Here is an article from an on-line news source that offers a comprehensive look at the state of the organic lawn care revolution in the U.S.: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51805 ...

I need to look more into this — specifically what the criteria will be — but it's intriguing nonetheless. New York state will apparently begin an approval process for organic lawn care professionals: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=939580&category=BUSINESS. ...

[caption id="attachment_1550" align="alignnone" width="414" caption="Fire ants often do need to be control in a lawn environment."][/caption] With the unofficial arrival of summer across North America often comes the mad dash to the pesticide aisle of your local garden center for insect control, especially ant sprays and baits. Having spent four years producing a television show with Roger Swain for HGTV, I ...

Amazingly dedicated folks in Canada keep tabs daily on the state of affairs regarding pesticides and fertilizers in Canada. They track news stories, letters to the editors and are, for all of us in the SafeLawns movement, an invaluable resource in our efforts to make our world safer from pesticides. This morning they sent along an update of the list of current pesticide and fertilizer regulations in his nat ...

[caption id="attachment_1443" align="alignnone" width="648" caption="A moss lawn in a shady area can be a beautiful addition to a landscape. "][/caption] One of the tenets of our approach to lawn care is that "weeds" are messengers sent by Mother Nature to tell us something about the soil below. You can kill the messengers any number of ways — with chemicals, natural products, flaming, boiling water, or pul ...

[caption id="attachment_1437" align="alignnone" width="576" caption="Of these three common home compost bins, the tumbler in the middle will "finish" compost most quickly. "][/caption] I spoke to my alma mater's alumni association last night about stewardship of the planet. The talk, which is a nice break for me from organic lawn care, is titled 10 Words: Essential Dialogue for Saving the Planet. We had a g ...

Sandra Steingraber is one of my heroes in this world. A cancer survivor and scientist, she wrote a book several years ago, Living Downstream, that hastened my own journey toward outspoken advocacy. Answering the question I asked on this blog a few days ago — What Did You Do When You Knew? — the mother of two isn't afraid to let the world know the facts about toxic exposures. I was delighted to see her take ...

I came across this video this morning that features the editor of Organic Gardening Magazine talking about organic lawn care: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xyRtbBie6U&feature=related. I think he's spot on with his recommendations. Just be sure to read this piece on corn gluten meal before you rush out and spend the money. The forsythia is blooming or past bloom in most regions of the country. That means w ...

[caption id="attachment_1037" align="alignnone" width="360" caption="Seaweed is an excellent source of natural nutrients for the garden."][/caption] Here's a question we received from a follower that deserves a lengthy explanation to be shared by all : I’d like to “go organic” and join your bandwagon, but honestly it’s all very confusing. It’s been easy to spread my Ortho 10-10-10 and get decent results. Wh ...

[caption id="attachment_555" align="alignnone" width="504" caption="The yellow flower is from the tropical Tithonia diversifolia."][/caption][caption id="attachment_556" align="alignnone" width="576" caption="This albino alligator, rescued from poachers, is one of the main attractions at Jungle Island in Miami."][/caption] One of the biggest objections we hear when promoting organic lawn and landscape maint ...