With over 30 locations across the country, in 2010, Clean Air Lawn Care reduced 110,341 pounds of air pollution nationwide, the equivalent of 3,216,939 vehicle miles.
Clean Air Lawn Care reduced 42,174 pounds of chemical fertilizers from being used as well, replacing them with safe, organic fertilizer.
Thank you to all of our 2010 customers! Just think what we can do in 2011!
We’ve had beautiful weather in Colorado this week and it has me thinking about planning for our Clean Air garden this spring. I came across a great website, PlantNative, that is an incredible resource for gardeners and landscapers across the country. It provides native plant lists by location, a local nursery finder, recommended books and a detailed how to guide.
At Clean Air we encourage homeowners to plant native grasses that are well suited for the regional climate. The same goes for planning gardens and other landscaping around your home. Using native plant species creates outdoor spaces that are low maintenance requiring less water and fertilization, stimulate microbial life helping to build healthy soil, attract migratory song birds and preserve local biodiversity.
These are the gardens at GrassCentral (in February). I’ll post some emerging garden pics this spring…
Fully mature compost can also effectively suppress some turf pathogens. You can make a preliminary assessment of compost maturity by filling a plastic bag with moist compost, sealing it, and letting it sit in the sun for a few days. If the compost has an earthy smell when you open the bag, it is mature; if it smells of sulfur or ammonia, it is still immature. If you are purchasing compost, make sure that it is from a reputable source and that it is mature, nutritionally well balanced, and does not contain heavy metals, pathogens, or other toxic substances.
Compost can be tilled into the soil during turf renovation, used as a topdressing, or sprayed on as compost tea. Solid compost can be applied as an unmixed material or mixed with sand for easier handling. The method of application depends on whether you want to improve soil quality, enhance soil fertility, or control pests and diseases.
When fertilizing turf, base the compost applications on the nutrient needs of the turf. To accurately calculate the amount of compost needed, sample the soil and test the nutrient content of the compost. For maintenance of existing turf, apply compost as a topdressing. To best mix compost with the soil in existing turf, core aerate the turf, broadcast the compost, then run a drag chain over the ground to sweep the compost into the aeration holes.
What’s the best time to apply compost?
Spring or fall. Compost applied in the spring provides nutrients during the main growing season while compost applied in the fall helps prolong the growing season, strengthens root growth for the dormant season, and promotes early spring growth. Compost mixed with cool-season grass seed in the fall will facilitate effective overseeding.
The West is the land of the backyard, of days spent grilling outside while the kids run around barefoot. That used to mean grass—tough, resilient, feels-good-between-your-toes grass—until drought concerns ushered in a wave of low-water landscapes. We’ve been a big champion of those at Sunset, but lately, we’ve been thinking there’s room for grass too. Before you yowl in protest, consider this: Your lawn doesn’t need as much water as you think it does. There are now more drought-tolerant grass mixes available. And nothing, nothing, feels the same under your feet. (When was the last time you ran barefoot over a patch of eco-conscious pebbles? Exactly.) So go ahead and love your lawn. Just choose a low-water mix, keep your irrigation uniform, and treat grass clippings as the terrific fertilizer they are, by leaving them be or collecting them for your compost pile. Because without grass, you lose a great backyard design element—the restful spaces between your plantings—and your surest bet against soil loss. Ever pull up grass and find a clump of dirt attached? That’s called erosion control, and grass is better at it than anything else, period.
While most of the US is covered in snow (or at least freezing temperatures) there are only a select few of us thinking about lawn care. So to avoid wasting space in the blogosphere today with talk of organic pest control and the benefits of using compost as a topdressing or soil additive (topics that I’ll address in the next few weeks), I thought I would share a few fantastic bicycle mower modifications. A good project for a snowy day perhaps?
“What does the moose have to do with lawn care?” This is almost a daily question here at Grass Central, and the truth is that we’re not entirely sure. The moose has just always been part of the story. Maybe it’s because our CEO, Kelly Giard, has limbs as long as a moose. Or perhaps it’s because here in Colorado, the moose was a vanishing member of the population and we were nostalgic (I’m happy to report that moose sightings have increased in recent years). But no matter where he came from, he’s become part of the Clean Air family now.
What does the moose do? Well…
We recognize our top performing owners as Moose Club Members. When we started Clean Air Compost in 2009, the moose became part of the logo.
He quickly gained popularity here in Fort Collins. If you attended Tour de Fat last year you might have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Moosettes.
Moose also acts as the mascot for Clean Air Kids, he’s on a mission to educate youth on the importance of environmental stewardship.
The moose has another BIG project in the works! Visit our website to find out what’s coming next…
Members of a New Jersey Senate environmental panel unanimously cleared a bill on Monday that would make New Jersey a national leader in limiting children’s pesticide exposure. The measure, titled “The Child Safe Playing Field Act,” would prohibit the use of most lawn pesticides on public and private school playgrounds, recreational fields and day care centers. Low-impact organic pesticide applications would be allowed, along with an exception that allows stronger pesticides during emergencies, such as insect infestations.
“This is a bill that would indeed protect our children, particularly in their most vulnerable stages of life,” said Sen. Shirley Turner, the prime sponsor.
The proposal would be the most extensive in the nation. Similar laws have been passed in New York and Connecticut covering K-12 and K-8 schools. The New Jersey bill expands a 2002 law requiring schools to develop Integrated Pest Management plans that combine pest control, building maintenance and sanitation practices. That law encourages the use of low-impact pesticides and requires notification before applications.
Opposition from the chemical industry came from Nancy Sadlon, executive director of the Green Industry Council, who said the bill was drafted without consultation from her trade group, which includes representatives from Lawn Doctor, TruGreen, the New Jersey Pest Management Association and others. Sadlon testified that untreated playing fields would become weed-choked, hard-packed and bug-infested in time. Turner, however, said she had a letter from a public works administrator in Basking Ridge, Somerset County, saying that the playing fields were in fine shape two years after pesticides were banned.
“Children are our most vulnerable population as far as pesticides go,” said Jeff Tittel of the New Jersey Sierra Club, who testified in support of the bill. “Our first goal should be ‘do no harm,’ and this bill does that.”
Why do we care about about environmental causes like air quality, organic agriculture, genetically engineered crops, and chemical fertilizers and pesticides? If melting polar ice caps, damaged and destroyed ecosystems and loss of biodiversity doesn’t hit close enough to home, consider this:
According to the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard University Medical School, climate change over the coming decades is likely to increase rates of allergies, asthma, heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses. Environmental factors play a central role in human development, health, and disease.
Are we really surprised that the pesticide-laced foods we eat, the smokestack-befouled air we breathe, the chemical-based products we use and the contaminated water we drink negatively affect our quality of life? Of course not, but many of us choose to turn a blind eye to the many unhealthy and unsustainable products and services that we use every day.
Because the effect of the environment on human health is so great, protecting the environment became a mainstay of public health practice in the late 1800s. While vast improvements were made during the first half of the 20th century – decreased lead poisoning, improved water treatment practices, increased legislation regarding hazardous waste disposal, among many other advancements, we still have a long way to go. Unfortunately, many of the same government agencies that are designed to protect our environmental health are allowing the use of untested chemicals and pesticides on our soil and permitting dangerous levels of toxins in our air and drinking water. As a result, it becomes our personal responsibility to make healthy and responsible lifestyle choices. Perhaps if we had a better understanding of the connection between our personal health and environmental negligence we would take those choices more seriously.
Stay informed: Environmental Health News
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Shimon Steinberg discusses natural pest control – using good bugs to combat bad bugs…
