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Five Things You Need to Know About Watering Your Lawn

May 18, 2012 by ecologicallawncare

From GreenerGreenGrass

We’ve had an extremely dry season here in Boulder and this drought makes us reconsider just how much water we should be using on our lawns so that we can have the lush, green lawn while still remaining environmentally responsible.

So, how much should you water? It depends on several factors, but if you understand these five facts about lawn watering, you can make a more informed decision next time you think about turning on the sprinkler.

1.  Watering infrequently increases plant strength.

Watering your lawn every day is not good for it. In fact, in many regions, watering every other day is too much. Over-watering makes grass more susceptible to fungus, lawn diseases, and unwanted pests. Allowing your lawn to get just a little bit stressed before you water will actually make the grass plants more hardy and resistant to these problems.

You don’t have to be a grass whisperer to know when your lawn needs water. Just look for any of these three signs:

  • Color change – Your grass may start to look a little grey or brown
  • Wilting – Look for curled edged or wilted blades
  • Resilience – If your footprints linger after walking across the lawn, it’s time to water.

2.  Watering deeply increases root growth.

When your lawn tells you that it’s thirsty, give it a long, deep drink. The longer you irrigate, the more water will reach the deeper root zone of the grass plants. This will allow the roots to grow deeper, which makes your lawn more resistant to weeds and wear and tear. On the other hand, frequent shallow watering encourages shallow root growth, which makes your lawn weaker. But, you know what loves shallow watering? Weeds.

So how do you know how deep to go? For most lawns you want the water to penetrate about 8 to 12 inches (less than 8 inches for bluegrass). An inch of water penetrates different soil types at different rates. Very sandy or loamy soils generally only need about an inch of water, but a clay-rich soil will need between two and three inches.

3.  Smart irrigation techniques save water.

If you live in an area with water restrictions, or if you simply want to conserve, there are a few methods you can employ. Fertigation tanks allow you to water and treat your lawn at the same time. Simply add liquid fertilizer or soil amendments to the tank and you can fertilize while you water.

Sub-surface irrigation waters plants from the bottom up, which can be really useful in very dry climates where evaporation is an issue. This method also encourages deeper root growth by providing water almost exclusively to the root zone.

Rain barrels are a great way to re-purpose the water that nature already provides. You can also use my friend Annette’s method of collecting the cold water that comes out of the faucet while you wait for the shower to warm up.

4.  Watering lawns in the morning will help you conserve water.

As the day heats up, evaporation increases. If you irrigate in the early morning, the water has more time to penetrate the soil and reach the root zone. There’s a lot of talk about how watering at night can increase the chance of fungus and other diseases. While this may be true if you did it all the time, the occasional night watering will not hurt your lawn. Think about it: it rains at night sometimes and your lawn has survived to far.

5.  Watering the sidewalk is stupid.

Aside from being really annoying to your neighbors and other passersby, watering the sidewalk is incredibly wasteful and potentially harmful to the environment as it promotes runoff of lawn chemicals (maybe not from your organic lawn, but perhaps from your neighbor’s pesticide-rich field of green). If you use an automatic sprinkler system, set it up wisely and pay attention. Even if the water drops aren’t hitting the sidewalk, runoff can start to occur. If you see water running down the sidewalk, driveway, or any other paved area, turn the sprinkler off for at least ten minutes to let the water absorb into the lawn. Just turn it back on if you need to water more.

Also, remember to visit our website  for John’s weekly watering suggestions. He personally updates these suggestions every week depending on the weather forecast and other seasonal considerations so you know how to program your sprinkler system. 

