I've used cow manure compost on my lawn for the past few years, and aerate it on a regular basis. All my neighbors ask what I do to keep it so green and lush. The only fertilizer I use is Lady Bug.
Posted on 07/13/2007 8:48:32 PM PDT by Lorianne
Finally the grass is greener on my side of the fence.
I've spent the past year converting my lawn to organic care. After some early setbacks, my lawn looks pretty great, and the only herbicide I've used is an all-natural corn substance that's safe enough for my dog to eat.
The same scene is playing out in yards around the country -- but it's not a peaceful transition. As the organic lawn movement grows, so are tensions in some communities. The latest front is over whether lawn-care methods are the horticultural equivalent of secondhand smoke: a choice that affects the whole community. Neighborhood activists argue that using pesticides on one lawn exposes everyone nearby to the chemicals, including kids and pets.
Enthusiasts are trying to shame their neighbors into joining them with pro-organic lawn signs, prompting some residents to apply their chemicals covertly. Homeowners who want to stick with pesticides say how they groom their lawns is their own business. Even spouses are facing off over which comes first -- eliminating chemicals or creating a dazzling no-fuss lawn. The lawn-care industry, meanwhile, is walking a tightrope, hoping to profit from organics without turning against their traditional products.
In Wisconsin, the village of Whitefish Bay has become a microcosm of the new turf wars. Intent on switching the community over to an organic approach, a citizens' group is hanging tags on residents' doors urging them to lay off pesticides and posting "All Living Creatures Welcome" signs in their own yards.
"It's really dicey, and some people are receptive and some are hostile," says Sandy Hellman, age 37, a member of the Healthy Communities Project. "I look at it as the secondhand-smoke issue. Kids run back and forth between the yards and windows are open all the time."
(Excerpt) Read more at realestatejournal.com ...
If this is what folks are worrying about now, either a) life is pretty damned good in these here United States, or b) we're doomed.
That sounds good but does it control the bugs?
How much do you put down?
Just came off the thread about the Iranians capturing western secret agent squirrels and fell into this one.
Do you think that possibly some of these people have too much time on their hands?
Really now, seems like someone could claim second-hand contamination from almost anything these days.
“Pardon me, did I just see you exhale in my direction? If so, I would appreciate it if you would keep your excess carbon dioxide to yourself.”
Every time that you move - your being is contaminating everthing around it in both a particulate and an atomic particle/energy mode. You’re shedding you filth throughout the universe.
Guilt, guilt; you’re upsetting some pristine balance that has never existed in the first place.
Time I started thinkin’ ‘bout checkin’ out. Life’s gettin’ to damn weird.
“Until it comes to smoking dope, which is just as bad as smoking cigarettes as it contains all the same toxins as tobacco smoke minus nicotine of course.”
Not true.
Studies have shown that THC can inhibit carcinogens in mice, and the report suggests it may have the same protective effect against the carcinogens found in smoke in humans.
I don’t do anything to mine but cut it. Really natural
I've used cow manure compost on my lawn for the past few years, and aerate it on a regular basis. All my neighbors ask what I do to keep it so green and lush. The only fertilizer I use is Lady Bug.
I was forced by a medical condition to explore the 'organic' side of life, so this article as some interesting points.
Pesticides, solvents and personal care products with 'anti-bacterials' are all basically the same chemicals- Aromatic hydrocarbons that result from coal tar refinement. These chemicals have been around since 1846, and became produced in abundance for gasoline production with the advent of the automobile. It would be logical to assume they DO run off into the water supply as the lawns are watered and we bathe.
These are the most effective chemicals for pesticides. Organic products work if used regularly, but (so far) in my experience, are not effective enough to eradicate an infestation.
While I applaud these people for doing what they think is right for themselves, they should be summarily frog-marched off someone else's property for trying to shame their neighbors into going organic too.
In our society, this also creates a conundrum; at what point does the individual of society damage the collective?
The smokers screamed about this concept from the start as society (with the backing of government) forced them into the shadows, and warned it would lead to more government control/taxation of our lives....(*fat tax*, anyone?).
If you can't get government to stay out of your body, you shouldn't be surprised when some nanny-stater starts using it to regulate your lawn.
I'd like to see those studies. This is from the NIDA Website -
"In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50 to 70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke(11). It also induces high levels of an enzyme that converts certain hydrocarbons into their carcinogenic form--levels that may accelerate the changes that ultimately produce malignant cells(12). Marijuana users usually inhale more deeply and hold their breath longer than tobacco smokers do, which increases the lungs' exposure to carcinogenic smoke. These facts suggest that, puff for puff, smoking marijuana may be more harmful to the lungs than smoking tobacco."
http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/marijuana.html
That just makes an argument to make magic brownies instead of smoking marijuana.
The healthier the grass, the less room there is for other things.
I also bought one of those "Grandpa's Weeder" things on QVC. It's made like one of the weeders of the olden days. You push this metal claw down into the ground and off onto this other metal bar...out comes the weed. Very clever of the 'ol farmers!
A nice layer—not too much— and evenly distributed by one of those hand dispensers (they are green plastic and have a turn handle—you can get them at Home Depot or Lowes)—you know.
Neighborhood activists argue that using pesticides on one lawn exposes everyone nearby to the chemicals, including kids and pets.
Pardon me while I quietly barf on their organic shrubs.
Use cow manure on your lawn if you want to go ‘au natural’.
Your down wind neighbors won’t be too happy though...”
Pig manure is even more fun. Really fragrant.....
I have had an organic Alabama lawn all summer. Because of the drought, my lawn has been dormant most of the year and I haven’t done ANYTHING to it. No water, no fertilizer, no mowing, no nothing. I can’t afford to run sprinklers all of the time, so why fight a losing battle to keep my lawn green like the yard freaks. Now that it has started raining, my yard is coming out again like usual, and now I am starting to use my normal method of keeping a lush green lawn, and that is don’t cut it so short. I still don’t water or fertilize my yard, I just cut it a little longer than everyone else. If I get too many weeds, I will spot spray them, but otherwise I leave it alone.
Thanks for the info. My lawn stays green (in season) but the bugs suck. I have a 14 month old and a championship bred pug that I don’t want to be around the chemicals. Most of the “organic” products I use either are limited in their effectiveness or wash away with the rain, which seems to be every other day.
LOL!
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