Green Yard Renovation: Green Your Lawn

This week, instead of doing a green room audit, we’re looking at green renovations for your yard.

Today let’s look at your actual lawn. Following are some tips I picked up from a local Oregon green resource newsletter and my collection of organic gardening books.

While not all the tips are specific to my region, a good tip is to check with your local natural gardening specialists for your city or state. Some regions will have very specific issues related to organic yard care and gardening. For instance, in New Mexico we were focused on water conservation, but in Humboldt the tips you got pertained more often to keeping plants from getting too soggy – what with the ocean and fog.

To locate local resources go to the National Gardening Association and visit their regional site which will hook you up with a regional newsletter and regional blogs. Another cool way to find resources is to visit your local home and garden shows – most cities have them and local cooperative growing teams are always there.

Tips for greening your lawn without the use of pesticides or other harmful chemicals:

Sun is good: What grows in a shady lawn naturally is moss, not grass. If you have too much shade you might want to consider a different landscaping approach, such as shade loving flowers.

Grasscycle: Mow your grass 2 – 2 1/2 high and let the clipping stay. This is almost like adding compost to your yard. It improves the soil with nutrients and organic matter.

Water sparingly: You only need to water so that your lawn receives about one inch of water a week. If you live in a rainy area, this means you really don’t need to water at all during the rainy season. One of the best ways to water is with collected rainwater.

Aerate: Use a core aerator, overseed with grass seed, and top dress with a small layer (1/2 inch) of fine compost. You should do this every year.

Pull, don’t kill weeds: You know what’s good exercise? Pulling weeds. Grab some gloves, and yank them out. You can overseed bare spots on your lawn caused by weeds.

Mow smarter: You know what else is good exercise? Push mowers! Visit Clean Air Gardening for reel mowers. You can also get an electric mower – which is more green than a gas powered mower, but has that cord (yikes) and really a push mower is healthier for you and the planet.

Reduce: Reduce your lawn’s size. Instead of all grass you could have a nice deck, some beautiful low water flowers, or yummy organic veggies. Reducing the size overall of the yard you have will reduce water consumption and your workload. Plus, trees and shrubs both grow better when the soil covering their roots is grass-free. Try a mulch instead, so that grass and your trees aren’t fighting over nutrients.

Forget the yard: How important is this yard to you? Could you toss regional wildflower seeds everywhere and enjoy flowers instead? What about a rock garden? Think about the reasons you have a lawn in the first place. If the reasons feel unnecessary consider ditching the yard all-together.

Relax: This has got to be the number one tip. Just chill about the lawn. Most of the most beautiful places on earth are wild, less tame, and never perfect. Your yard doesn’t have to be the perfect shade of green or the right height to be useful. Weeds won’t kill anything – but harmful pesticides might. You can live with a few weeds. Cookie cutter yards are unnecessary.

What else can you think of? What will improve your lawn (i.e. your grass) without chemicals and harmful toxins?