The Companion Planting Controversy

Companion PlantsBy Planet Natural staff

And, ah, yes: ‘companion planting’; a topic laced with more folklore, hopefulness, bad information and just plain hype than just about any other in the gardening world. It’s said to have begun just as the world was going from BC to AD, when the oft-quoted Pliny the Elder wrote that the (highly toxic) plant rue was a “very friendly” companion to figs. – Mike McGrath, “The Truth About Companion Planting”

McGrath’s is not an uncommon position. Companion planting is a messy topic than needn’t be messy. It’s messy first because a lot of pseudo-scientific nonsense has been published on the topic, and second because even within the area of what makes sense, there’s a wide variety of approaches and techniques.

The basic idea behind companion planting is both simple and sensible: many plants grow better near some companions than they do near others or when alone. The devil is, as usual, in the details, in this case in the precise definition. (more…)

December 8th, 2012 No comments

Companion Planting: A Common Sense Approach

Companion PlantingBy Kate Gardner, Planet Natural

What is it?

The basic idea behind companion planting is both simple and sensible: many plants grow better near some companions than they do near others or when alone. By itself it will not work miracles, but applied in a well-maintained garden, it can produce startling results. It can drastically improve the use of space, reduce the number of weeds and garden pests, and provide protection from heat, wind, and even the crushing weight of snow. In the vegetable garden, all this adds up to the best thing of all: increased yield.

Most people think of companion planting in connection with vegetable gardens, but it can also be used when flower gardening and in full-scale fields. Some of the most familiar examples come from farming, where it’s a long-standing practice to sow vetch or some other legume in the fall after the harvest. This cover crop provides erosion control through storms, and supplies both nitrogen and organic material to the soil when it is plowed under in spring. (more…)

December 8th, 2012 2 comments

Reel Mowing Tips

Reel Mowing

Whether you’re new to lawn care or a seasoned expert, our collection of 25 reel mowing tips should help. Enjoy!

1. The direction of your mowing can have a tremendous effect on how good your lawn looks. This is because grass has a growing pattern that can vary greatly between varieties.

2. Mow no more than 1/3 of the grass blade, so that a deeper roots are encouraged. A lawn with healthy roots is better able to seek out water and nutrients and can crowd out weeds.

3. Increase the amount of overlap in your mowing if your lawn reaches a height of 4 inches or more. You can mow in a checkerboard pattern or once up and once back to achieve the look you want.

4. Mow according to rainfall and temperature, rather than once a week. Warmer temperatures and increased rainfall mean faster growing grass.

5. During the summer months grass has less moisture and tends to droop. It may be necessary to mow at a shorter height to get the desired appearance.

6. If you’re an early riser, mow in the morning. Push mowers are quiet and start when you do.

7. Try not to mow when the grass is wet. It usually produces a very uneven cut. (more…)

December 8th, 2012 No comments

Reel Lawn Mowers

Reel WorkoutMow Better… Get Reel

By Bill Kohlhaase, Planet Natural

You know the advantages of reel lawn mowers. They start every time. They’re much quieter than gas-powered mowers, so quiet that you can mow early Sunday morning without waking the neighbors. They’re fuel-free unless you count those bowls of cereal or peanut butter sandwiches that power your engine. They don’t degrade air quality (lawn mower engines are terribly inefficient and emit more than 10 times the hydrocarbons per amount of gas burned than auto engines). Not only are reel mowers great for the environment, they require little maintenance and are a great means of exercise. And, they’re cheaper than gas-powered mowers, both in initial outlay and operating costs.

What you may not know is that they’re better for your lawn than gas-powered, rotary mowers. Rotary lawn mowers tend to tear off the tops of grass blades, leaving them exposed to disease. Ever notice how the tops of each grass blade turn brown after mowing with a gas machine? A reel mower snips the grass, like scissors, leaving finer trimmings to mulch in your yard. This mulch not only nourishes your lawn, it prevents weed seeds from germinating. Rotary mowers also create a vacuum as they pass (that’s why they’re great for cutting tall, droopy weeds). They literally vacuum the mulch layer off the ground, providing an opportunity for weeds to find space to take root. Reel mowers will cut shorter (approximately 1-3/4 to 2-1/2 inches depending on the model) without disturbing the soil surface. (more…)

December 8th, 2012 No comments

Organic Lawns, Healthy Soil

Sprinkler FunBy Bill Kohlhaase, Planet Natural

Here’s something of a Zen puzzle for you. The key to a healthy lawn is healthy, organic soil. And the key to healthy soil is a healthy, organic lawn.

Confused? Don’t be. Organic lawn care starts and ends with healthy soil, soil that is full of nutrients for both grass and the microorganisms that call your dirt their home; soil that is not compromised with toxins and synthetic chemicals that destroy those microorganisms. And nothing contributes to the health of your soil more than a thick, rich organic lawn, one that returns organic nutrients to your soil. In this win-win situation, organic lawn care can actually give you a more vibrant lawn than you would have with regular applications of commercial fertilizer.

