Care for the Environment While Caring for Your Lawn

Provided by Mid-America Green Industry Council
Everyone who maintains a healthy lawn contributes to the quality of the earth’s environment and our future. Lawns replenish our oxygen supply, cool our neighborhoods, prevent soil erosion, purify water, filter dust and pollen from the air, build topsoil and absorb noise pollution. Scientists have long recognized and advocated the importance of lawns to our environment. Now everyone should be concerned about protecting this valuable resource.

You can contribute to the health and longevity of your lawn by using proper mowing practices and timely fertilization. Light frequent applications of fertilizer make your lawn denser. This prevents erosion and water runoff.
Mowing is critical. For best results, mow with a sharp blade set at the ideal height for the variety of grass you have—usually 2 to 3½ inches high. Sharpen your mower blades monthly during the growing season, more often if you hit stones or sticks. Dull blades damage the lawn, causing unsightly brown frayed tips and providing points of entry for turf diseases.

Match your mowing schedule to the growth rate of your lawn. You may need to mow every four or five days in late spring (at least once a week), but by the end of summer with its hot temperatures, you may only need to mow every 10 to 14 days.


Recycle Grass Clippings

America’s landfills are closing at an alarming rate. Grass clippings and yard debris make up to 20 percent of the solid waste refuse being dumped into landfills. By leaving grass clippings on the lawn after mowing, you are helping our landfills last longer. Another plus is lawns become healthier when grass clippings are left on the lawn because the clippings recycle nutrients to the soil.

The key is to mow often enough to remove no more than one-third of the grass blade per mowing. The return of grass clippings to the lawn and eventually to the soil has always been considered by true turf experts to be a natural part of maintaining a lawn. If you mow frequently, the clippings aren’t noticeable and valuable nutrients are returned to the soil.
This is another way individual citizens can play a major role in protecting the environment. Recycling grass clippings is one way we can reduce our reliance on landfills, and it takes less time than bagging. For information on recycling and composting, call your lawn service or local university extension service.


VALUE ADDED

Healthy, well manicured lawns are a joy to use and see.

• Glare is softened
• Feet are cushioned
• Noise is reduced
• It may mean a 15% increase in the selling price of a home — a better return on investment than a deck or pool.

OXYGEN GIVER

A blade of grass...takes polluting gases and CO2 from the air and returns pure oxygen. A 50’ X 50’ healthy turf area supplies the oxygen needs of a family of four — every day.