Aimee, 6, applies organic fertilizer made of natural ingredients to our lawn in Rhode Island.

PERHAPS DUE TO HER FATHER’S vocation, or her mother’s natural flair with flowers and other plants, my daughter Aimee has always been fascinated with growing things. At 4, she knew the so-called weeds from what was actually supposed to be growing in the perennial garden. By age 5, she began frustratedly calling out the neighbors in our cul-de-sac who grew “chemical lawns,” and couldn’t understand why everyone didn’t love the dandelions and other flowers that we allow to grow somewhat unabatedly in our yard.

The Safer Brand sent us this fertilizer to try from its organic 4-Step program.

This spring, all of age 6, she breathlessly ran outside to ask if she could help when I began dabbling with my spring lawn care experiments. While we don’t have the most weed-free lawn by design, we do most often have the greenest and drought tolerant by far due to all the natural fertilizers, soil amendments and anti-dessicants that companies send me to trial.

So while some of our neighbors still hire companies that post the Keep Off the Grass signs for 72 hours when they’re done, Aimee is now officially in charge of the lawn care (mowing aside) at our house. She can do it in her bare feet, with her bare hands, and then roll around on the grass with her sister as soon as she’s done.

The label lists ingredients derived from safe, sustainable sources.

Her favorite task of all is applying the compost tea when all the granular fertilizer is on the ground. I have her do it because the microscopic organisms in the tea help activate the organic fertilizer — which gives the grass a quicker green-up. Aimee, however, mostly likes to spray the tea at me . . . and occasionally her sister.

Applying the compost tea helps bring the soil to life and puts a smile on Aimee’s face.

The post Lawn Care Should Be This Safe and Simple appeared first on Safelawns.

Hallelujah.

In a move that must now be adopted by the United States, the European Union has opted to ban the synthetic nicotines that evidence has linked to colony collapse disorder in honey bees. See the details here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/29/bee-harming-pesticides-banned-europe

The post EUROPE TO BAN BEE-KILLING PESTICIDES! appeared first on Safelawns.

The active ingredient in organic Preen and other similar pre-emergent weed control products is corn gluten meal, a highly expensive and marginally effective product.

With the forsythia blooming or ready to bloom in many areas of North America, that means the crabgrass seeds at the surface of your lawn will be germinating soon, too.

Corn gluten meal is sold as a pre-emergent weed control, primarily for crabgrass and other annual weeds of turf. Before you spend any money on this product, however, review this post from last April: http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2010/04/corn-gluten-meal-as-weed-control-20-years-later-the-jury-is-still-out/

The post Thinking of Corn Gluten Meal? Read This First appeared first on Safelawns.

Pennsylvania beekeeper David Hackenberg has been trying to warn the world about the effects of pesticides on bees for more than six years.

Six full years since SafeLawns first tried to warn the world about the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder, beekeepers around the world remain frustrated with government inaction regarding a class of pesticides known as synthetic nicotines.

“Europe is way ahead of us on this and it will be hard for the United States to ignore it (if they ban it),” said beekeeper David Hackenberg last September. Hackenberg — who first coined the phrase colony collapse disorder in late 2006 and tried to warn his colleagues about the pesticide connection with a letter (Brief_David_Hackenberg in March of 2007) — met with SafeLawns at the Common Ground Fair in Maine when hopes were running high for a European-wide ban on the pesticides.

A week ago numerous scientists and beekeepers were stunned when the chemical industry lobby earned enough votes to essentially create a “hung” jury among the voting nations in Europe. Thirteen voters called for a two-year ban of the neonicotinoids — products like imidacloprid (Merit) and clothianidin — but nine opposed and five abstained.

“Britain and Germany have caved in to the industry lobby and refused to ban bee-killing pesticides,” said Iain Keith, at campaign group Avaaz in an article in The Guardian. “To vote flies in the face of science and public opinion and maintains the disastrous chemical armageddon on bees, which are critical for the future of our food.”

Meanwhile, this past Thursday a group of American environmental organizations and beekeepers sued the EPA, which has repeatedly turned its back on study after study that links these pesticide to massive bee deaths.

“America’s beekeepers cannot survive for long with the toxic environment EPA has supported. Bee-toxic pesticides in dozens of widely used products, on top of many other stresses our industry faces, are killing our bees and threatening our livelihoods,” said plaintiff Steve Ellis, a Minnesota and California beekeeper. “Our country depends on bees for crop pollination and honey production.  It’s time for EPA to recognize the value of bees to our food system and agricultural economy.”

