A 'Greener' Grass Saves Money

www.theepochtimes.com - By John Stark

From hybrid cars to Michelle Obama’s organic vegetable garden,everyone’s going rsconsul_green—except when it comes to their lawn. Even thoughSeptember and October, and again April and May are prime grass-plantingseasons in New England, some rsconsul_green lawns are not very rsconsul_green at all.

There is a free series of workshops called “Tips for the Ultimate GreenHome and Lawn” given with solutions for your home and lawn incommunities all over the New England region and in Metro WestMassachusetts, including Newton and Wayland, that can help free youfrom lawn care.

“Grass is the biggest crop in the UnitedStates,” says Debbie Cook of Greenscapes Massachusetts Coalition, apublic-private partnership dedicated to protecting and preservingwater. “How we’re handling grass is absolutely the wrong way.” Grassthat’s been over-treated by chemical fertilizers can become impermeableto water, she explains. Water that can’t reach the soil has to gosomewhere, and that often washes lawn care chemicals down the streetinto the sewer and into ponds or lakes to grow invasive weeds. Smallamounts of fertilizer may end up in the drinking water supply.

Some environmentalists and health professionals have expressed concernthat lawn chemicals can get on shoes or pet paws and be brought intothe house. Chemicals can last up to a year indoors without sunlight todegrade them.

In 2001, noted environmental expert andrsconsul_green-living/building advocate, Jackson Madnick of Wayland, Mass.,decided to handle grass the right way by researching for lowermaintenance lawn seeds the world over. After three years of research,further inspiration came from a question that his young daughter,Pearl, asked him: “Daddy, what’s the best grass in the world?” Afterassembling a team of agricultural scholars, Madnick began his quest todevelop a new miracle, ultra low maintenance lawn seed mix based onseeds native or adaptive to this climate. To qualify, it had to bedrought resistant, tough enough to grow without petroleum-basedchemical fertilizers, slow growing to lessen frequency of cutting thegrass and lawnmower fuel, and suited to the New England climate. Theseeds had to be natural and could not be genetically modified.

With six years of time and research, Madnick got his miracle, which hecalled Pearl’s Premium Ultra Low Maintenance Lawn Seed. “This lawn seedmix looks like grass, acts like grass, and is grass—just minus thehassle,” Madnick said. It grows at 1/4 the rate of blue grass and grows12-inch deep roots. So you water one month then seldom or never again,and only cut it once per month.

Until last year, Whole FoodsMarket’s (WFM) North Atlantic stores had not carried lawn careproducts. Whole Foods also made its first exception with Pearl’sPremium Grass Seeds.

“We felt Jackson Madnick’s product wassomething unique,” says Lee Kane, Eco-Czar/Forager at WFM’s regionalheadquarters in Cambridge. “Pearl’s Premium sounded like it hit on allthe right cylinders for us: Green, local, healthy and native. It speaksto all of those qualities,” he said.

Twenty-two Whole Foodsstores all over New England, including Massachusetts and Connecticut,now sell the mix. “At $33, the 5-pound bags have enough premium qualityseeds to cover 1,000 square feet,” says Madnick. “When you consider allthe time cutting and fertilizer you’re saving, and that no water isneeded after the seeds are established, the cost has as little as a1-week pay back. When you think about a healthier lawn for your familyand dog, it’s an easy decision to over-seed it over your lawn.”
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According to Madnick, “The seeds don’t require chemical fertilizer,just a little organic fertilizer or organic compost from Boston Bark inWaltham and Concord or other places to help get the seeds started. Someenvironmentalists warn that toxic chemical fertilizer with pesticidescan get on the bottom of your shoes and carried into your living roomrug, where they can stay for years. They can especially affect thehealth of children, elderly, and pets. A chemically treated lawn can bethe most toxic thing and not just outside your house, according to theMay 2008 issue of Health Magazine. Inside, too, if you don’t take offyour shoes.”

“Grass can be both a problem and a solution tothe environment,” says Greenscapes’s Cook. “There’s definitely been agrowth in knowledge over the last couple of years. People are juststarting to become aware and change their practices for healthier,lower maintenance lawns,” she said.

“In spring and summer,your lawn is the best place to entertain and relax, if you go for ahealthier variation without chemical fertilizer and over-seed with deeproot, drought tolerant seeds, like Pearl’s Premium,” says Madnick.“Your lawn is meant to be lush, rsconsul_green, and healthy, not a place forworries.”

John is a freelance writer living in New England.