Grow a Beautiful Lawn without Chemicals or Fossil Fuels

10% vinegar used on a sunny day will kill anything. Once the
vinegar hits the soil, it is turned to a fertilizer with trace
minerals. A great website for organics is
www.dirtdoctor.com.

Thanks for being honest. I have recently started trying to
reduce my carbon footprint and switched to a reel push mower. I
don't notice any change in the amount of time or the effort
required to cut the grass. I do take a pair of scissors with me
when I cut the grass to get the pesky grass stalks that show up
from time to time. When you stop a reel mower its easy to restart,
just push. If any one is thinking about purchasing a reel mower try
to buy American. I think there is only one company left in the
states that makes them it would be nice to keep them in
business

I recently read about a non chemical remedy to spray on weeds -
it has dish soap and alcohol? Can you help?

My wife and I have the best looking lawn in our neighborhood and
we never use chemicals. We use organic seaweed, molasses and fish
compost. Ouw lawn is so thick weeds have no chance to thrive. When
an occasional dandelion appears, we simply dig it out. We had a
Japanese Beetle grub problem and stopped it with milky spores. We
had an ant problem and spread beneficial nematodes. No more grubs
and no more ants.

I've rescued 7 Texas rent-house yards in 18 years. It takes me a
year to tame a wild yard, working about 4 hours a week. There's
usually the remains of a Bermuda & St. Augustine lawn to start
from, but I can work with whatever sprouts.When we first move in, I
water where grass is dying of thirst, and to get it to spread into
the bare spots. I never water shrubs or trees.Before the first
mowing, I use a sharp-shooter shovel to dig thick-stemmed tall
plants out of the grassy areas. Prickly things and saplings get
chopped into mulch. Thin-stemmed tall plants may get transplanted
into bare spots, or left for the mower. I hand-weed before each
mowing. Normally, I mow medium high with the mulching attachment,
so the clippings stay behind as fertilizer. Where grass is so thick
the clippings pile up on top, I switch from mulching to bagging,
and compost the clippings.During the dry season, healthy grass goes
into dormancy, and needs neither water nor mowing. I will water the
thin spots if the grass gets crunchy underfoot. After a year, the
yard looks lush and healthy, but not overly controlled. Tall things
sprout between mowings, tiny clover flowers occasionally blanket
half the lawn, and flowery vines crawl over my shrubbery. My three
neighbors keep suggesting I get a lawn service, and I keep turning
them down. I enjoy my little nature preserve, thank you!

I keep a small and getting-smaller lawn of various grasses,
weeds, wildflowers, and mosses. I've never used fossil fuel-powered
tools to maintain it. I formerly used a people-powered push rotary
mower, but have long since switched to a grass whip. They're easily
found for sale online. I find that for grass and weeds - the
lightest ones work well, are lightweight, easy to use, last years,
require zero maintanance, and only a tiny amount of storage space.
For those unfamilar - they're like a golf club or hockey stick
where the club-head or 'blade' is a metal double-sided serrated
blade...not overly sharp. I find them best used one-handed. It can
be sharped, but if you don't mind having the grass broken rather
than finely cut - sharpening is never necessary. They require no
training, and after a few minutes - you're an expert at it,
although it helps to have a sense of rhythm.

Sheep...

I aplaud the no gas approach to lawn care in this issue. I too
have embarked on a quest for non invasive environmentally friendly
lawn care. My three children were not happy about the brand new USA
made reel mower I purchased this spring. We all take turns and it
has helped reduce the size of yard we mow.The other approach has
been to tether llamas in the yard. This was really working well
while we were home and able to keep them out there 'working'.
LLamas do not leave hoofprints in the lawn nor do they fertilize at
random. They are EASY to 'litter train' to a particular location
and will lay down to signal the need to relieve themselves. This
allows the grass to be utilized with really no human effort other
than 'walking the llama!"

Hi. In relation to growing a beautiful lawn without chemicals or
fossil fuels: We have an alternative to weed-eating that we have
recently put in place. I live in a rural setting, no zoning laws
prevent my new method for the tedious chore of weed-eating. We have
recently acquired several small goats. These we tie out in various
locations throughout our yard that need trimming. Not only do we
get the weeds trimmed, the grass is fertilized! Our goats make
wonderful "green" weed eaters! AND we benefit from the weeds they
eat...we get to drink the milk they produce! It's a win win
situation all around.