 What's wrong with grass?Grass is not inherently bad. Where you use and it and how you treat it determines its goodness. Or badness. But, think about this: why waste space on grass unless your cow needs food? Are you growing food for an imaginary cow? It’s OK, we’ve all had imaginary friends. But then we grew up. If you have a huge green lawn that needs frequent applications of fertilizer, weedkillers, and water, your grass is bad. Well, actually maybe it’s not the grass that’s bad, it’s you. Shame on you! Let that grass have some “weeds” mixed in (most are important to butterflies and other pollinators), allow it to go dormant in the winter (maybe even turn a little brown), and use a mulching mower only as fertilizer. I have used only a mulching mower on what little grass I have left for years, and it is as green or greener than my neighbors’ grass, one of whom uses (egad!) Chemlawn and the other a “weed and feed” product with a walk-behind spreader. These products contain the chemical Atrazine, which is banned in the E.U., but all-too-common here. Bad grass is a grass unsuited for your planting area, which will need all kinds of life support to keep it going. Here in South Florida, most people have St. Augustine grass, which needs full sun and plenty of water for that "lush green lawn" look. It is suited to our subtropical climate, and will survive with little inputs.Too bad many people don’t know that and throw all manner of fertilizer, selective herbicides, and water on the grass, pumping it up on steroids, and killing off any biodiversity to grow a monoculture of grass, which beckons to chinch bugs and other grass-loving pests. In turn, more insecticide is thrown on; well, you get the picture. A vicious circle. Grass has its place. If you must have some grass for kids or pets to run and play, dedicate a portion of your yard to grass suited to your region. If you don't really need it, why bother with all the mowing and the maintenance of it? A little piece of land is a precious thing, plant food on it! Plant food for your family, for the butterflies and birds. Take good care of your soil. If you take care of your land, it will take care of you. We'll help! Cows eat grass.Grass is for grazers. Cows, horses, buffalo. I wish we could all have a cow in the front yard to eat the grass. Since changing my lawn is easier than changing zoning laws, I have been reducing the grass methodically over the years, enlarging planting beds, and growing food plants. Food for my family. Food for birds. And bees. And butterflies. The squirrels are happy too, and the occasional possum or reptile. The underground water table is uncontaminated from my yard! No atrazine in my agua, thanks! (Weed and feed products so commonly used on lawns contain this toxin which enters the water table, affecting everyone, not just the lawn they were spread on.) No, here we all live healthy lives- the microorganisms in the soil, the wildlife, the people who have become stewards of the land. |
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