The most commonly irrigated crop -the plant that receives 4 billion gallons of potable water a day, the plant that the average American spends 150 hours a year tending, and the plant that North America alone spends $40,000,000,000 a year on -is not the crop that will feed the world. In fact, it is not a crop that will feed anybody, except maybe some lucky cows.
American's lawns are often more trouble than they are worth. We spend so much time, effort, money, and resources on keeping our lawns green and kempt, yet lawns do not provide us with food, need poisons and fertilizers to grow well, and decrease the biodiversity of the area. Yet, in most residential neighborhoods, the dream of the perfect lawn doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Lawns are the norm. But, maybe it's time to rethink this norm, or at least adjust our lawn practices to be more environmentally friendly and less work for you.
Some Alternatives to Lawns These beautiful, healthy alternatives to a lawn can bring a sense of nature's true beauty to your home.
- Vegetable Gardens: For all the time you put into your yard, wouldn't it be nice if you got something out of it? Replacing part or all of your lawn with a vegetable garden would grow food that could support you, your family, and even your community.
- Native Plants: Growing a variety of plants that are native to your area instead of the monoculture of grass seeds we have today, will end up being less work for you! Native plants need less water and fertilizers, and they will create ecosystems for the local fauna to form a sturdy, healthy environment.
EPA Suggestions If you're not quite ready to uproot your whole lawn, but still want to have a healthier impact on your environment, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has these handy tips:
Mowing:
- The ideal height for a lawn is generally 2 ½ to 3 inches. The taller the top of the grass, the longer the roots, making for a stronger, healthier grass that can absorb water much more easily and leaves no exposed dirt in which weeds can grow.
- Use a push mower instead of the gas- or electric-powered kind that causes pollution.
- After mowing, leave the grass clippings on the lawn as a fertilizer. Less work for you!
Watering:
- Your lawn only needs 1 inch of water per week. You can measure this using an empty tuna can!
- Water before 10:00 AM so the grass has time to soak it all up. Perpetually wet grass grows fungi.
- In July and August, let your lawn go brown. Brown lawns are dormant, not dead!
- The best rule is to water only when the lawn begins to wilt from dryness -when the color dulls and footprints stay compressed for more than a few seconds.
Fertilizing:
- If you must fertilize your lawn, remember that fertilizers are NOT water soluble! Fertilize right after it rains (not before) so the fertilizer stays on your lawn instead of running off and draining into our water sources.
An alternative to conventional, petroleum-based fertilizers are all-natural fertilizers like those that Dolphin Blue sells. Check out more ways you can make your life more environmentally friendly at dolphinblue.com!
(This blog was written by Dolphin Blue's amazing intern, Elisa Rivera.)