Sensible Lawn Care

Contents
Cut it High, Let it Lie
Ways to Reduce Use of Pesticides and Synthetic Fertilizers
Water Wisely

Cut it High, Let it Lie
Cutting your grass high and letting it lie can slash your mowing time in half, and it’s also a good solution for folks who have too much grass for their compost pile or curbside bins.

	You can use a regular lawn mower or a mulching mower. Raise the wheels on your mower to cut the grass 2 to 2 ½ inches. This encourages deep roots and crowds out weeds, too.
	Your grass clippings will provide 1/3 to 1/4 of the nutrients your lawn needs in a year, thus saving you one fertilizer application per year!
	Grass clippings do not cause thatch build-up in the lawn. Thatch is last year’s roots and stems, not clippings.
	Cutting it high and letting it lie keeps grass clippings out of stormwater ponds (where they clog up ponds and cause flooding problems.) Cutting it high and letting it lie also keeps clippings out of ditches and ravines (where they leach nitrates into local creeks) and out of the landfill (where they take up space and create methane gas.)

Ways to Reduce Use of Pesticides and Synthetic Fertilizers
Many lawn and garden insecticides, fungicides and herbicides are not tested for their long-term health effects. This means we just don’t know how they affect those of us who are not lawn and garden pests. Children and pets are at the greatest risk from exposure to lawn and garden pesticides.
To protect the health of your family, learn about Common Sense Gardening techniques. These techniques focus on growing healthy plants to prevent pest problems, using less-toxic alternatives to pesticides and planting pest-resistant varieties.

	Before planting, improve your soil by adding 3 to 6 inches of compost.
	Use natural fertilizers such as cotton seed meal, bone meal and fish fertilizer.
	Use less toxic alternatives for pests, such as beer traps for slugs.
	Avoid the use of "weed-and-feed" products.
	If an herbicide is necessary, spot spray just the weeds, not the entire lawn.

Excess or unwanted lawn and garden chemicals do not belong in the trash. Bring them to the Household Hazardous Waste Facility at the Central Transfer Station. For more information, call Grays Harbor County Solid Waste Division at (360) 249-4222. Or call WSU Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners Program at (360) 482-2934.

Water Wisely
Watering lawns daily for brief periods produces very shallow roots, about one inch in length. A healthy root system, on the other hand, has deep roots, which seek moisture from the top 6-12 inches of soil. Lawns with deep roots can go about a week between waterings. For the gardener, this means less frequent watering and less work.

A healthy, green lawn needs no more than one inch of water per week. To measure, place empty tuna cans, or similar containers, around your lawn while your sprinkler is running. Time how long it takes to fill the cans one inch. This is the amount of time you should water your lawn each week.
Another option is to let your lawn go dormant over the summer. A deep watering once per rainless month will let your lawn revive quickly when fall rains return.

Be sure to avoid runoff onto sidewalks and driveways. Runoff can carry pesticides and fertilizers into storm drains, and pollute streams, rivers, lakes and the ocean. If necessary, turn off your sprinkler, wait a short while for the water to soak into the ground, and then resume watering.