
Organic Lawn Care For the Cheap and Lazy - Mz
http://www.richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp
======
cwal37
Instead of worrying so much about a lawn, why not look into natural
landscaping?
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_landscaping](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_landscaping)

The rough idea is to use local, endemic plants. They'll have a much higher
tolerance range for your area's pests and climate conditions. I understand the
appeal of grass, and certainly love lying down to read on a slightly sloping
lawn, but there are certain areas where the combination of soil and climate
should make it inordinately expensive to grow and maintain one. We just
collectively happen to provide huge subsidies (in the form of extremely cheap
water and minimal restrictions on use) for households that want to have a lawn
in those areas. That's also ignoring all of the other negative environmental
and infrastructural externalities around everyone having a lawn.

~~~
stinos
_Instead of worrying so much about a lawn, why not look into natural
landscaping?_

It's a cultural thing, afaik. Somehow (during the previous century I assume)
it became important, or a sign of wealth, or maybe even a display of 'I'm
living the dream' to have a nice green lawn. Without any impurities of course.
And as flat as possible. So it turns into something that is considered
aesthetically pleasing as well. I noticed that whan asking people with such a
lawn why exactly they want it like that, they mostly remain pretty vague and
cannot give much reason to it - which for me is a reason to support my belief
it's purely cultural, as it doesn't have much, if any, benefits. Not for the
people having to keep it like that, nor for nature.

That last thing bothers me most: for most animal life not bound to soil, a
lawn without any weeds wahtsoever is essentially worthless. If you're lucky
you'll get some birds able to get the earthworms out but that's it. Bees and
butterflies and the likes don't benefit from it. Which is why natural
landscaping (or basically, just let nature have it's go at it without much
human intervention) is imo always better. We have a couple of acres of land
like that: it is mainly left as-is (apart from getting rid of occasional non-
local plants and making some pathways through the grass with a mower) and it's
a home to a wealth of local plants and animals. The neighbour's land however
is dead in comparision, no matter how green his lawn is shining.

~~~
kabouseng
Except if you have children, then it is easier to play on a lawn than between
the plants and rocks.

~~~
stinos
that depends on what games you play.. soccer will be hard :P

------
scotch_drinker
Mowing height should be based on the type of grass, not a global 1 height fits
all. Here in Texas, where lots of lawns are Bermuda, mowing high will leave
you with a weak lawn. Of course, if you have St. Augustine or fescue, sure mow
as high as you can.

Watering deeply and infrequently is very good advice though. If you have a
sprinkler system with zones, it's good practice to run 10-15 minutes per zone
depending on the type of sprinkler head in each zone. Do that for all zones
then repeat. This will result in a much deeper soaking and lower runoff
amounts.

Check your sprinkler heads yearly and replace ones that are broken or
misdirected.

Fertilization should again be according to the type of grass you have. You
would never fertilize corn the same way you fertilize beans (trick question,
you shouldn't fertilize legumes) so you shouldn't expect to fertilize
different grasses the same amount or time.

Lawn care in Boston is going to be drastically different from lawn care in
Dallas. Do a little bit of research for your area and your grass type and then
you can develop your own guide for the cheap and lazy.

~~~
beanholio
+1 for height based on type of grass.
[http://publications.tamu.edu/TURF_LANDSCAPE/PUB_turf_Maintai...](http://publications.tamu.edu/TURF_LANDSCAPE/PUB_turf_Maintaining%20Bermudagrass%20Lawns.pdf)
[http://publications.tamu.edu/TURF_LANDSCAPE/PUB_turf_Maintai...](http://publications.tamu.edu/TURF_LANDSCAPE/PUB_turf_Maintaining%20St.%20Augustine%20Grass%20Lawns.pdf)
I've been following their height recommendations this year and can tell a
difference in density and weed occurrence. Gig 'Em beanholio class of '96

~~~
cc439
I just love the existence of Turf Grass Management as a college major. My
school also had a great program and I've always been amazed that people are so
crazy about grass that it demands science and study on a large scale but it's
a damn good profession to be in. It's a crazy art but who am I to judge when
it pays so well?

------
svec
Also look into xeriscaping (frequently pronounced "zero-scaping"):
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeriscaping](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeriscaping)

It's "landscaping and gardening that reduces or eliminates the need for
supplemental water from irrigation," frequently with native species.

We xeriscaped much of our yard in Austin, Texas, and if it can work in Texas,
then it can work anywhere. My wife took great care to make sure many of the
plants were attractive to wildlife (bees, butterflies, hummingbirds) which was
an added bonus. (Did you know that hummingbirds are crazy aggressive and
territorial? They are!)

"Native plants" doesn't just mean ugly scrub brush either: plenty of beautiful
plants grow natively where you are - but you'll probably have to look further
than Home Depot to find them.