The suit comes amidst an incredibly difficult season for almond farmers in California who literally couldn’t find enough healthy colonies of bees to suitably cross-pollinate their crops.

“Beekeepers and environmental and consumer groups have demonstrated time and time again over the last several years that EPA needs to protect bees.  The agency has refused, so we’ve been compelled to sue,” said Center for Food Safety attorney, Peter T. Jenkins.

Meanwhile, the original whistle-blower wonders how much longer he and his brethren in the bee industry can survive.

“It’s not just the bees you worry about, it’s also the beekeepers,” said Hackenberg. “The mental and physical toll on us, year after year, is almost unbearable. Really, you have to be almost a crazy person to get into this industry right now. When your own government turns its back on you, it’s devastating in its own right.”

The post Beekeepers Sue EPA For Bee-Killing Pesticides appeared first on Safelawns.

SafeLawns founder Paul Tukey gathers with Amanda Harris (Health Promotion Coordinator), Jenny Weseen (UBC Okanagan Cancer Club Volunteer), Jerilynn Maki (Health Promotion Coordinator) and Satinder Lidher (UBC Okanagan Cancer Club Volunteer) prior to the screening of A Chemical Reaction on Tuesday evening in Kelowna, British Columbia.

KELOWNA, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Calling on British Columbia to join six other Canadian provinces with a ban on pesticides used purely for cosmetic purposes, SafeLawns Founder Paul Tukey made three stops in the Kelowna region early this week.

“Honestly, this is one of the most beautiful places on the planet — and I say that coming from the great state of Maine,” said Tukey, referring to a region marked by the magnificent Okanagan Lake. “My trip here is all about preserving that beauty for future generations.”

Tukey, an organic lawn care advocate, author, filmmaker and consultant, focused on the Hudson village of Quebec as an example for other Canadian municipalities and provinces. Hudson was the first town in North America to ban lawn and garden pesticides.

“When you look at Hudson, Quebec, where products like weed ‘n feed and Roundup have not been legal for more than 20 years, the yards are generally still really beautiful and property values are still rising,” said Tukey at the conclusion of his presentation of the Emmy nominated film, A Chemical Reaction, on Tuesday evening at the University of British Columbia Kelowna campus. The event, hosted by the Canadian Cancer Society and the UBC Okanagan Cancer Club, was attended by students, local politicians and health care advocates.

With the provincial elections just weeks away, the Cancer Society is still hopeful of passage of a law restricting pesticides. With the New Democratic Party leading in the polls ahead of embattled Premier Christy Clark — who broke an election promise to ban pesticides — the Cancer Society believes 2013 may be an opportune year for action.

“This issue has been our focus for many years now, with our efforts now focused at the provincial level,” said Patti King, who helped coordinate Tuesday evening’s event for the Cancer Society. “The evidence is more and more clear that pesticides are a health problem as each year goes by.”

UBC Cancer Club student member Jenny Weesen presented Paul Tukey with a toque hat — pronounced “took” — in honor of his visit and his 52nd birthday.

On Monday Tukey delivered a 90-minute training session for municipal staff members at the town of Kelowna, which restricts homeowners from using “cosmetic” pesticides, but still allows licensed professionals to apply lawn and garden weed and insect killers as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach.

“If you’re not going to ban it outright, then Kelowna’s approach is an excellent middle ground,” said Tukey. “Ever since I bought my first bag of weed ‘n feed more than 20 years ago I thought it was absurd that professionals needed a license to apply the stuff, but homeowners could walk into K-Mart and buy a bag and go out an apply it with no training.”

Then on Tuesday Tukey delivered a lunchtime keynote address to the Western Canada Turfgrass Association, where he called on the audience of primarily golf course superintendents to keep an open mind about organic lawn care.

“The elephant in this room is that pesticide bans are not going away and organic lawn care is not a fad,” said Tukey, who pointed out an editorial in Monday’s Vancouver Sun — which noted that “Advertisements, signed by more than 100 doctors and nurses and supported by the David Suzuki Foundation and Environmental Defence, urge the government ‘to enact a provincewide ban on the use and sale of non-essential pesticides.’”

“I believe golf courses are not the enemy,” said Tukey, who consults with numerous golf courses and municipalities about natural approaches. “Most golf course superintendents that I speak to use a small amount of pesticide; they use as little as possible because there’s an economic reason to keep it to a minimum. But I also know that many golf courses are wary of organic approaches and they cannot be any longer.

