7/24 Open Thread: Kill Your Lawn
Extreme? No, the Americn lawn fetish isn't really that old. Blame it on Frederick Law Olmstead, the creator of NYC's Central Park. He is in part responsible for the Chicago suburb of Riverside based on a plan he co-created in 1869. There was a lot more involved, and if one is interested a moderately thorough historical summery is here (https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/the-americ... ). That article contains two noteworthy bits of information:
As of 2005, lawns covered an estimated 63,000 square miles of America. That's about the size of Texas. It's the most grown crop in the United States--and it's not one that anyone can eat; it's primary purpose is to make us look and feel good about ourselves.
and
The sheer volume of resources required to keep lawns alive is staggering. And seems particularly wasteful in consideration of drought plagued places, like California. The significance of lawns persisted in the west for a long time, and was aided by water management technologies that helped transform arid landscapes into lush ones. But that is changing as well, perhaps in part due to the awareness made possible by social media. Lawns require the equivalent of 200 gallons of drinking water per person per day. Californians, who are acutely aware of this wastage, have taken to shaming (#droughtshame) neighbors who persist in watering their lawns.
Since this sort of started with Chicago, lets see what the Chigago Trib has to say about lawns nowadays( https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-ent-lawns-20171002-story... )
According to NASA, there are 40 million acres of turf grass in the United States — lawn, in a sense, is our largest crop. Individually we spend, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 70 hours a year mowing our lawns; and as a nation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, we pour 9 billion gallons of water daily on those lawns. .
leading to -
So, a modest proposal:
Since we're already questioning the foundations of our nation, toppling monuments to institutions that no longer work for many, how about rethinking another cultural icon?
The front lawn.
After all, your front lawn is not an inevitability. It's a work of art — an antiquated design aesthetic, a handed-down invention, one we stopped noticing ages ago yet remain coerced by property codes to maintain.
The lawn, especially the "perfect lawn" is a boring, sterile eyesore, a waste of land, time, and resources. If the kids play ball or frisbee or have a croquet court or just play with the dog out there, then it has some redeeming value, but such lawns are horribly, terribly rare, most are simply a wasteland. Then, on top of that, they're generally bad for the environment too, if only due to their sterile homogeneity and all the chemicals needed to preserve it. Though it generally lumps herbicides in with pesticides, the fact sheet at the following link contains a lot of information in a very short space, especially as to health and exposure risks: (https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/lawn/factsheets/...) It also provides some quantification:
Herbicides account for the highest usage of pesticides in the home and garden sector with
over 90 million pounds applied on lawns and gardens per year.iiSuburban lawns and gardens receive more pesticide applications per acre (3.2-9.8 lbs) than
agriculture (2.7 lbs per acre on average)
In 2015, Americans spent $29.1 billion on lawn care. There may be more lawn than the top eight irrigated crops in the US combined.
They also devote a lot of time to/waste a lot of time on them and front lawns are rarely used for anything, most folks live out in the back yard.
( https://medium.com/@emilyellsworth/you-should-kill-your-lawn-158e8d0fcb05 )
Why do we love our lawns when they don’t love us back? We pay a gardener or mow every week. We weed, edge, and blow. We aerate and add chemicals that pollute our waterways. And still, our lawns need more—often a lot more.
What’s more, a tremendous amount potable water is used to irrigate our landscapes. And because grass and the soil under it are often severely compacted, many lawns act like a paved surface that water just runs off. Even under the best conditions, our lawns' root systems are very shallow. Plants with deeper root systems allow for healthier soil. The healthier our soil, the more water it can absorb, so there's less runoff.
most of what follows is a how to but contains the following water info:
Having a grassy field around your home seems harmless. But a 1,000-square-foot lawn with a typical irrigation system will use 25,000 gallons of water a year. Replace it with low-water plants, and you’re down to 6,000 gallons.