To put it another way, the organic lawn is a self-sustaining lawn.

Take it from Paul Sachs, whose books on organic athletic fields and golf courses, have started something of a green playground revolution. “When you feed the life of your soil, those growing populations of microorganisms begin to accomplish many jobs that now consume great amounts of your time, money and energy.” (more…)

December 8th, 2012 No comments

Organic Lawn Maintenance

Lawn MaintenanceWeeding, Watering and Mowing

By Bill Kohlhaase, Planet Natural

Your new organic lawn is up and growing. Or you’ve cut out using herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizer on your established lawn. Congratulations! Now what do you do to maintain your organic lawn in a way that’s best for it?

Not surprisingly, what you do to keep up your organic lawn is pretty much the same as you would with a traditional lawn. One difference? It may be less work to keep up your organic lawn. How is that possible? By using spring and fall applications of compost, by returning your grass clippings back to your lawn, by proper watering you will have a rich, thick cover of grass that will crowd out weeds and discourage pests. And you thought this would be difficult. (more…)

December 8th, 2012 No comments

How I Learned to Love Reel Lawn Mowers

Reel Lawn MowingBy Eric Vinje, Planet Natural

I live in a subdivision in Bozeman, Montana where the grass is always greener in the neighbor’s yard, but somehow always longer in mine. Everybody’s expected to keep up with the Jones’ when it comes to keeping a clean and orderly yard — which means lots of weed control as well as trimming the blades of grass to near golf-course perfection.

But, as my neighborhood has filled in with houses, I’ve realized how much time and effort we’ve all been putting into our lawns. The guy down the street has one of those mini-tractor jobs. The family across from me uses the old self-propelled model that’s heavy and although it’s motorized, you still have to push pretty hard to get it to go anywhere. Our yards are alive with the high-pitched whine of motorized lawn mowers every summer. (more…)

December 8th, 2012 No comments

Lawn Care Tips

Lawn Care

Whether you looking for the perfect yard or just trying to keep the neighbors from calling, our collection of 25 lawn care tips should help. Enjoy!

1. Before watering your lawn, check the soil moisture with a trowel. The top 2-3 inches should feel almost dry before adding any more water.

2. After watering, test the soil. If it isn’t wet 4-6 inches down, continue watering until it is. Grass roots will grow deeper and the lawn will be healthier.

3. Watering between 4 and 9 a.m. helps ensure that the sun won’t rob moisture from your lawn.

4. Keep weeds from going to seed. If you can reduce the number of weed seeds in and around your lawn, you’ve won half the battle.

5. Thatch will not form from cut grass. Instead, the lawn clippings will attract earthworms, which break down thatch.

6. Remove thatch in the spring or early summer using a rake or a tool especially designed to remove that matted, dead grass.

7. Compost improves soil structure, texture, and aeration, and increases the soil’s ability to hold water. Add compost (no more than 1/2 inch) to the lawn to make your grass healthier. (more…)

December 8th, 2012 No comments

The Grass is Greener with Organic Lawn Care

Backyard FunBy Eric Vinje, Planet Natural

What’s there not to like about organic lawn care? It’s relatively cheap. It’s better for the environment and it takes less work than your traditional well-manicured lawn.

Americans take their lawns seriously. Lawns used to be for the wealthy who hired a staff to maintain the grounds of their estates. Now they are for everyone. The great equalizer was the invention of the push mower in the 1870′s by Elwood McGuire of Richmond, Indiana. (Before that, a common and labor-intensive way to trim lawns was to use scythes.) Today, U.S. homeowners spend more than $17 billion on outdoor home improvements, including lawn care.

While many of us spend a lot to get our grass mowed, fertilized and sprayed with chemicals to deter weeds and troublesome insects, it doesn’t have to be so.

The good news is that going organic makes good sense when it comes to lawn care. It takes less effort and makes for a lawn that’s safer for you, your family and your pets. (more…)

December 8th, 2012 2 comments

Dangerous Backyards

Spreading Lawn FertilizerLawn Chemicals Could Risk Your Family’s Health

By Bill Kohlhaase for Planet Natural

The most important reason to keep an organic lawn? The health of your family. The second? The health of your planet. If you think those two reasons are one and the same, you’re right. Traditional lawn care products that use synthetic fertilizers and chemical herbicides not only put your family and pets at risk but endanger the world at large. That’s something we all want to avoid.

Stories about the dangerous consequences of lawn chemicals abound. Nearly 50 school children in Ohio developed symptoms of poisoning after herbicides were sprayed near their school. A professional skater makes a claim in Newsweek that her health was “destroyed” after exposure to pesticides sprayed on a neighbor’s lawn (her dog died the same day). Seven dogs die after eating paraquat herbicide in Portland, Oregon park. A noted soil scientist warns the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture that a popular dandelion spray may cause infertility and spontaneous abortion. (more…)

December 8th, 2012 No comments
Page 12 of 32« First...1011121314...2030...Last »