I have heard that Sprigs & Twigs has an Organic Lawn Care Program and I'd like to know more about it. My husband puts down bags of stuff on our lawn and I'm worried he's doing something harmful. Thank you. Kathy
Answer
Hello Kathy
You ask an extremely important question and I'll use this space over the next few weeks to answer you.
Sprigs & Twigs offers the only legitimate, 100% Organic Lawn Care Program in the area; we would be happy to visit with you and explain it in more detail. While it is fashionable for other companies to claim they do "organic" lawn care, they almost always include synthetic chemicals.
The major difference between a natural, organic lawn care program and a synthetic, chemical lawn care program is the attention paid to the health of the soil. Synthetic chemical programs work directly on the grass plants by overdosing them with frequent, high levels of nitrogen, basically "hooking them on drugs" and sterilizing the soil. Organic lawn care is a science-based approach that focuses on building a healthy eco-system in the soil that promotes robust growth of grass plants. The organic approach combines three things: establishing good soil health, using naturally occurring organic products and applying improved turf management principles. When grass gets the proper nutrients in the proper amounts at the proper time, grass plants flourish, naturally crowd out weeds and help keep diseases and pests under control. Organic fertilizers provide slow release nitrogen that feeds the grass steadily over a longer period of time than synthetic fertilizers, which peak in 7-10 days and are completely gone from the soil in 4-6 weeks. Organic fertilizers and organic practices build the population of beneficial earthworms, microbes, fungi, bacteria and organisms in the soil which help decompose and recycle organic matter, grass clippings and thatch and turn them into fertilizer the grass can use. This makes a thicker lawn that requires less mowing.
Over the last 70 years, billions of marketing dollars have been spent fostering the vision of a perfect lawn that is the envy of the neighborhood. Applying synthetic chemicals to lawns began just after World War II when chemical companies shifted their focus from wartime chemical production to the promotion of a new range of synthetic chemical lawn care products. Today every spring, homeowners begin the annual process of applying bags of "4-step" lawn care product or hiring a chemical application company to care for their lawn. This lawn care approach is simple and easy because you just open a bag or write a check, but that's where the trouble begins. Most people have no idea what is being put in their yards. In fact, many lawn care companies have no idea what they are putting on their customers' lawns or why - just ask them. They know that the product is being applied multiple times a year and that it is presumably safe and effective because it is being applied or sold by a well-known brand or company.
Just because something is sold in a retail store or is heavily marketed, doesn't mean that it is safe.
In fact, lawn care products can be downright harmful to you, your children, pets, neighborhood and the environment. CONTINUED NEXT WEEK...
Sprigs & Twigs is especially proud that eight members of our staff are Accredited Organic Land Care professionals (AOLCPs) who have passed the rigorous NOFA training program. This is the largest staff of NOFA accredited, trained organic professionals in the country.
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About Linda Lillie
Linda K. Lillie is the President of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc, the premier
landscape design and maintenance, tree care, lawn care, stonework, and carpentry
service provider in southeastern Connecticut since 1997. She is a graduate of
Connecticut College in Botany, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national
award winning landscape designer for her landscape design and landscape installation work.