~~~
jonnathanson
Yeah, hummingbirds are super aggressive. It is kind of cute and kind of scary
at the same time. A territorial hummingbird will think nothing of dive-bombing
you out of nowhere, or buzzing your head a few times until you get the message
and back off. They can come at you so quickly that you won't know what they
are until they zoom past you. You just hear this loud buzzing sound and see a
large object dart just past your face. At first it seems like a monstrously
proportioned bumblebee, until you look back and realize it's a hummingbird.

In re native plants, it _is_ possible to grow a quasi-traditional grass lawn
using native grasses, like Buffalograss. It will look like prairie grass, and
not necessarily like the archetypal, deep-green fescue patch. But if you're
living in a drought-prone area, you really shouldn't be growing thirsty,
exotic grass lawns in the first place. It's bordering on socially
irresponsible in certain parts of the country (Southern California, I'm
looking at you).

~~~
svec
My poor dog got dive-bombed by hummingbirds, poor girl didn't know what
happened.

And you're right on about Buffalo grass - it was pretty popular in the Austin,
TX area.

------
jqm
This was a really good article.

I have one of the manual reel mowers listed. I love it. Not only does it give
a better cut, it uses no gas and doesn't have all the associated hassles (pull
start etc) of a gas mower. It's only slightly more effort to use than a gas
mower too. And it cost like $100 as opposed to 3-$400. I predict it lasts much
longer as well.

~~~
anishkothari
That's great that you use a manual mower, we've always had a gas mower because
we have a fairly large lawn. I wonder how a manual or electric mower would do
on a large lawn, especially going uphill?

~~~
jvoorhis
I recently replaced my dead Toro with a Fiskars reel mower. It really does a
great job, but if your lawn hasn't been mowed in a while, you may need to make
some extra passes for your first cut.

~~~
jqm
That's true.

You have to stay on top of the length with a reel mower which means
regularity. You can't plow through really long grass like you would with a gas
rotary mower.

Fortunately I really enjoy it and look forward to mowing. It's a break from
sitting in front of a screen and is kind of like a long walk with a little arm
activity too.

------
wnissen
I'm looking for a guide to caring for my lawn while we're conserving for the
drought. Right now we're watering 5-10 minutes _per week_. I hope that's
enough to keep the roots alive but assume that fertilizer would be a terrible
idea until the grass starts to recover.

~~~
penguindev
A bit OT from your question, but I've had an organic lawn the last 3-4 years
(in Illinois), and while it's certainly debatable if tall organic grass
'crowds out dandelions' or not, I've been quite happy with the natural spread
of white clover, particularly along parts of the lawn like the edge of the
driveway that have been hit hard/first by drought. I'm pretty sure the clover
is more drought tolerant than the grass will ever be. The last few years
before this one we had some bad droughts, but this year our fortunes are
reversed.

So when I see clover getting dispersed through my grass, I get quite happy.
Much better than bindweed, which took me a few years to get out :-)

~~~
baking
The strength of dandelions is in their tap roots. One theory is that
dandelions do best in poor, hard soil that other plants have a hard time
taking root in. Let the dandelions grow and they will breakup compacted soil
and you will eventually have thick grass and no dandelions, assuming you do
the high mowing, infrequent deep watering, and organic fertilizer only in the
fall. It will probably take more than a few years, but I've been doing this
for twenty years and I'm quite happy with the results.

------
jvoorhis
This is a great article. I found it recently and have been experimenting with
the process this summer.

------
anishkothari
Great article, thanks for sharing this. My dad and I were on opposite sides on
whether to mow low or high. Now I have proof that I'm right!

~~~
scotch_drinker
Mowing height is almost entirely dependent on the type of grass you have. Mow
St Augustine low and you'll have major problems. But let bermuda grow to 4
inches and you'll have a different set of problems. Find out what kind of
grass you have and mow according to that.

[http://publications.tamu.edu/TURF_LANDSCAPE/PUB_turf_Maintai...](http://publications.tamu.edu/TURF_LANDSCAPE/PUB_turf_Maintaining%20Bermudagrass%20Lawns.pdf)

------
juanuys
I think their Hugel Kultur [1] link was posted here on HN before. Great stuff!

[1]
[http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/](http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/)

~~~
Mz
Yup:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7682846](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7682846)

------
brownbat
Now I'm curious what the cheapest and laziest lawn care solution would be for
someone only interested in avoiding municipal fines and rocks through the
windows from neighbors.

It's got to be cleverer than mowing less frequently. Surely there's some way
to hack lawns so they require almost no care at all right?

(Short of buying a townhome?)

~~~
LeeHunter
Plant something other than grass. Seriously. I'm experimenting with yarrow in
some problem areas on our property: a hot dry and sandy septic bed and some
embankments with crappy soil. Yarrow can be mowed much less frequently, looks
amazing (better than grass), grows on any soil, chokes out weeds, and doesn't
need watering. For shady areas I'm having good results with periwinkle.