( https://www.good.is/articles/why-killing-your-lawn-is-a-good-idea-and-ho... )
Another how to, arguably not much new information not in the above ( https://www.jainsusa.com/blog/4-ways-to-kill-your-lawn )
A ton on what to do instead and how from a California perspective ( https://californianativeplants.com/resources/kill-your-lawn/ )
Environmental effects of 30 commonly used lawn care pesticides ( https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/lawn/factsheets/... )
More on why:
The average American household uses 320 gallons of water a day, of which about 30% is used for watering lawns and gardens (35,040 gallons annually). Of that 30%, as much as 50% is wasted due to evaporation, wind, or runoff (17,520 gallons annually) 1. Picture lawn sprinklers watering the street or running in 100° weather. In a dry climate, water usage increases and outdoor irrigation can reach 50-70% of total household water use 2.
plus lawn equipment generates 5% of our air pollution, and ...
Each year, Americans put over 70 million pounds of pesticides (insecticides and herbicides) on our lawns to kill bugs and weeds 4. As with fertilizer, residue runs off lawns and contaminates water sources. We contribute extra pollution by rinsing out containers in our driveways and pouring excess or unused pesticides down the drain or street.
I am leery of any product designed to kill something. Chances are it will have unintended consequences. Of the 30 commonly used lawn pesticides, many are probable or possible carcinogens and are linked to a myriad of health problems such as birth defects, neurotoxicity, liver and kidney damage, and endocrine system disruption 5.
( https://greengroundswell.com/the-american-lawn-environmental-impact-of-t... )
A quick read tellingly entitled How Fertilizers Harm Earth More Than Help Your Lawn ( https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-fertilizers-harm-earth/ )
Without citation I suggest that they are a major source of noise pollution, all the gas powered lawn maintenance equipment, mowers, trimmers, edgers and leaf blowers. Leaf blowers, for fsm's sake, to blow all the damn lawn clippings down into the gutter where they are not only unsightly litter, but pollution. Unbelievable.
This is a lawn. Though not really a perfect lawn, nonetheless, notice all of the subtle detail, the interplay of all of the varied textures and hues, the manner in which the different elements interact, contrast and yet compliment each other, the awe inspiring homogeneity and sameness and the clippings left behind by the lawn care company. Just think, if it were yours you could be out there mowing and watering even as I write this. Isn't it wonderful that we can afford to dedicate time, money, water, ton upon ton or herbicides and all that land to these sterile patches of boring sameness? See all the birds? Of course not, there's nothing there for them to eat, nowhere safe to roost, rest or nest. See all the butterflies and bees? Ditto. See the majestic landscaped gardens of Lord whomever's Chateau whatever? No, not even a cheap imitation, sorry.
OK, so free yourself, tear it out, dig it up, or whatever. Replace it with native bushes and shrubbery, wild flowers (aka weeds) and wild native bunch grasses (aka weeds), maybe some trees, and xeriscape to the extent warranted. Plant a butterfly garden, an herb garden, a vegetable garden, or all of the above. It doesn't matter and there are tons of places to get suggestions and advice, but the main thing is, immediately, kill your lawn. Then replace it with something earth and environment friendly, something people, pet, and pollinator friendly too. You will thank yourself and, except for those who feed from your wallet off of your lawn addiction, the world will thank you. It is something we can actually do, now, often unassisted and at our own pace that will make a real difference on an individual basis, and a big difference on a mass basis, so just do it.
This is pretty disjointed and chaotic, but, nonetheless, please consider it to be a public service announcement. Kill your lawn(s) because they are killing us and our environment, our planet, our ecosystems, our leisure, our peace and quiet, our sanity and ever so much more
Image is from page 74 of "Bolgiano's capitol city seeds" (1953)
Its an open thread so have at it. The floor is yours
.
Comments
good advice el
...I would add, get rid of your lawn and plant a garden or food forest.
Evidently some communities don't allow front yard gardens...
https://www.gardensall.com/gardens-not-allowed-hoa-homeowners-associatio...
I see in CA you folks have the right to garden...
Lawns only became popular in the last 100 years...
http://www.madisonjournaltoday.com/archives/6915-OPINION-Recalling-dirt-...
Change is the only constant...
Have a good one and thanks for the OT!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Morning, Lookout. Yeah, food or at least herb garden
where practicable, we're evolving in that direction, but our next major step is to call in somebody to help us plan one remaining major chunk. Most of ours was created as a modification of what pre-existed with an aim to providing habitat (our combined yards are now certified wildlife habitat), with fruit trees for us. Our lemon finally died, but we've added some veggies and herbs and hope to do more.
