Updated “Lawn Care We Like”

The Lawn Reform gang asked for your comments and got lots of ‘em – thanks!  Here’s the greatly amended version now on our website.  Comments are enabled there.

Here’s a short summary of the lawn care we recommend – as a guide for homeowners and to clarify for writers and journalists the practices we look for in lawn-care articles linked to on this website.  See our Resources page for lots more about all these topics, including this page about better types of grasses.  Comments are welcome.

Fertilizers

• We recommend against using synthetic fertilizers because they kill beneficial microorganisms in the soil.  And all fast-acting fertilizers are far more likely to run off and pollute our waterways than slow-release fertilizers that stay in the soil and are gradually released to the plants.  Of course we agree with the standard recommendation that instructions be followed and that soil be tested to determine if fertilization is needed.

•  Turfgrasses can receive all the fertilizer they need from a combination of: using a mulching mower to leave grass clippings on the lawn, adding clover, and applying a layer of compost.  Also, any of those can be used in combination with a slow-acting, organic fertilizer product, like alfalfa meal. 

• A slow-acting, organic fertilizer product can be applied once a year to lawns. In most climates and for most turf grass species, fall is the best season, but warm season species (zoysia, Bermuda, St. Augustine, centipede grass and others) should be fertilized in mid to late spring/early summer.  A second feeding? Only if there’s a particular need; e.g., to restore a neglected lawn. 

Pesticides

• We recommend more drought-tolerant species of turfgrass, where possible.  They include Buffalograss, mixes of fine fescues, Bahia grass in parts of Florida, sedges in wooded areas, and so on – whatever is best for your region.  (More info.) We think that if your climate does not provide enough rain to sustain a lawn, it’s best to find something else to plant.  But if you do irrigate, use an efficient system.  Install a smart controller that automatically adjusts irrigation schedules based on environmental factors and replace traditional spray heads with matched precipitation, low application rate heads.  Too much water is wasted with "set-it & forget it" systems that water whether it’s needed or not.
• We disagree with the old, water-wasting advice to give lawns an inch of water every week.  Rather, lawns should be allowed to go dormant in the summer and in the winter.  Healthy turfgrass grown naturally is pretty, though in a different way than the drug-addicted green perfection we’re told to emulate.

Mowing, Blowing and Discarding 

• We agree that lawns be mowed at the highest recommended height for the dominate species of grass. In most cases it will be at least 3 or 4 inches.”
• Grass clippings are best left on the lawn to provide nitrogen, not sent to the dump.

Less Lawn

Here’s where we put in a plug for reducing or eliminating turfgrasses when they’re not needed for their toughness.  "Lawns" could be composed of more sustainable  groundcovers, or converted to something totally different - ornamental grasses, flowering perennials, shrubs, trees, pervious patios, edibles, even a meadow.  

We welcome your comments.  And again, see our Resources page for lots more about all these topics.