Given a deluge of news about the dangers we face in this period of global warming, it’s easy to become paralyzed into inaction. For many homeowners, the question becomes, “what can I do that makes a difference?” An answer that often comes up is to “Think globally, act locally.” It can start with making a change in managing the property that the homeowners control- their yard, hardscape, and landscaping.
Many homeowners have heard of various ways to do eco-friendly landscaping the “right” way. They’ll talk about grass clippings, irrigation systems, pollinators, and wanting to keep it low-maintenance. Rain barrels to harvest rainwater and drip irrigation come into the discussion. It’s no wonder that people become overwhelmed.
True eco-friendly landscaping is also sustainable landscaping, and keeping the local ecosystem thriving is the goal. Some go all in and reduce the grass lawn with vegetable gardens, lining the driveway with flower beds, rain gardens, and compost bins. As strange as it seems, homeowners are saving lots of water by installing gutters, which have been uncommon in the west, and catching water in rain barrels. They will pull the pavers and use wood chips for the walkways. With the climate shifting and drought affecting the American landscape scene, people are adjusting their water usage by xeriscaping. This landscaping idea can range from planting heat-tolerant plants to removing the lawn altogether and rolling out artificial grass or creating a desert landscape with sand, rocks, and cacti.
Sad to say that most of what passes for “lawn care” or “landscaping” services are antithetical to the health of the soil, the native plants, or the ecosystem. Artificially maintaining a monoculture of one species of plant with no diversity is not the way nature does it. The classic “well-cared-for lawn” may be pleasing to the eye, but it comes with a heavy personal, and societal cost manifested as susceptibility to drought, dependence on energy-intensive inputs, toxic emissions, poor soil health, and other problems. Overfertilization causes overgrowth of grass, which requires extra mowing. Poor rainfall penetration results in rapid stormwater runoff and pollution from herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, and excess fertilizer.
The nail in the coffin of the modern lawn is the fact that it’s a biological desert. The 40 million acres of turf grass in the U.S. represent a huge “taking” from nature. All the creatures that once made a living on that land are now eliminated because none of the plants that they can eat remain. While most Americans might not know or care about this, the consequences are all around us. We’ve lost 30-40 percent of all the birds in North America in the past 30 years. Honeybees and other pollinator populations are collapsing. For more information about climate-friendly yards, check out Doug Tallamy’s website.
1. Organic VS. Conventional applications
The common practice of a toxic application of inorganic, high-energy fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides can be replaced by compost, natural fertilizers, and compost extracts. Natural mineral supplements and botanical stimulants are further steps forward in lawn health. It may take longer to get the results, but the rapid spring “green up” prized by commercial lawn care comes with a hefty price in loss of soil health.
The grass in the foreground, managed by True North Outdoors, is thick, vibrant green and contrasts greatly with the grass in the median, which has conventional care. The photo was taken in September 2018. The green grass is indeed watered with sprinklers, but it saves water through careful timing of irrigation.
As a practical case in point, I offer that a couple of years ago, I spoke to a manager for True North Outdoor, a forward-thinking lawn service, about their experience. The manager related that under their care, which includes sprayed-on biological nutrients and minerals, The grass didn’t get chemical fertilizers in spring and didn’t need mowing right away because of its slower start. He said the other companies managing large corporate lawns in the area used the usual synthetic fertilizers and had mowed their large properties three times before his crews had even started their lawnmowers. This amounted to huge savings in fuel and maintenance costs. Even more, savings came when the True North lawns needed less watering later in the summer because of better soil life and more organic matter. Any difference in the higher first cost of the better organic fertilizer was rapidly made up by the reduced mowing and water use. Finally, the True North managed corporate lawns filled in thick and green and were drought tolerant well into the fall.
2. Changing the Species
The species of plants we use can be converted to climate and pollinator-friendly species such as clovers and Eco-grass. The fine-bladed fescue mix in Eco-grass needs less water and has deeper roots that reach deeper water reserves. They also need no or very little mowing. It’s easy to start a change of species in your lawn. During the spring or fall window for planting new grass, mow the lawn as short as possible. Then using a verticutter from a rental outlet, score or scratch the lawn to expose bare soil. Spread the grass seed at the recommended rate and rake lightly to increase soil contact with the seed. Watering lightly to keep the grass moist for the startup phase is important, and depending on the weather, the seed may need to be sprinkled every day to be sure the sprouting seed never dries out.
A very simple step, even before changing the turf grasses in the yard, is to top dress the grass with a ¼-½ inch of compost. Missouri Organic offers a blower truck that ensures an even blanket of Nature Wise compost and takes the work out of installation. The compost feeds organic matter to the lawn, increasing its vitality and water-holding capacity. This brochure describes the local turf scene in Kansas City. Native plants make the biggest change. Consider planting a patch, a strip, or a border in native wildflowers. This graphic shows a comparison of the root structures of grass( on the left) compared to several native species. These roots make a huge difference in the native plant’s drought tolerance and can even help rebuild groundwater levels.
Click image to zoom.
3. Eco-Friendly Tree Care
Eco-friendly tree care is also important. It really involves doing less. Mulching rings under trees is important, ideally all the way out to the drip line.
Trees grow naturally in forests and need to have leaf litter/organic materials around them. This allows water to penetrate much better than a thick mat of grass that chokes infiltration. The organic mulch can then be planted with shade-tolerant native plants such as ferns and low-growing perennial shrubs that feed birds or pollinators. Many of the species of insects that feed on our trees, especially oaks, need mulch-type ground cover to complete their life cycle. It’s the larvae of these insects that are critical to feeding most of our baby birds. The caterpillars on the trees are the soft, tender food that birds need to feed their young. Leaving the grass right up to the trunks of trees exposes these insects to predators as they try to move into the soil for the next stage in their lives. Missouri Organic has red, brown, black, and natural color mulch available for purchase, and you can also have them do the installation with their blower truck. The colorants they use are safe organic substances, not petrochemical dyes.
The fall and winter is the perfect time to put down compost and mulch and get started feeding your lawn for a robust and climate-hardy 2023. Let’s get it started!