Have a good one.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Kate Wagner (of the “McMansion Hell” blog) wrote about lawns too
https://www.curbed.com/2019/3/13/18262285/mcmansion-hell-kate-wagner-law...
Excellent OT!
I've slowly but surely been replacing our back "lawn" (I use that term loosely, as we're not interested in conventional landscaping so the lawn we do have is mostly green weeds) with vegetable gardens. Been adding, on average, one raised bed per spring. Under those, I've placed organic weed barrier covered with hay and stepping stones.
This summer, in particular, it's been astonishing to witness the visitors. Butterflies, hummingbirds, several varieties of song birds, dragonflies, bumblebees, bunnies, chipmunks, racoons, squirrels ...
I've used up all of the sunny space in the back, which unfortunately means there's still a lot of "lawn." But I guess that's a fair tradeoff for the small stand of mature oak and maple trees that shade it.
Ultimately, my goal is to convert the front lawn into a big garden. I have a lot of the materials but not the handiness. Hoping to lasso a friend or two into helping. I'd love it to look like this:
[Edit to remove duplicate photo]
We have no front lawn, trees, shrubs, bushes and some
potted plants on a gravel substrate. Side yard is apple and pear trees on river rock with rosemary in a huge planter (our last rosemary got enormous). one chunk of back yard is orange, and apricot tree, with shrub border wild spreading strawberry and sages plus a bit of weed/grass. I'm hoping to broadcast white clover over the top of it come spring. Another chunk is rocks with potted plants and grow boxes plus a couple of raised beds - It is a constant work in progress, but no remaining traditional lawn.
Good luck on your project. FWIW, 1 foot grow bags, in milk crates can be used as movable planters to test things. Kale, Chard and some other greens prefer or at least tolerate shade, and other stuff like Italian Prsley are cool with "part shade".
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Great idea.
I never thought about "testing" the shaded areas with moveable planters. If I could get lettuce/kale/chard and/or other shade-tolerant greens to grow in the rest of the space, I'd be thrilled. No more back lawn, period!
Will definitely give this a try.
It's amazing the visitors you get
When your garden works naturally with its environment. Sounds lovely
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Thanks!
I've really been enjoying watching what goes on in what I've taken to calling our "little urban wildlife refuge."
As for the garden itself, I still have a LOT to learn ... but it's been a fun experiement so far! Just wish I had more time to spend tending to it.
Yeah, I hear ya
There never is enough time to tend to it. But you what? I still enjoy spending time among the flowers, the soil, the birds and the bees, even when I haven't gotten to pulling all the weeds.
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Morning el
Et al
Santa Cruz just went through 4-5 years of drought ending two years ago. The city offered help to folks to redesign their lawns. Many lawns are gone. Many are planted with drought tolerant plants. Others grow food. Here is a link to the city’s water-wise gardening page.
http://www.cityofsantacruz.com/government/city-departments/water/conserv...
Quite a lot of the trees have yet to recover from the drought. But the good news is there are many many people her who get it, are on board and are conscious gardeners.
No meetings today. Yahoo. Lots to catch up on and get ready for. Ahh. Om. Have a good one...
Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation
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Morning magi, thanks for the info and link. Thanks for
dropping by and have a great day off.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good Morning EL
Great essay. You could probably throw in the lawns on golf courses if we want to talk about sheer waste of resources.
The place where I live has no lawn. It was landscaped with that in mind. Can't say I've ever missed it and the naturalness that comes from plants and flowers that were planted here add so much more that a manicured lawn.
Have a great day!
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Good to hear about such intentional landscaping down in
SoCal. I remember San Diego and parts of L.A. badk in the fifties and sixties having lawns aplenty plus tropical plants due to some no doubt artificially inspired "cultural" link to Hawaii. It was crazy and there is still a lot of holdover from those days. There were, of course, individuals and even areas that didn't fall into that and were somewhat xeriscaped, but, like everything else, you remember the failures, not the successes.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
The owners of this place
Were very "evolved" that way. Wish more people got that memo. I prefer a more natural landscaping. Much more interesting and authentic. But then, I image we both prefer authentic to artificial in most things (and people), don't we?
