The Green, Green Grass of Home

We live in the suburbs, and, though I have dreams of a little urban homestead, our yard is currently used for flower beds, an herb garden, exercising our beastly puppy, and dinners on the patio.  Due to concerns for our health, the health of our highly sensitive pup, and my future plans to grow food and keep chickens and bees in our yard, it is important to me to eliminate chemicals.

Longing to Play Outside

To kill fire ants, we flood them with boiling water.  To remove poison ivy, we pull it by hand.  Fortunately, there is not much of either.  We also compost food scraps to nourish our lawn and house plants, as well as to reduce our contribution to either methane gas in the landfill or nitrogen bursts in the sewage system.

Happy Orchid

We currently maintain hot batch compost in the backyard and a worm bin in our house.

Hot Batch Compost Using Straw Instead of Leaves

Worm Bin

Last year we experienced a pretty significant drought, during which it seemed we lost much of our grass.  We do not water our lawn, but instead rely on rain for that.  We do have one large rain barrel, which in combination with a soaker hose does a nice job on the herb garden and flower beds.  However, without a pump, there is not sufficient pressure to actually water the lawn.  (We do have plans to add a pump and a few more rain barrels when we put in a large garden.)

We had been using a company called NaturaLawn of America, which claims to be The Leader in Organic-Based Lawn Care.  They did a great job with weed control in our yard.  However, we became skeptical about what ingredients were actually being used and what “organic-based” really meant.  Further, we were looking for an opportunity to cut expenses, so we cancelled that service.  I decided to battle the weeds myself instead.  How hard could it be, right?

The growing season in Charlotte began long ago.  The weather has been moderate since February, so vegetation has been in full swing here for a while.  Enter the Henbit!  I am told that bees love the stuff.  However, it is so prolific that, if I allowed it to, it would take over the yard.  My strategy was white vinegar and a pump sprayer typically used for weed control with toxic substances.

Weapons of Choice

I selected a patch clearly moving toward our yard from the neighbors' as a test area.  This patch was in the direct sun, and I sprayed liberally.  I soon realized that I would need lots and lots of vinegar!  Within one day, the weeds began to yellow.  Within one week, they appeared mostly dead.  Then a rain came and to my surprise the weeds began to rally.  That was not a part of the plan.  So I decided to pull the weeds in the test area, which easily loosened their grip on the soil.

February 6

February 8

February 20 (Notice Henbit with Purple Blossoms Flourishing in Background)

I became concerned that the quantity of vinegar would also prevent grass from growing in the test area, so I selected a second test area near the driveway for my new and improved method.  This time I would pull the weed and spray the remaining root or hole in the ground directly to insure a targeted kill.  I have used this method in several areas, and it appears to have worked well so far.  As always the weeds are much easier to pull after a heavy rain, but this method is still labor intensive.  For treating broad leafed weeds with large tap roots, of which we have relatively few, spraying copious amounts of vinegar directly on the weed has been extremely effective.  In these instances, no pulling is required.  The battle of the weeds is far from over, but I am holding my own.  I find that devoting time daily is the best way to keep the upper hand.  So much for a miracle cure...

Lastly, I must report on a disheartening development.  As I was writing this entry, I went outside to survey the treated areas.  A man, likely a relative of our neighbors, was spraying some toxic Round-Up style chemical attached to their garden hose broadly across their lawn adjacent to ours.  Our backyard is fenced, but there was a strong breeze.  Since he was spraying near our fence, which is several feet from my compost pile, and all along the property line, I was quite concerned.  The wind does not respect property boundaries.  I engaged him in conversation, and requested that he keep the spray far away from our yard.  However, he was not a native English speaker, and I am not certain he fully understood my request.  I could smell the chemicals strongly even as I walked away from the area, and I felt them in my throat and tasted them in my mouth.

If I had not gone outside when I did, I might never have realized these chemicals were being used next door.  This experience reminded me about the interconnectedness we have with our communities.  When we plant our garden next year, we could easily be eating our neighbors herbicides and pesticides if some education does not occur.  Fortunately, our neighbors are extremely nice and cooperative, so I hope that we can work together to insure a healthier environment for all - most especially their young children who play in the area now covered in spray.