“I often hear, ‘We’ll be playing golf in a cow patch if they take away our pesticides,’ but the reality is that there was golf before pesticides. Bobby Jones founded the Masters prior to the arrival of 2,4-D. Rest assured there will be golf when many of today’s synthetic chemical pesticides are gone.”

Tukey showed numerous examples of successful transitions to organic lawn care principles, from Harvard University, to the universities of Arizona and Colorado, as well as a magnificent art museum in Maryland known as Glenstone, where he said he spends much of his time as a sustainability consultant. The photos he showed all looked pristine.

“Going organic does not mean you are ‘going ugly,’” said Tukey. “If you say it’s impossible to create a beautiful landscape with organic protocols, what you’re really saying is that you don’t know what you’re doing. Well, it’s time to learn a new way of creating beauty.”

The post SafeLawns Urges Pesticide Reduction in British Columbia appeared first on Safelawns.

This photo, taken by Alan Cohen in late February of this year, depicts a lawn care company breaking a law that is intended to protect the Chesapeake Bay.

By Alan Cohen, President
Safe Lawns for DC Kids and Critters

To protect the Chesapeake Bay, states whose water flows into the Bay have recently passed protective measures to prevent the 41 percent “dead zone” figure from going higher. In 2011 the Maryland legislature passed the Nutrient Management Act.

In 2012 the DC Council passed two bills. One, the 2012 Pesticide Education and Control Amendment Act requires commercial pesticide applicators to take classes in IPM — Integrated Pest Management — prohibited pesticide applications within 25 feet of waterways, and restricted pesticide applications where children play and go to school.

The Sustainable DC Act prohibits application of fertilizers on lawns during winter, from November-March (exact dates to be defined when the regulations are finalized, as in the MD law).

Every State Extension Service in our region does recommends AGAINST spring lawn fertilizer applications. These are our tax-paid professors at Land Grant Colleges, our independent experts.  Instead, they recommend feeding lawns in the fall, which contributes to deep root growth. That produces more drought-resistant grass.

So, if your lawn care provider wants to fertilize your lawn before April, inform them that that is against the spirit of laws in states surrounding the Chesapeake and you don’t want to hurt the bay. In addition, winter-dormant soil and grass (you haven’t had to cut it) cannot process nutrients at this time of year, so most of them applied too early are washed away in Spring rains, like the one we had in late February. Spring storms wash away “pre-emergent” herbicides too, into the Potomac and the Bay.

Another reason not to feed grass in the spring is that it feeds the weed seedlings too. And then lawn companies can charge you more for weed-killing chemicals. Liming, cutting back spring feeding and then aeration and over-seeding in the fall goes a long way to a vigorous, and more weed-free lawn (Over-seeding anytime is a great idea to prevent weeds).  You may have noticed that our lawn has not had any dandelions in the past three years, but that is not due to herbicides. We tested the soil, found out it was acidic, and added lime, which discourages dandelions. They like acidic soil. Acid rain makes the soil acidic, and regular liming corrects it. It is a lot cheaper than herbicide, and poses no risks to the children or pets on our block.

We can live with a Bay with less “dead zones,” even if it means a slightly less bright-green lawn in the early spring. It  will mean a less weed-choked Bay if we all work together.

We can all save money, and Save the Bay, at the same time.

Note: Maryland residents noticing lawn care trucks making the rounds too early can contact the MDA at 410-841-5710.

DC residents can contact the DDOE pesticide regulation office at 202-535-2294 or online. There is no such thing as “winter application” of fertilizer. It just washes off into the Bay, and is now illegal.

The post Guest Blog: Treating the Lawn Too Early is Not Only Wrong, It’s Illegal appeared first on Safelawns.

Sometimes you wonder if you children are paying the least bit of attention . . . But this morning, much to my delight, my daughter, Aimee, showed me her kindergarten science notebook. Translating from the phonetic spelling it reads:

The post Organic Lawn Care Advocacy: The Next Generation appeared first on Safelawns.

In the midst of a still contentious battle to make it illegal to apply synthetic chemical lawn and garden pesticides, SafeLawns founder Paul Tukey will return to the Canadian province of British Columbia during the first week of March.

While the majority of Canada has passed bans on weed-killing products such as weed ‘n feed and Roundup that are known to be toxic to humans and the environment, British Columbia has held out — despite an election campaign promise by Premier Christy Clark that she would back anti-pesticide legislation as the provincial leader. Her opponents have reacted strongly to her change of heart.