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Golf courses.
And cemetaries! I heard a report within the last year or two -- probably during one of those small snippets of time that I can tolerate NPR -- covering people's lawn addictions during times of drought. IIRC, the cemetary associations as a whole were lobbying to be exempt from no-water restrictions because "families of the deceased would be upset."
I was talking to myself in the car after that ...
I forgot about the cemeteries...
@
My Mother, who cultivated a small patio "garden" that was the envy of the neighbors, was laid to rest underneath a large oak tree in the middle of a "family" of oak trees. I'm sure the acorns are a bother for the groundskeepers to keep clean, but I enjoy the crunching sound they make when I visit her. Almost as if she can hearing me coming.
Converting cemetery grounds into natural areas and doing away with manicured lawns would certainly require a will and an imagination. But who knows? All it might take is one place to come up with the idea, and maybe the families that come to visit will enjoy that experience much better?
There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier
Good work EL!
Great piece EL. Xeriscapes and other natural habitats are the way to go. If I were king it would be decreed, the law. If every city and housing scrape had to replant with natives our environment and ecosystems would be factors healthier than they are. All landscaping should have to be the natives, that were removed.
SoCal has had a fair bit of xeriscaping since the 1980's. Lots of birders are all natural habitats. In Lawndale about 2000 a buddy from Cal Fish & Game was CITED by the city - for creating a natural native dale, in Lawndale. My letter to the editor was considered legendary in local conservation circles. LOL
I think the Scott's and Bandini type dollar worshipers, as well as the Pesticide Peddlers have had great influence as well, with the medias help, in selling everyone on having to keep up with the Jones's perfect yard. See that 'best yard' sign in his yard? You want that don't you?
Instead we add chemicals to make the land support other than that which it is evolved to. Lots of pesticides and herbicides, add water, what could go wrong. And mow every week. Living in the city I came to hate the sound of leaf blowers. On an average residential street you might have to hear a dozen houses, or more, mow, edge, trim, and blow, EVERY WEEK! There was a guy in earshot once that I swear would get his leaf blower out for any leaf that fell, you heard it multiple times every day. The last 16 years since we moved out of the city we can barely hear nearest neighbors equipment now. Much better. Peace and quiet just must not mean what it used to, for most of today's folks.
Which gets to two real pet peeves about the whole stupid lawn mania America is into as much as their wars and sports. First, for a few dollars all of this 2 stroke gas-powered equipment could be *properly* muffled and be a tenth of the noise level it is. Why is it not? Sure the manufacturer wants to save a buck, but the people should demand it. These things could be quiet. I heard a touring BMW motorcycle go by the other day, barely, but only because I held my breath.
Second why are the leaf blowers not vacuums. The take all this particulate matter that has fallen in a nice thin layer on the ground, where easily collected, and put it back up in the air. How stupid can you be? Should have a sack on it like a sander and collect it, not blow it back into the atmosphere, to settle on your neighbors car, house, blow in their windows, etc. Especially in cities where road rubber, diesel fallout, etc. etc.
Things would be different if I were king...
Thanks for getting the subject airplay.
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein
2-stroke
Actually, "it's not" (quiet) because the very thing a muffler suppresses, the shock wave at the exhaust port, is the exact thing the 2-stroke engine uses to clear the exhaust gases from the combustion chamber. Silencing a 2-stroke engine is a very limited proposition. The controlled elimination of the exhaust gases that a 4-stroke engine uses can be almost totally silenced as a deliberate action -- an upward stroke of the piston -- is used rather than harnessing what amounts to chaos.
There is no chance that BMW was a 2-stroke. None.
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
A fair number of non-commercial electric leaf blowers
can work as blowers or vacuums. An added feature of the vacuum option is that they usually also mulch whatever they vacuum up, so it can be straight on anythng needing mulching, or dumped straight into the composter.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I use mine as a vacuum . . .
. . . to suck up leaves for composting. It chops them up at the same time.
