You don’t need synthetic fertilizers or pesticides to keep your lawn healthy and beautiful. These products can actually harm your lawn by discouraging root growth, causing thatch buildup, and making your lawn more vulnerable to pests and drought. Worse yet, because these products are designed to kill things (insects and weeds), they are full of toxins that even when used as directed, have the potential to cause a wide range of health problems in humans and animals. Children and pets are the most vulnerable since they are closer to the ground and more likely to roll around in, crawl on, or even eat the grass that’s been treated with toxic chemicals.

In addition to the negative effects of fertilizers and pesticides, various other lawn care practices that are typical in the U.S. are having a vast and detrimental impact on our environment. Consider the following:

• 60% of water consumed on the West Coast goes to watering lawns; 30% on the East Coast.
• 18% of municipal solid waste is composed of yard waste.
• The average suburban lawn receives 10 times as much chemical pesticide per acre as farmland.
• Over 70 million tons of fertilizers are applied to residential lawns and gardens.
• Per hour of operation, a power lawn mower emits 10-12 times as much hydrocarbon as a typical car. A weedeater emits 21 times more, and a leaf blower 34 times more.
• Where pesticides are used, 60-90% of earthworms are killed. Earthworms are important for soil health.

photo: Smoooochie1