Leave My Lawn Alone

I’ve had it with the lawn bashers and meadow gullablistas. Writers for The New York Times, The Washington Post and various gardening magazines and online sites want us to believe that lawns are the bane of our existence and that they doom us to ecological disasters. I so disagree, but then, it may depend on which side of the railroad tracks you live or on which side of Montauk Highway.

The naysayers tell us that growing a monoculture, like a lawn, is a known path to disaster. They tell us that the chemicals we use to prevent then kill the remaining weeds are unnecessary chemical inputs. We’re told that the chemicals and fertilizers we use kill the soil microbes resulting in a biological unbalance that requires continued inputs of these poisons for our lawns to survive. They are right.

But not all lawns are grown and managed this way, and not all lawns are ecologically dead wasteland. When I lived in Shinnecock Hills my lawn, or what I called the lawn, was a spotty amalgam of patches of grass, but 40 feet to the west was an acre of “native meadow.” On the east side of the house were acres and acres of free range “meadow” that was once the women’s golf area of the Shinnecock Golf Club. It hadn’t been cut in decades and at times looked quite beautiful. That is until a train came down the Montauk branch, brakes on, spewing sparks into the tinder dry meadow. It burned to the ground with regularity. However, it was my path to work when I was with Southampton College, and undoubtedly this meadow was also the source of the ticks that shared Lyme disease (twice) and babesiosis with me. Unfortunately, out here, where money, greed and thoughtlessness tend to rule in some areas, there are indeed lawns that pollute the ocean, the bays and our underground fresh water. These lawns just must be weedless, insect free, always a lush green and cut like a military crew cut. The owners are oblivious, couldn’t care less and are perfectly happy shelling out thousands of dollars a week for perfect mowing, repetitive applications of fertilizers and nearly constant applications of herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and an aquifer of water. The landscapers make a fortune while these oceanfront, bayfront and village landscapes have their deleterious effects on the rest of us and the ecology that also belongs to us.

In this respect, I do understand the lawn haters, and in this respect, they are totally correct. Even our golf courses have changed their ways and now add organics to their turf protocols under pressure from club members, environmental agencies and us. I work with two courses in Westchester that have done remarkable work in reducing pesticide inputs and adding more of the longer lasting organic fertilizers to their regimes. Both courses have streams that run through them and for each course the water quality leaving the courses is better than the water that enters.

One of the courses even has some incredible wetlands that attract several species of Herons and other birds that feed and seem to thrive right on the course and adjacent wetlands. Later this summer we’ll be doing testing of some of the course ponds to see how the water quality is and to inventory the amphibian and reptile populations.

But if you are a regular reader you know I have a lawn at my house and I love it.

So, what makes my lawn different? Yes, my lawn is a monoculture but only to the degree that the species (there are 5) of grasses in my lawn are mostly but not entirely in the large plant family known as Poa. The fact that there are several species of grasses makes the lawn somewhat immune to outbreaks of diseases or insects that could wipe it out with common infections. I also have a limited amount of Kentucky bluegrass, which is the main grass of most upscale East End lawns. There are also grasses (ryes and fescues) that are endophytic, which naturally kills certain insects that might feed on them.

Another technique is that I overseed at least half the lawn lightly every year. This means I’m always introducing newer grasses that may be better suited for disease, insect and drought resistance. Yes, parts of my lawn did brown out during our spring drought but only in the full-sun areas. The lawn in shady areas, where shade-tolerant grasses are sown, stayed a lush green throughout. Since the drought the lawn has been a vibrant and delicious green, but look closely and you’ll note the invaders.

I also have limited expectations of my lawn. It’s not irrigated and never has been so I know there are times when it will brown and even appear dead, but if there’s rain, within a month the grasses come back to life and for some reason are greener than before the dry spell.

Yes, there are some lawn diseases that come, but they also go, so I tolerate them. And yes, there are insects in the lawn, but animals like the shrews and the birds seem to keep them in check as well.

Weeds can be an issue, and when absolutely necessary I’ll use a spot weeder but not more than a few ounces every year on a 30,000-square-foot lawn. I’m fastidious about manually pulling weeds like dandelions and crabgrass. My nemesis now is the Japanese stiltgrass that has shown up in spots. But as I’m not an orthodox organic gardener I may have to use a preemergent herbicide once or twice or maybe even experiment using corn gluten to manage this invasive.

Then there’s always the question of fertilizer. I have never, ever used a chemical fertilizer on this lawn. It’s pretty clear that the combination of chemical fertilizers and herbicides leaves the soils beneath lawns virtually sterile of the microbes and other tiny animals that give life to the lawn. And when I mow I use a mulching mower and mulching blades that return the clippings back to the soil where they act as nutrients as they decay. These clippings provide up to half of the nitrogen needs of the grass plants.

For the balance of the nutrients, I add an organic fertilizer twice a year that has the equivalent of less than a pound of nitrogen a year as opposed to the 3 pounds of N that goes on many upscale lawns. I apply a half a pound in mid-May and another half a pound in late September.

I often have to mow twice a week when the weather is perfect for the grass. It only takes me a half hour so no big thing. I cut at 3 inches, which leaves the grass tall enough to shade the soil, and it never looks scalped, feels great underfoot and so soft to lie on. I’m often sitting on the lawn watching the wildlife in the gardens and above and don’t give a second thought to lying on the grass to catch some sun or while playing with the dog.

Admittedly there are days and even weeks when the lawn looks awful. I’m OK with that and don’t have the class fixation that tells me it has to be green and lush from May to November. It’s an ecological wonderland for me and my nature creatures where we seem to have a pretty good symbiosis. No wildflowers, no meadow near the house and I’ve never ever found a tick on the lawn. Off the lawn though, in the woodland beds around the perimeter, the ticks are definitely present. Keep your lawn cut to 2.5 to 3 inches and I doubt you’ll find more than a few ticks in your lifetime.

So, I’m pretty happy with my lawn and my friends that also enjoy it. This includes about 30 species of birds, mammals from the tiniest shrew to the fat and pudgy woodchuck, clover-munching rabbits and the sleek red fox as well as all the teaming organisms that thrive in the lawn and the furry and feathered friends that feed on many of them. And let’s not forget those great ecological indicators that seem to show up in growing numbers — the toads and tree frogs. It’s a great and not so delicate balance.

The new “eco-lawns” that you see advertised where all you have to do is apply the seed and water with a resulting turf that needs no care and little to no mowing? I’ve seen the ads but haven’t seen the lawn yet. But I have seen some reviews. It’s really hit and miss, but it’s certainly not a lawn you want to romp on with the kids and pets. Zoysia, a very coarse grass that’s considered to be a weed-choking, disease- and insect-free grass should be avoided. It’s very tough on bare feet and does have its share of diseases and insects. When used it also becomes a pure monoculture — a one species lawn that by its nature can be doomed.

There is one problem though. It comes in the form of a gas-guzzling tractor and 21-inch mower that are not eco-friendly and add to that the diesel tractor that I just couldn’t live without. Guilty as charged, but I hope technology will catch up with me.

So enough of these newspaper and magazine articles that go on and on about the benefits of meadows instead of lawns. A meadow has its place, and it’s not within a hundred feet of where you live and play. A lawn on the other hand can be just feet away from the front or back door. Just use the right seed blend, use chemicals as only a very last resort, mow high, have realistic expectations, relax and enjoy. Keep growing.