Global Environment.com

How to grow, healthy, no-waste lawn and garden

Caring for all the green and growing things in your yard can have a big effect on how much waste your household creates. From grass clippings and leaves to pesticides and water, the eco-impact of your lawn and garden can be significant.

Environmental effects

Mow, fertilize, water and rake less

Phosphorus and your lawn

Just compost it

Double-duty landscaping

Storing household chemicals

Integrated Pest Management

Treated lumber

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Your lawn and garden's effect on the environment

Your lawn and garden can add a lot to what your household needs to discard and recycle. Composting sites around the state took in an additional 400,000 tons. When it comes to lawn and garden wastes, "waste" goes beyond what you throw away.

Careless use of fertilizers with high phosphorus and nitrogen content creates nutrient-rich run off, polluting nearby watersheds — lakes, streams, wetlands and rivers.

Pesticides, which include insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, are used to control weeds, insects and other pests. These chemicals are toxic to some degree and can pose a threat to people and pets if overused or carelessly applied. They can also kill beneficial earthworms and organisms, disrupting the ecological balance of your lawn.

Cut down on yard waste — healthy lawns and gardens can be maintained in ways that produce less waste, and you can easily manage what composting at home leaves. A healthy lawn and garden can naturally resist weeds and pests. You don't need a lot of chemicals to keep your yard looking green. Learn to read the signs and find out what's really wrong with your plants. Solve your lawn and garden's problems by applying some brainpower before you use pesticides and herbicides.

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Need more time? Mow, fertilize, water and rake less

You don't have to spend so much time maintaining your lawn. Sound incredible? Mowing, watering, fertilizing and raking it less and using no pesticides may be your way to a healthy, environmentally friendly yard.

Mow only enough to keep your grass length at 3 to 3½ inches high. Mowing your grass to the proper height is the single-most important thing you can do to improve the health of your lawn. When you mow, don't rake clippings — leave them on the lawn instead. However, be sure to sweep up your sidewalk, driveway or street so clippings don't pollute nearby lakes or streams.

Get your soil tested to determine the right mix of fertilizer for your lawn. You may need less than you think.

Water only when it hasn't rained for seven days. The best time to water is in the early morning hours before 10 a.m. Grasses naturally grow slower in the summer, so brown grass usually means your lawn is just dormant, not dead.

Weeds can tell you something about what's wrong with your lawn. Take time to identify your weeds and treat them appropriately to strengthen and improve your lawn. A weed-free lawn is not necessarily a healthy one.

Benefits: By taking time today to figure out exactly what your lawn needs, you will help keep it healthy in the future. This will decrease the amount of time and money you will have to care for it tomorrow. By keeping your grass length longer, the roots of your grass go deeper and can reach more water during dry periods. You save water, money and time. Longer grass also creates more shade and makes it harder for weeds to get established in your lawn. By leaving your clippings on the lawn you will fertilize your grass throughout the summer. Control weeds by interrupting the cycle of seed production instead of relying on chemicals. Dig weeds up or cut off flowering stalks.

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Phosphorus and lawns

Fertilizers, grass clippings and leaves from lawns contribute to phosphorus in our lakes and rivers. Using lawn fertilizers that do not contain phosphorus—look for a middle number of zero—and sweeping up grass clippings from streets and sidewalks are easy ways a homeowner can improve water quality.

Restricting the use of phosphorus

Starting in 2004, fertilizer containing phosphorus cannot be used in the Twin Cities metro area, with exemptions when establishing new lawns or when a soil test indicates a need.

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Compost yard waste and other organics

Composting is nature's way of recycling organic materials. Items that readily decompose – leaves, grass and vegetable scraps – are broken down by bacteria and other organisms to provide nutrients and structure to the soil. Composting provides a free soil amendment that you can use to keep your lawn and garden healthy.

Composting should be done in a container or structure, either homemade or store-bought, which can be made from wire, bricks or wood. It should be at least three feet deep and five feet across.

Put equal parts of "browns" (carbons) and "greens" (nitrogen-rich) into your bin. Brown materials can be leaves, straw, cornstalks and sawdust. Green materials include grass clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps and clippings from your garden. Do not put meat, fats, oils, dairy products or pet feces in your bin.