“I frankly thought this conversation in British Columbia would come to an end quickly after I first visited three years ago,” said Tukey, who will screen his Emmy nominated film, A Chemical Reaction, on Tuesday evening in the town of Okanagan. The film, which premiered at the World Film Festival in 2009, details the origins of the Canadian pesticide movement that began in the Quebec village of Hudson in the mid 1980s.

“It’s amazing to me that, after all this time and with all the evidence of the dangers of these pesticides, we’re still having this discussion,” said Tukey, who will also deliver a keynote address earlier that day to the Western Canada Turfgrass Association’s 50th annual meeting. “I’m thankful that the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment have had the stamina to keep this issue in the forefront of people’s minds.”

The Tuesday evening event is taking place at the University of British Columbia at Okanagan, with a question-and-answer session with Tukey to follow the film screening. Further details are available here: http://www.kelownacapnews.com/lifestyles/193360071.html.

Tukey will also hold a work session for the municipal employees of several British Columbia towns on Monday, March 4. For details, contact Patti King of the Canadian Cancer Society at Patti King pking (at) bc.cancer.ca.

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Blending the old and the new, the Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh will officially open one of the world’s most earth-friendly buildings and landscape facilities this week. This photo was taken near the end of construction last May.

Would you believe that the nation’s best example of sustainable landscape leadership is in . . . Pittsburgh?

Setting an unmatched standard for design innovation, the century old Phipps Conservatory officially unveils its breathtakingly imaginative new Center for Sustainable Landscapes this Tuesday, Feb. 12.

Combining state-of-the-world leadership in a variety of components from passive solar, to geothermal heating and cooling, to energy generation and recycling, Phipps accepted the Living Building Challenge issued by International Living Future Institute. When it was completed, the facility exceeded LEED Platinum certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and also met all aspects of Sustainable Sites — the green industry standard for landscapes.

Richard Piacentini, second from left, explains the Phipps design intent to a team from the Glenstone Foundation in Maryland.

“Our goal was not just to meet building standards, but to bring sustainability into everything we do,” executive director Richard Piacentini told SafeLawns during a tour in May of 2012. Remarkably, Piacentini has overseen the multi-million dollar expansion despite some of the nation’s most difficult economic times.

“We’ve remained very committed to doing the right thing and our benefactors have stood by us,” he said.

In addition to ceasing the utilization of synthetic chemical pesticides, the exterior grounds at the newly constructed facility features all non-invasive, native plants which are irrigated exclusively with rainwater. Manufactured wetlands keep turn all the sewage into a useful byproduct; all other water is recycled on-site.

This video details the spirit behind the project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG1srhdIZHk&feature=player_embedded#!. The web site offers numerous details of the program: http://phipps.conservatory.org/project-green-heart/green-heart-at-phipps/center-for-sustainable-landscapes.aspx?

Ultimately, though, nothing replaces visiting the site where the original wooden conservatory spires dating to 1893 now blend seamlessly with 21st century hi-tech innovation.

The original Lord & Burnham conservatory from 1893 still stands as a testament to enduring quality.

The post Center for Sustainable Landscapes Opens Tuesday appeared first on Safelawns.

While most of the free world has pinned the root cause of colony collapse disorder on a group of pesticides known as synthetic nicotines, bees now face another threat from a new, similar fast-acting compound that’s up for approval from our EPA.

“Sulfoxaflor will provide farmers an effective solution against sap-feeding insects that are destructive to a wide range of crops including cotton, tree fruits, vegetables and rice,” said Tim Hassinger of Dow AgroSciences after the company won approval in Korea in late 2011 despite acknowledgement on the label that sulfoxaflor — like imidacloprid and chothianidin before it — is incredibly toxic to bees.

Amidst new calls to ban the class of nicotines from the European Union in recent weeks, the threat of sulfoxaflor has brought a new sense of urgency to the movement to protect bees. With no long-term studies yet available for this “fourth-generation” neonicotinoid, environmentalists fear a repeat of the swift approval of clothianidin that was proven to be based on a single bogus test result.

“With continuing reports of bee deaths, would sulfoxaflor be yet another bee disaster waiting to happen? Take action and tell EPA not to repeat past missteps and protect pollinators from sulfoxaflor by providing a public comment to EPA,” wrote the Washington-based group Beyond Pesticides: http://www.beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/?p=9531

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