • English daisies (Bellis perennis) Resist conformity and allow your ecological lawn to flourish and flower, celebrating life and diversity! Sarah Baker of Ohio speaks to host Melissa Block about why she's refusing to mow her lawn, and the benefits of letting your land grow wild. 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