 

Source:

http://blog.greenergreengrass.com/2012/04/23/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-watering-your-lawn/

Posted in Earth-Friendly, Gardening Tips, Organic Lawn Care | Leave a Comment »

Enlist Beneficial Insects for Natural Pest Control

May 14, 2012 by ecologicallawncare

From Mother Earth News

Here are some tips on how to welcome these helpful bugs and cut back on pesky pests:

1. Plant a Nectary Smorgasbord of Flowers. When they can’t feed on insect pests in your garden, beneficial insects need other food to survive and reproduce. Having certain flowering plants in or near your garden supplies that food in the form of nectar and pollen. Beneficials use the sugar in nectar as fuel when searching for prey and reproducing, and the protein in pollen helps support the development of their eggs.

2. A Home of Their Own. Rather than just inter-planting a few of these flowering plants within your vegetable garden, try to give the their own permanent space near your garden crops. Doing so will help create an undisturbed habitat where insect predators and parasites can feed, reproduce and overwinter. Many beneficials, including ground beetles and soldier beetles, spend at least part of their life cycle underground, so having patches of soil that won’t be churned up by digging or tilling is helpful.

 3. Go Native. Beneficial and pest species vary regionally, so be sure to incorporate some native plants into your beneficial habitat. Native plants provide not only nectar and pollen but also alternate insect prey. They also help promote biodiversity, which is always a good thing!

4. Hedge Your Bets. The studies have shown that a hedgerow can provide an ideal habitat for many beneficial bugs, such as predatory bugs (assassin bugs and minute pirate bugs), syrphid flies, lady beetles, and parasitic wasps and flies. From the shelter of a hedgerow, these “good bugs” can quickly move to nearby garden crops to feed on aphids, caterpillars, leafhoppers and squash bugs.

5. Cover More Ground. Cover your soil with an organic mulch or cover crop. Bare ground exposes beetles, spiders and other beneficial garden insects to climate extremes (temperature, wind, humidity) that can threaten their survival.

6. Water Works. Provide shallow, gravel-filled dishes of water in your garden if you don’t have other water sources such as ponds or wetlands nearby to support beneficial insects (including native bees). Be careful to change the water frequently to avoid creating a habitat for mosquitoes.

 

Sources:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/natural-pest-control-beneficial-insects-zm0z12amzhir.aspx?page=2

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A Worm’s Worth

May 4, 2012 by ecologicallawncare

We love this infographic about the importance of earthworms from Greener Green Grass!

Posted in Earth-Friendly, Gardening Tips, Organic Lawn Care | Leave a Comment »

Common Chemicals that Trigger Allergies

April 30, 2012 by ecologicallawncare

Scientists are learning that chemicals you encounter every day can interfere with your immune system, leading to allergies and other problems.

From Organic Gardening

A recent study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that common chemicals such as triclosan, an antibacterial chemical used in toothpastes and other personal-care products, and bisphenol-A (BPA), used in plastics and the linings of food cans, could be interfering with our immune systems.

Knowing that BPA and triclosan both interfere with the endocrine system and act like estrogen in the body, the authors suspected that because estrogen protects immune cells, the chemicals could have some impact on the health of the immune system. Previous laboratory studies have also shown that BPA and triclosan, along with a few other endocrine-disrupting chemicals, increase production of cells that lead to allergy development.

The researchers compared levels of BPA and triclosan in roughly 5,000 participants’ urine samples with two markers of immune-system health: a professional diagnosis of allergies or hayfever and levels of antibodies for cytomegalovirus, a common virus that most people contract at a very young age and that stays in our bodies for the rest of our lives.

Triclosan was significantly associated with allergies and hayfever, their analysis showed. That finding supports the “hygiene hypothesis,” or the idea that the more we try to sanitize our homes and our environments, the less able our immune systems are to defend us against common “invaders” like allergens and pollen. Although BPA wasn’t found to have an impact on allergies, it did seem to affect those cytomegalovirus antibodies. Adults over 18 who had higher levels of BPA also had higher levels of antibodies, suggesting that their immune systems weren’t functioning as well as they should be. Scrubbing yourself clean with triclosan-saturated antibacterial soap may be a bad deal for your immune system. And so might BPA, which lurks in food-can linings and cash-register receipts, among other places.

