Find natural, safer ways to maintain your lawn

Fri., July 31, 2009

Washington Department of Ecology

When you hire someone to design, install or maintain your yard, it’s worth asking what they will do to keep your yard and our Northwest environment healthy. Some landscape practices can be part of big problems in our environment, and they may pose a risk your to family’s health, and can actually damage your plants and lawn. Choose a landscape company that uses approaches to build plant health, reduce dependence on toxic chemicals, and conserve precious water. You can also use this checklist:

Building Healthy Soil Does the Company... Examine a core sample or use a soil test? Test for pH, NPK, and moisture. Prepare the soil properly, by tilling in compost and other amendments? ”Grasscycle” or mulch mow? Mulch beds annually with leaves, chips, bark or compost? Use/recommend “natural organic” or “slow-release” fertilizers?

Selecting Plants that Will Thrive Does the Company... Consider existing site conditions in the design such as sun, shade, and slope? Look for plants that love the Northwest? Look for pest-resistant plants? Consider the landscape’s water needs, and select “drought-tolerant” plants?

Controlling Weeds, Pests, and Diseases Naturally Does the company... Offer an “organic” or environmentally sensitive program? How does it differ from their chemically-based options? Explain their Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach? Properly identify and know the life cycles of insects, weeds and diseases? Monitor regularly for pests and weeds, but spray only when necessary? Use alternative approaches fi rst, before turning to pesticides? Use the appropriate amount and ensure it stays on the affected area? Do they follow state and local standards for application? Do they suggest spot spraying to reduce the amount of pesticides applied? Recommend controlling weeds using hand tools, cultivation and mulching?

Watering for Healthy Plants (and lower water bills!) Does the company... Make plant health and water conservation high priorities? Some key practices they should recommend: • Fit irrigation plan to your soil type (sandy soils need more frequent water). • Plan watering zones to meet each plant’s needs, without overwatering. • Water deeply, to moisten the whole root zone, but infrequently. • Use drip irrigation or soaker hoses where appropriate, to reduce evaporation. •Understand and regularly maintain and adjust irrigation systems? If you have an automatic irrigation system, your professional should be able to: • Check the system annually for leaks, and replace broken sprinkler heads. • Help you set the controller to water just enough: less in the May and September “shoulder” seasons, more in mid-summer. • Show you how to skip a cycle when it’s going to rain and the extra water would be wasted, and suggest other ways to save water too.

Experience and Education How many years of local, hands-on experience do they have? How long has their staff been working for them? What horticultural education does their staff have? Also ask about training in IPM, soils, insects, etc.

Affiliations and Certifications Are they active in a landscape professional association, which can keep them up to date on research and new practices? • American Society of Landscape Architects Washington Chapter www.wasla.org Idaho Chapter www.imasla.org •International Society of Arboriculture www.isa-arbor.com •Irrigation Association www.irrigation.org • Nursery and Landscape Association Washington www.wsnla.org Idaho www.inlagrow.org • Washington Association of Landscape Professionals www.walp.org •Washington Chapter, Association of Professional Landscape Designers www.apldwa.org •WaterSense Irrigation Partner www.epa.wa.gov/watersense

Lawns, fertilizers, and sprinklers – OH MY! Summer is officially in full swing. Backyard BBQs and neighborhood block parties are happening all across the region. Hosts and hostesses want to make sure that their outdoor living spaces are in tip top shape for visitors. Pruning, mowing, watering, and the list could go on. In taking care of our little corner of the world, we often use water inefficiently, produce a lot of yard waste, and overuse chemicals that are bad for the environment and our families’ health. It doesn’t have to be that way. We are all responsible for protecting our local lakes, streams, river, and groundwater. By taking time to think about how we manage our lawns and gardens we can prevent pollution. Fertilizers and pesticides improperly applied to our landscapes can easily wash into storm drains, ditches, and swales which can add up to big problems for our water. It’s not just rain washing pollution into our lakes, rivers and streams; overuse of sprinklers also takes blame. Having a beautiful yard and garden is easier than you think. Whether you do it yourself or hire a landscape company, a healthy landscape and healthy environment is within reach. If you do it yourself, follow these five simple steps for natural yard care 1. Build healthy soil 2. Plant right for your site 3. Practice smart watering 4. Think twice before using pesticides 5. Practice natural lawn care For more in depth tips and tools for going natural in your yard, click here.” If you are looking to hire a landscape company to help you out, make sure they follow a few basic guidelines: 1. Build plant health 2. Reduce dependence on toxic chemicals 3. Conserve precious water See the attached box for a checklist and credentials to look for when hiring a landscape company.

Ecolink is provided by the Communications staff of the Eastern Region of Washington Department of Ecology. For more information, visit