Water Mill - A well maintained lawn is a beautiful sight and most of us work hard (or pay someone else to work hard) so that we can have our properties covered with a thick green carpet of grass. Healthy lawns have many benefits including reducing airborne pollutants and noise pollution, reducing storm water runoff, lowering air temperature and increasing property value.

Healthy Zoysia Grass Roots. (modernturf.com)

In our quest to achieve a "perfect" lawn, we often resort to chemical remedies and quick fixes that pollute the environment and can ultimately do more harm than good. Grass, like any other plant, can be maintained in a natural way that will limit the harmful effects of traditional lawn care. In order to keep your lawn eco, you need to strategize a plan so that you provide your grass with the best growing conditions.

The first step in lawn care is choosing the right grass for your property. Today, there are many different sods and seeds available for establishing a lawn. When choosing a grass, you need to take into consideration the amount of sun exposure, water, and foot traffic your lawn area will receive. Fine Fescue blends tend to do better in shady areas but they do not tolerate foot traffic as well as Blue Grass, Rye Grass and Tall Fescues. Bluegrass and Ryegrass handle wear and tear better but they do not tolerate drought or shade. Zoysia grass lawns are drought tolerant, relatively weed proof and they require less mowing but they have a tendency to turn brown at the first sign of colder weather. There are no perfect grasses but choosing the grass that best suits your needs will save you a lot of future headaches.

One area that is often misunderstood is how to correctly water your lawn. A healthy lawn requires an average of one inch of rain per week during the summer. Watering your lawn more is a waste of water and will cause it to form a shallow root system, which can contribute to problems during the hottest part of the summer. You should water your lawn in the early morning, between 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. This will ensure that your lawn receives ample moisture, since evaporation is at its lowest, but it will also allow it to dry properly before nightfall. Watering in the evening is never a good idea because a wet lawn at night is susceptible to a whole host of problems.

Organic Sod - an increasingly popular option for establishing a lawn. (thedailygreen.com)

Lawns require fertilizer to grow properly but before you fertilize your lawn, you should get your soil tested so you can see what it requires. Feeding your lawn should never be a guessing game and a soil analysis will show you how to give your lawn exactly what it needs. Fertilizing your lawn in the spring will increase the top growth of your lawn, without increasing root growth to sustain it during the summer months. Fertilizing in the spring will also increasing the amount of mowing your lawn will require and will make it more susceptible to insects and diseases.
A better alternative is fertilizing in the fall, when most of your lawn's energy will go toward root growth. Healthy roots are the best defense against insects, disease and drought. There are many options for fertilizing your lawn but you should always opt for a natural, organic fertilizer. Keep in mind that you should only be feeding your lawn precisely what it needs. You want to feed your lawn, not the waterways that we live by. Overfeeding, even with natural fertilizers, will pollute your surroundings.

Keeping your grass mowed at a short height will create more work for you to keep it maintained. Your grass should be cut at a height no more than one-third of the original height. If you want to keep your lawn mowed at a height of one inch, you will need to mow it when it reaches 1.5 inches (every two to five days). If you apply the same one-third rule to a lawn maintained at height of three inches, you will need to mow it when it reaches 4.5 inches (every five to 15 days). Just by keeping your grass two inches longer, you can greatly reduce the amount of mowing you will have to do and in turn this will greatly reduce any pollution created by mowing.

What's Blooming? Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' (www.gardenangels.com)

When you mow, make sure that your blades are sharp. Dull blades tear grass and create jagged edges, rather than a sharp cut. Lawns mowed with a dull blade require 30 percent more water than those that are mowed with a properly sharpened blade. We recommend using a mulching mower that finely chops the grass clippings. You should leave the grass clippings on the lawn, rather than bagging them. Earth worms will break the clippings down and incorporate them back into the soil. This activity will increase your soil quality and add nutrients back into your lawn, decreasing the need for additional fertilizer.

Proper maintenance practices will help keep your lawn healthy and minimize the harmful effects that are often associated with lawn care. An eco-friendly lawn is not an oxymoron, it just requires you to do some homework and provide your grass with the conditions that will help it to thrive. There is a lot more information that I couldn't possibly fit into this article.

For more information on lawn care check out Cornell University's Lawn Care website at www.gardening.cornell.edu/lawn. Another great resource for eco-friendly lawn care is www.planetnatural.com.

What's Blooming?
Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' - Common Name: Summersweet Clethra, Summersweet, Sweet Pepperbush. 'Ruby Spice' is a pink selection of Clethra that is truly a stunner. This North American Native's delightfully fragrant blooms last up to six weeks. When it is not in bloom, its dark green leaves and densely leafing habit make it a nice specimen plant, or hedge. In fall the leaves turn bright yellow, giving it wonderful seasonal interest. Summersweet Clethra can reach up to eight feet in height and six feet in width, so make sure that you give it room to grow. Although tolerant of many different conditions, it prefers moist partial shade locations, but can take full sun if it is watered sufficiently. Like many native plants, Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' is deer resistant, making it a perfect bush for those areas that get browsed on by deer. Zones: 4-8.