To avoid BPA, limit your consumption of canned foods, don’t microwave in plastic containers (BPA is a component of some plastics), and avoid other known exposure sources, such as receipts. Decline receipts at the ATM, gas stations, and any other retail outlet that gives you the choice. When you do get a receipt, store it in a separate envelope, rather than in your wallet.

To avoid triclosan, avoid all products labeled “antibacterial” or “antimicrobial.” The chemical is listed as an active ingredient in all personal-care products in which it’s used. But triclosan is also added to household goods as diverse as cutting boards and garden hoses. Keep an eye out for terms like “Microban” or “Biofresh,” as both are trade names for triclosan.

Sources:

OrganicGardening.com

Posted in Earth-Friendly, In the News | Leave a Comment »

5 Weeds You Can Eat

April 20, 2012 by ecologicallawncare

From Organice Gardening Magazine 
One person’s weed-filled lawn is another person’s salad bar!

If you think everything in your yard that isn’t grass must be a nuisance, you’re missing out—on a free lunch. Those pesky weeds invading your lush green patch of paradise are actually valuable foods, loaded with antioxidants, vitamins and protein, sometimes even more nutritious than what you’ll find at the grocery store. Things like dandelions and clovers are starting to make their way into American lawns, and if you pick them early, you’ll get an incredibly sweet, nutritious addition to your next meal.

Just remember to ID them with a credible source if you’re not plant-savvy—there’s even an app for that! If you’ve got a smart phone, download the Wild Edibles app created by Steve Brill, a botanist known for giving edible-plant tours of New York City’s Central Park. Also, wash your harvest thoroughly before consuming, and steer clear of areas that may have been treated with chemicals or pesticides.

Dandelion

Perhaps the most familiar lawn weed of them all, the dandelion may also be the weed that’s most known to be edible. In fact, the reason it exists in the U.S. is that European settlers introduced it as a salad green. They have a slightly bitter taste when they mature, so harvest the tender leaves that appear in early spring and in late fall, when they’re sweetest. The flowers are edible too and have a mildly bittersweet flavor. And eat them up! Dandelions have more beta-carotene than carrots

Bamboo

This familiar plant, made into everything from floorboards to pajamas, is actually a type of grass.Bamboo shoots are full of fiber, and are sometimes described as tasting like corn. Should any pop up in your vicinity, harvest shoots that are less than two weeks old and under 1 foot tall. Bamboo shoots have to be cooked before you eat them. Click here for instructions on how to prepare them.

Japanese Knotweed

This weed might be harder to find if you don’t live in the Northeast or Midwest, where invasive populations have taken root. But if you do see some, harvest the green and red shoots when the weeds are 6 to 8 inches tall, before they turn woody. Remove any tough leaves or rind and steam or simmer for a tart, rhubarb-like taste.

Watercress

You can pay $3 for a bunch of watercress—an antioxidant powerhouse—at your local grocery store…or you can find a stream and stock up for free. An increasingly popular ingredient in gourmet salads, many people don’t realize that watercress is actually a weed. It grows alongside streams and riverbanks in nearly every U.S. state. The most popular way to eat watercress is to add it to salads raw.

Red Clover

Another weed you’ll see all over the U.S., red clover has been used for ages as a folk remedy for cancer. If you have some growing in your yard, an occasional meal of red clover flowers sprinkled over rice or cooked in soy sauce is a good way to clean up your yard. In addition to being potential cancer-fighters, clover flowers are high in protein. You can also eat white clover, but it’s not as nutritious or flavorful as red.