~~~
pyre
A quick search turns up warnings of periwinkle being an invasive species:
[http://www.canadiangardening.com/how-to/pests-and-
diseases/t...](http://www.canadiangardening.com/how-to/pests-and-diseases/the-
top-10-unwanted-garden-plants/a/32921/5)

Seems like something that you might not necessarily want to introduce.

~~~
eitally
Periwinkle may be invasive but it's also easy to control, similar to English
Ivy. It does great in shade and is an attractive option to plant (or allow to
self-propagate) under large evergreens ... as an alternative to doing nothing
and just having dead grass there like most people do.

------
aye
I was hoping that the answer would be "get a flock of sheep and turn 'em
loose!"

~~~
Moto7451
Goats! That's what the City of LA uses in certain hilly spots on city
property. I used to take the subway to Pershing Square in downtown and was
rather amused to find a goat staring at me from across a temporary fence
erected to coral them around an overgrown hillside.

------
shirro
I have given up on lawn.

It is a great resource for public spaces like parks and sports fields but
maintaining it domestically seems to belong to a distant past. Domestic water
has to be potable. Parks can use lower quality waste water and they can manage
it better. Some people have huge rainwater storage but even then lawn has to
be scaled back in a dry climate.

When I was a kid just about everyone had a quarter acre block with a house and
shedding (garage, garden, tools etc) a veggie garden and a big front and back
lawn.

I learnt to ride my bike on our big lawn. Played backyard cricket on it. Got
stung by bees on the clover. And summer meant playing under the sprinklers
running during the daytime with no thought to waste or expense. Golden age.

Drought water restrictions killed most lawns where I lived and when they were
lifted most people didn't bother to reestablish them. Most of the green yards
of my youth are now bark and natives, glyphosated bare earth or weeds. It
sucks for kids. Kicking a ball around without lawn isn't the same. It is
another of those childhood freedoms people used to take for granted that seems
to have disappeared.

------
wingspan
Missing from this great guide was any mention of moss, an issue I never
thought about until moving to the Pacific Northwest. Now my lawn is mostly
moss with some grass sticking through. I have resigned to just let it grow,
since it is soft underfoot and nice and green. Any tips for a mossy lawn?

~~~
jonnathanson
Moss is often a sign of poor drainage and/or inadequate sunlight. It's often
seen overtaking lawns on heavy, compacted, waterlogged, clay soils. If you
don't believe that to be the problem, you might have a soil that's overly
acidic.

Clay soil is a bear, especially when it's been compacted. I had to deal with
it for many years when I lived in LA. There are no fantastic solutions that
don't risk making the problem worse than it already is. The best you can do is
compost generously, and hope for a slow improvement over time. Do not attempt
to till the soil or mix in sand. This can actually make the problem 10x worse,
creating a sort of concrete-like substance as the clay and sand particles
interlock.

------
Houshalter
I really don't understand the obsession people have with lawns. Obviously it
depends a great deal where you live, but we only mow once or twice a month,
and never use fertilizer or irrigation. It's not a perfect monoculture, but so
what. There are also lots of flowers; large patches of clovers, dandelions,
wild carrots. It benefits the bees.

I'm surprised that many years of people mowing their lawns hasn't evolved
plants which don't waste resources growing above the mow height. Perhaps the
trait could be selectively bred into them manually.

~~~
specialist
My understanding is it came from the UK. Sign of wealth. A bit like buying
your own set of queen's china.

------
lennel
Get an earthworm or bokashi composter use that for nutrients. Declorinate your
water by letting it stand outside for a day or 2. if you have a water feature
somewhere which recycles water pee into it, after a couple of weeks bacteria
which turn the amonia into no2 and then no3 will come to live in there (you
will also supply a fair bit of nutrient this way), use that to water your
lawn.

*bacteria in certain temp ranges obviously, a boston winter won't be any good for this.

~~~
GrinningFool
" Get an earthworm or bokashi composter use that for nutrients. Declorinate
your water by letting it stand outside for a day or"

THis only works if your waters has been chlorinated. chloramine is much more
stable and is also commonly used - it does not break down in the water over
short periods of time, so letting it sit for a couple of days won't remove it.

~~~
lennel
yeah good point. check what your council uses obviously.

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wingspan
Missing from this great guide was any mention of moss, an issue I never
thought about until moving to the Pacific Northwest. Now my lawn is mostly
moss with some grass sticking through. I have resigned to just let it grow,
since it is soft underfoot and nice and green. Any tips for a mossy lawn?

------
rbcgerard
Any advice on aeration? Doesn't seem to be covered...

~~~
juanuys
Make your lawn earth-worm friendly, by not putting chemicals in the soil (I
think the article alludes to this).

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darkstar999
The recommended brand of fertilizer seems to be hard to find. Can someone
explain what to look for that isn't a specific brand?

~~~
frogpelt
I believe it is made by SaferBrand.

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willlma
>Add lime if it is below 6.0 and gardener's sulfur if it is above 7.0

I believe that should be the other way around.

~~~
mdesq
I don't think so. Lime should raise pH and sulfur lower it. Lower pH is more
acidic.

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hyperliner
Yeah, but why add the cartoon of the girl in a suggestive pose at the top of
the article? Was it really necessary?