Turn your compost frequently to get the pile to decompose quickly and with little odor. Keep your compost bin's contents moist, like a damp sponge.

Benefits: Backyard composting reduces the amount of waste you create in your yard and kitchen by converting it into a useable soil amendment. Composting saves you time — no more bagging and hauling leaves and grass clippings to the county compost site or paying someone to pick up your yard waste. In Minnesota, it is illegal to mix your yard waste with the trash. Adding compost to the soil increases its organic matter, which in turn enhances the soil's ability to hold nutrients and water. Using compost in your lawn and garden reduces dependence on fertilizers. Compost also makes good mulch for protecting and establishing new plants.

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Double-duty landscaping

When you consider all of the work you put into landscaping your yard, it just makes sense to put that landscaping to work for you. Your garden and landscaping can provide habitat and food for birds and butterflies. The types and location of trees in your yard can reduce heating and cooling costs. Healthy plants create less waste, need fewer chemicals and require less watering. Learn about the condition of your soil, and consider factors like sunlight and moisture. Native plants will reduce the need for extra watering, fertilizers and pesticides.

Get to know your garden site. For example, how long is it exposed to sunlight? What is the soil type? Does the soil hold moisture well? What will you keep and what will you take out? How will your plants influence wild native plants, or be influenced by nearby weedy exotics? Answering these questions will help you better plan your garden and landscaping to fit your needs and budget.

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Garden to encourage wildlife

Native plants often require less water, fertilizer and pesticides. Select plants that can provide habitat, food, water and shelter to birds and other wildlife. Your backyard flower garden can become a lively butterfly, moth, and hummingbird garden if you choose the right flowers. Here's just one design idea.

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Landscape to decrease energy use

Proper selection and placement of your trees can help reduce your use of energy year-round.

East & West: You can add energy savings to your home by planting trees for summer shade on the west and east windows. In the winter when the leaves fall, the branches will let sunlight through.

Northwest: You can also use trees to create windbreaks and increase tree canopy.

South: Avoid planting trees on the south side of your house. During the winter months, you'll get more sunlight and free heat.

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Timely tip: A checklist for safely storing household chemicals

Household chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers can become wastes if they're not stored carefully. Follow these easy tips to keep products usable for future projects.

Always store chemicals out of reach of children and pets.

Never store chemicals near sources of heat, sparks or flames.

Store chemicals in a dry place.

Keep chemicals from freezing. However, DO NOT store gasoline or other fuels in your house — they're a fire hazard.

Store chemicals in their original containers with labels intact.

If a container is leaking, place the whole container into a larger one and call your county for disposal advice.

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IPM: Doing your best against pests

Integrated pest management (IPM) is an ecosystem-based strategy that focuses on long-term prevention of pests and pest damage through a combination of techniques such as biological control, habitat manipulation, modification of cultural practices, and use of resistant varieties. Pesticides are used only after monitoring indicates they are needed according to established guidelines, and treatments are made with the goal of removing only the target organism. Pest control materials are selected and applied in a manner that minimizes risks to human health, beneficial and non-target organisms, and the environment.

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Greener landscaping: Alternatives to treated lumber

Many homeowners use treated wood for landscaping or home construction. Treated lumber contains chemical preservatives (pesticides) that inhibit fungal decay and extend the life of the wood. Some of the chemicals used in treating wood are toxic. Here are some tips for reducing the pollution from treated lumber.

Protect drinking water. Federal guidelines tell consumers not to use any type of treated wood where the wood would come into direct or indirect contact with drinking water supplies. (Incidental contact, such as with docks or bridges, is considered acceptable.)

Find alternatives. There are other rot- and insect-resistent materials that can replace treated lumber.

Dispose of treated lumber safely. Homeowners may dispose of any treated wood waste in lined mixed-municipal solid waste landfills or permitted waste incinerators. Contact your county solid waste office for local information. Never burn treated wood in stoves, fireplaces or recreational or cooking fires; open burning of treated wood is prohibited by state law. Such low-temperature burning of treated wood releases toxic chemicals into the air and concentrates them in the ash.

Preserve existing wood structures with coatings to protect wood, such as stains, paints and water-sealants (which are not true wood preservatives), which can be applied after wood is already in place. Apply these coatings with care to avoid spills and leak.