TUCSON, AZ — As a turf manager at multiple professional levels including minor league baseball, the summer Olympics and numerous college stadiums, Matt Anderson admitted he rolled his eyes at the organic lawn care trials he inherited when he took over the grounds at the University of Arizona last January. ...

We go through a debate every few weeks at our house until my wife overrules my daughter and forces me to mow the lawn, including the areas we endeavor to keep "nice" and the outlying areas where I like to call it "naturalized." To my daughter all the non-grass plants that pop up are more flowers for her bouquets. Eventually, for my wife (and me), the weeds become a bit too much of a symbol of our independen ...

[caption id="attachment_5477" align="alignleft" width="540"] This photo was sent to us from Jeff Borkowski of Massachusetts, where the lawn is watered daily — contributing to the massive population of crabgrass. Ironically, this stand of crabgrass in the North looks a lot like a healthy carpet of St. Augustine or centipede grass in the South. [/caption] By this week in August EVERY YEAR almost universal aff ...

[caption id="attachment_5451" align="alignleft" width="540"] This is the appearance of a typical drought-stressed lawn in many parts of North America right now. In all likelihood, however, it will recover when the weather cools and rain returns.[/caption] As the news continues to build about the now-epic drought conditions sweeping the nation, my neighbor was outside this afternoon applying more fertilizer ...

[caption id="attachment_5421" align="alignleft" width="540"] Poor installation and/or maintenance of a sprinkler system causes excessive weeds (unwanted plants including grass) to grow on this school track in California.[/caption] This post comes with a warning: we are going to pick on some people. Some folks in California apparently hold themselves up as grounds professionals and caregivers of children. We ...

[caption id="attachment_5382" align="alignleft" width="540"] This is the lawn at Glenstone two years after all synthetic fertilizers and pesticides were removed and replaced by composts and other natural products.[/caption] Little more than two years ago I received what seemed to be an innocuous phone call from a woman who asked me if I could come to Maryland to help with an organic lawn renovation. As a re ...

Last Thursday, with a heat index of 105, I witnessed a sprinkler system spewing water high into the air at noontime near Washington, D.C. This morning, after more than an inch of rain yesterday, I heard my neighbors' sprinkler system go off at 5:45 a.m. in Rhode Island. And after an optimistic drought forecast offered up by the National Weather Service earlier this spring, the map, above, is beginning to lo ...

[caption id="attachment_5305" align="alignleft" width="563" caption="At this golf course, where grass is fertilized and grown to the pond's edge, the water is eutrified by excess phosphorus load. "][/caption] WHEN IT COMES TO LAWNS, FEW STATES RIVAL CONNECTICUT for the amount of passion folks can muster. It’s the richest state in the nation per capita and all those folks with nice properties want to su ...

[caption id="attachment_5244" align="alignleft" width="540" caption="Keeping the grass tall helps the lawn outcompete the weeds. (Phil Nauta photo)"][/caption] By Phil Nauta If you'd like a lawn that's mostly weed free, I'm here to tell you that with a little bit of knowledge and commitment, it's definitely possible. Now we do have to remember that a lawn with just a few species of grasses is quite an unnat ...

SafeLawns is by no means an anti-lawn campaign. We love lawns, in fact, for all sorts of games and family activities. But if you're really just not into having grass around your house — or you want grass you don't have to mow, then here's a review of a book you just might need to buy: http://www.lawnreform.org/2012/03/beautiful-no-mow-yards-book-review.html ...