How to Make Environmentally-Friendly Choices
For families with children and pets, you’ll find that organic is the way to go! But caring for your lawn in an environmentally friendly way can be confusing, with all of the products and recommendations out there. That’s why it’s a good idea to contact professionals who can help sort things out for you. If you’re an environmentally conscious homeowner, you may be interested in going green but don’t know where to start. Or you aren’t sure if the benefits are worth it.
Consider these facts:
- Approximately 60% of nitrogen from fertilizer runs off and ends up mixing with ground or surface water.
- Nearly 70 million birds die every year from pesticide poisoning in the U.S. alone.
- Lawn mowers in the U.S. use more than 580 million gallons of gas per year.
It’s true—there’s nothing like a well-kept, healthy lawn. It not only reduces carbon dioxide levels, but acts as a filter to remove pollution from the air. Wouldn’t it be nice to go outside in your yard and breathe in fresh air? If a beautiful, healthy lawn that you and your kids can enjoy is appealing to you, read on to find out more about what going green can mean for you.
The Benefits of Going Green
Treating Your Lawn with Natural Pest-Control Solutions. When you use environmentally-friendly, organic products and pesticides, you won’t cause harm to innocent animals and plants that can be negatively impacted by harsh chemicals. For example, garden pests don’t care for hot pepper wax. It repels them without harming them. Plants don’t absorb it, either, so you won’t have to worry about the flavor of your vegetables in your garden. There are also botanical alternatives to get rid of bugs. You can try an insecticidal soap that’s made mostly of potassium salts with fatty acids derived from plants, and is biodegradable, which makes it a great natural alternative. At the same time, it won’t harm beneficial insects. There are many other natural alternatives, including neem, which comes from a tree and acts as an organic pesticide; or garlic spray, which is also biodegradable and repels pests you don’t want causing damage to your yard. Other options include vinegar, mint oil, orange peel extract and many others.
Using Less Water. Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to water your lawn as much during the growing seasons? You may be interested to know that organic lawns are proven to require less water. When your soil is rich with organic material, it becomes like a sponge. So when you water your lawn, it absorbs it longer and doesn’t require frequent watering the way non-organic lawns do. In fact, it will even maintain its dark green, lush color during times of stress, whether it’s an extreme weather event or extra wear and tear. It’s also been proven that organic lawns grow at a steadier pace, unlike chemically treated lawns. This also means less mowing for you. Most of all, your lawn will have that lush, manicured curb appeal you’ve always wanted.
Planting Smarter. It’s best to call on professionals to do your landscaping for a variety of reasons. One of the most important is that too often the wrong grasses and plants are planted in areas that don’t fit the land or coincide well with the amount of rainfall. It’s best to choose plantings that will thrive naturally and make the most sense for where you live. So consulting with professionals about the kinds of grasses and plants you choose is always a good idea. When you do this, you’ll save a lot on the cost of maintaining your lawn. For instance, did you know that Americans use approximately 70 million tons of fertilizers, pesticides and soil amendments to maintain our lawns, mostly to create an artificial symbiosis with nature that doesn’t naturally exist? Turf grass is very popular, and people spend nearly $40 billion a year on chemicals, seed and sod to achieve that ever elusive, perfect lawn. Smarter planting, along with organic products, would significantly decrease the need, and cost, of lawn maintenance chemicals.
The Veron Company is committed to ensuring that you have beautiful, worry-free landscaping, and we provide other home care services as well. Keep checking our blog for more maintenance tips, and contact us today to let us go to work for you!
The Veron Company, serving Marlborough, Massachusetts and surrounding areas, including Cape Cod since 1982.