Thanks for the OT. Yes! Kill your lawn!!
Uncle Nino is currently on Amazon Prime. https://www.amazon.com/Uncle-Nino-Joe-Mantegna/dp/B0032IC9GU A movie about killing a lawn.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
Leaf blowers
I hate the sound of leaf blowers too. It was always around apartments and my work where they'd be buzzing every few days when I lived in SLC. Nothing worse than leaf blowers when you're trying to sleep either.
Our lawn is whatever it was when we moved here; we have lots of white clover (which the bees love) and dandelion (edible, although I've never tried dandelion greens). It looked pretty weedy earlier this spring/early summer, but I think regular mowing seems to have kept most of the weeds at bay. I mow our grass about once a week, depending on rainfall, but we don't water or fertilize or use herbicides. If it doesn't rain for a week or two it gets crispy but oh well. I leave the milkweeds alone too; I've seen a lot of monarchs fluttering around this year. The only thing I really want to get rid of are stinging nettles and bull thistles (although the thistles are good for something too--the goldfinches like the seeds.)
I have a friend who has a lot of land dedicated to CRP (Conservation Reserve Program); she's amazing and I give her all the credit for my love of nature and wildlife. I wish I had my own land to plant and care for food gardens and native plants.
This shit is bananas.
Definitely not the perfect lawn nor lawn care, birds & bugs
are a sign that you are doing things right.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
grass
I agree wholeheartedly with the essay. Requiring the ostentatious waste that a lawn represents is criminal and tyrannous!
Lower-water for more useful outcomes. Even the #2 crop in the USA -- that other "grass" -- qualifies eminently well!
[video:https://youtu.be/sg3uZRX2R_0]
"don't step on the grass, Sam...."
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
As usual...
Arizona brings its own challenges. My "lawn" on our 1-acre property consists mostly of weeds and wild grasses. I encourage it because it reduces erosion from our infrequent but often powerful rainstorms and it keeps the wind from blowing away the top layer of sand. It does require some mowing and weed whacking, but I don't water it (desert plants are marvelous -- a thorough wetting from a single rainfall keeps them flourishing for several weeks). I do put down weedkiller in the decorative area at the front of the house, which is about 10 to 15 feet wide, but nowhere else.
I pretty much have an
occasionally mowed pasture for a lawn. It's what ever was here, is what it is. Spring has a bunch of grasses and weedy type greens along with violets and other wild flowers, summer brings more clover...I forget the rest. I figure it's green and it adapted itself to grow here. If there's a drought it all browns up until it rains again and then it greens up. I don't water anything except the vegetables.
One thing I noticed was how many different pollinators there are. We have some blueberry bushes and have seen Bumble bees, 3 kinds of wasp, hummingbirds, yellow jackets, ground bees, hornets, some kind of fly, a couple of kinds of butterflies all doing the pollination thing. This article has some new findings on keeping varied habitat and encouraging natural pollinators.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/wild-bee-population_n_5d374e6fe4b004b6adb...
still, honey tastes pretty good.
Thanks for the link. We have very varied habitat and
many pollinators of many kinds. They tend to go together, I suspect.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Pollinators
My mesquite trees here in southern AZ host honeybees twice a year. I believe they come out of Mexico in the spring and stop to visit me on their way north and then come by to say hi on the way back to Mexico in the fall.
I love the look of mesquite in bloom, plus you can eat the pods
Allegedly, the pods can also be ground into flower,
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Thanks EL
Bookmarked for more study.
City ordinance requires keeping the front lawn "neat"
but doesn't define what you can do with it other than "don't let the grass grow over a foot high". Am trying to coax the lawn into being all (or mostly) white clover - less upkeep, stays green longer, never gets tall enough to violate the city ordinance, etc.
Somebody closer in has a front yard that's all (floral) garden - no complaints from the city as far as I know.
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
I think, much as they'd like to regulate landscaping, they
have some problems sustaining anything too restrictive. They need to have a public purpose of some sort in order to regulate at all, have to be careful to not outlaw or unduly restrict any endangered natives or anything providing sustenance and habitat for endangered native or migratory critters and even have to beware of first amendment issues.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --