With the rest of the world already caught on to the phenomenon known as "blogging," I finally got around to it on June 18, 2009. Why June 18? I have no recollection, really, about why I picked that day to launch what soon became a personal obsession. More than 1,000 SafeLawns posts later, most of them written by yours truly, I remain grateful that enough sponsoring partners and daily readers have conspired ...

[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 ...

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this 4-minute video is worth an epic tome. Directed by Louie Schwartzberg, the piece speaks to why we need to reduce pesticides . . . far more eloquently than words really ever could: http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/xHkq1edcbk4?rel=0 ...

URI RESEARCHERS LOOKING FOR NON-PESTICIDE APPROACHES TO SAVING LILIES [caption id="attachment_5285" align="alignleft" width="563" caption="Lily beetles attack Asiatic lilies, not daylilies, which are an unrelated plant. "][/caption] [caption id="attachment_5281" align="alignleft" width="358" caption="The adult lily leaf beetle is scarlet red and about the size of a lady bug."][/caption] Off the lawn topic t ...

We thank our friends at Earthcare Natural Lawn and Landscapes and Purple Cow Organics of Wisconsin, one of America's finest compost companies, for permission to republish this food for thought: [caption id="attachment_5256" align="alignleft" width="341" caption="Purple Cow Organics specializes in turning what would otherwise be food waste products into rich soil amendments. "][/caption] By Darrell Smith and ...

[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 ...

THE INACTION MEANS WE NEED TO ACT TOGETHER I have to say I’m not one to inherently, blindly grant government too much power, but I do have to love the way the French are dealing with yet another study that says pesticides are killing bees. Within days of a scientific report that linked a synthetic nicotine known as Thiamethoxam to colony collapse disorder, the government announced it planned to ban the prod ...

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 ...

As so often happens in gardening, and life, good news begets bad news. A year ago at this time parts of the nation, especially our great friends in Houston, were mired in an historic drought . . . . . . and while some folks in the Southwest still need to conserve every drop, the forecast from the National Weather Service calls for a great gardening season with respect to water availability in most regions. ...

Paul Tukey, Mark Long Form Organic Green Pros FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 4, 2012 Consulting Firm to Focus on Sustainability, Safety Expecting their first child in 2010, Emily and Mitchell Rales decided they could no longer conduct business as usual on the landscape of their massive estate known as Glenstone. “When we, as owners, decided we wanted 100 percent organic protocols for our landscape maintenance p ...