Source: Organic Gardening Magazine

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EPA Dismisses Petition to Ban 2,4-D

April 13, 2012 by ecologicallawncare

From BeyondPesticides.org

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Monday that it has rejected a petition to ban the widely used herbicide 2,4-D, dismissing epidemiologic studies that link the pesticide to cancer, endocrine disruption, and other human health effects. In its announcement, EPA also responded to comments that Beyond Pesticides submitted in 2009, dismissing two studies that evaluate the relationship between the use of the chemical on lawns and the incidence of malignant lymphoma in pets. Thepetition was initially filed in 2008 by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

2,4-D has been used in the U.S. since the 1940s, and as such is one of the oldest registered herbicides in the country. It made up roughly half of the herbicide known as Agent Orange, which was used to defoliate forests and croplands in the Vietnam War. According to EPA, 2,4-D is currently found in approximately 600 products registered for agricultural, residential, industrial, and aquatic uses.

The use of 2,4-D is expected to increase significantly in the next few years with the recent announcement that Dow AgroSciences, the main manufacturer of the chemical, is seeking federal approval to sell corn seeds that have been genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide. [Listen to a radio interview on this subject by Beyond Pesticides’ Executive Director Jay Feldman.]

2,4-D is a chlorophenoxy herbicide, and scientists around the world have reported increased cancer risks in association with its use, especially for soft tissue sarcoma and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Research by EPA suggests that babies born in counties with high rates of chlorophenoxy herbicides application to farm fields are significantly more likely to be born with birth defects of the respiratory and circulatory systems, as well as defects of the musculoskeletal system like clubfoot, fused digits and extra digits. These birth defects were 60% to 90% more likely in counties with higher 2,4-D application rates. The results also show a higher likelihood of birth defects in babies conceived in the spring, when herbicide application rates peak.

Unfortunately, the agency’s ruling states that there is not enough data to conclude that there is a direct cause and effect relationship between exposure to 2,4-D and health effects. EPA reviewers said that though some studies have shown higher risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma among farmers, it was too difficult to point to 2,4-D as the cause because of the farmer’s exposure to so many other chemicals. Instead, according to the New York Times, the agency relies heavily on an industry funded study by 2,4-D manufacturers and conducted by Dow. The study found that when 2,4-D was put into food for rats, the rats had no reproductive problems, or problems in their offspring.

>>Read more

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Spring is Here and We’re Back in Action!

March 28, 2012 by ecologicallawncare

Why choose ecoLogical for your lawn care and maintenance this season?

We have been so lucky to have had nice, warm weather in Boulder over the past few weeks. This means we are spending more time outside and that our kids and pets are spending more time playing on the lawn.  Why not get a head start on your lush, green summer lawn… the ecoLogical way!

As you may know, ecoLogical Lawn Care & Tree Care is your earth (and family)-friendly alternative to traditional lawn care practices. Nearly 18 million acres of land is dedicated to landscaped grass in the U.S, according to the EPA, and Americans use 70 million pounds of toxic synthetic fertilizers and pesticides on their lawns each year. This means a whole lot of chemicals and carcinogens are getting dispersed all around us of our families and pets to be exposed to. Is it really worth it…?

The good news is that all of these fertilizers, chemicals and pesticides are not necessary. And that is where ecoLogical comes in…

We provide safe, clean, non-toxic, organic lawn care so that you can still get the thick, green, and healthy lawn – without the chemicals and heath hazards. Throughout Boulder we’ve seen yards transform from brown, hard, dried-up lawns to lush, green lawns just by taking another approach. Instead of depleting the soil’s nutrient levels with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, our strategies nurture, replenish, and enrich the soil to promote the growth of thick grass. And thick, healthy turf means less weed infestations, too.

And it doesn’t stop there. Our equipment is clean and quiets, zero to low emissions that are either cordless electric or propane powered.

Keep checking-in all season long for news, tips, and insights about organic lawn care!

Our Spring 2012 services include:

Core Aeration

Organic Bio-Fertility

Sprinkler Start-Ups

Slit Seeing or Overseeding

Compost Tea

Weekly Cut & Trim

Yard and Garden Clean-Up

Posted in Earth-Friendly, Organic Lawn Care, Services | Leave a Comment »

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