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Our Top Post of the Year? You Decide

Posted by: Posted date: December 27, 2009 In: General | comment : 2

Two days after Christmas, it’s pouring rain here in Maine, with skies so gray it feels like the dead of night here in the house even at nearly 10 a.m.

Days like this, coming near year end, are great for reflection and relaxation. The Sunday papers are full of the year’s Top 10 lists, which got me thinking about our own list here at SafeLawns. I want to give that some more thought, but in the meantime I went through all the posts we’ve generated since we started this daily blog on June 18. I’ve culled out a few of the most significant and linked to them all here.

If you get a chance, check them out again and let us know your favorite:

A recent post, about my grandmother, Clarida Van Dyne:
http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2009/12/happy-birthday-gram/

About a November visit to Jungle Island in Florida:
http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2009/11/jungle-island-an-organic-success-story/

A post linking to an NPR interview, probably our most popular media appearance of the year:
http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2009/10/listen-in-to-npr-science-friday/

Why Go Organic? Here are 12 steps to ponder:
http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2009/09/the-12-step-organic-manifesto/

We’ve been on top of the issue of imidacloprid and bee decline for years. Here’s an important overview: http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2009/09/imidacloprid-what-you-must-know-now/

In September, SafeLawns helped lead the charge to block the drenching of imidacloprid in Worcester, Mass. This is one of our first posts on the issue, which ultimately led to officials changing their course of action:
http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2009/09/panna-joins-effort-to-block-worcester-drenching/

We joined the Lawn Reform Coalition, a nationwide group of media pros with strong feelings about lawns:
http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2009/09/introducing-lawn-reform-coalition/

Several states are taking steps to ban or limit the amount of phosphorus in lawn and garden fertilizers. Here is the first bit of research that indicates the bans appear to be justified:
http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2009/08/study-phosphorus-bans-appear-to-be-working/

On the day we brought my youngest daughter home, I felt more motivated than ever to speak out:
http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2009/08/for-angies-sake-a-new-manifesto/

When an important new sponsor joined the SafeLawns movement, we posted a nice, long chat with the company owner, Milo Shammas:
http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2009/08/a-conversation-with-milo-shammas/

The pesticide industry continues to promote the notion that its products are safe, when time after time the research indicates it’s just not true:
http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2009/07/pesticides-harming-the-bay/

How-to items are a staple of our blog. This post started a series of water-saving columns that offer timeless information:
http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2009/07/with-july-here-dont-waste-water/

About The Author

Paul Tukey

An international leader of the green movement, Mr. Tukey is a journalist, author, filmmaker, TV host, activist and award-winning public speaker, who is widely recognized as North America's leading advocate for landscape sustainability and toxic pesticide reduction strategies.

Number of Entries : 1023

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  • http://www.safelawns.org John Sawyer

    You’ve accomplished a lot this year and I’m looking forward to your visit to California in January. Will you be making any other trips to our state?

    Also, will Buffalograss do OK out here?

    • Paul Tukey

      We are planning a Hollywood premiere of A Chemical Reaction on Feb. 28, 2010. Watch the blog for details.

      As for Buffalograss, it will do well in areas of California with less than 25 inches of annual rainfall, which is a lot of the state.

      Here is a passage from my book, An Organic Lawn Care Manual, that talks about Buffalograss:

      Transition

      Buffalograss, Buchloe dactyloides — The state of Texas likes to lay claim to this American native, but it also grows naturally in many areas of the West and Midwest. Showing up in more and more university test trials, this will be one of the primary grasses we turn to in the future when the proverbial water well really does run dry.
      Once it’s established, buffalograss can survive on little water and with virtually no extra nitrogen. It actually grows best in states with less than 25 inches of annual rainfall, which is the major limiting factor in why more of us don’t grow buffalograss in the East and Pacific Northwest. Uniform and attractive with a green to blue-green color, its mature height is only about six inches. Narrow leaves curl slightly downward, making it appear even shorter. It may not grow in as densely as Bermuda or St. Augustine, but the blades are more fine. I found it to be a far more pleasing turf overall.
      If folks need to remember anything with this grass, it’s how to leave it alone. You can literally kill it with kindness. Give it too much water or fertilizer and the problems begin. If you mow it too often, you’re wasting your electricity or gas. That’s why some of the landscapers hate it!
      When you’re shopping, look for varieties known as ‘609’ or ‘Stampede,’ which have come out of university breeding programs in recent years. Both spread fairly quickly and provide nice, full coverage.

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