Aqueous Armageddon, and Other Phrases that Caught My Eye

So all this talk about Victory Gardens has me knee-deep in researching front-yard edible gardening and has therefore led me straight to the thing-about-which-we-do-not-speak--our national obsession with lawns. Having already read Suburban Safari: A Year on the Lawn, by Hannah Holmes, I was thrilled (note to self: get a life) to discover American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn, by Ted Steinberg.

Ted provides a fabulous--and entertaining--overview of the historic growth of suburbia in post-World War II America (specifically showcasing Long Island, NY, where Ted--and I--grew up), the marketing machine of the weed-and-feed company Scott's, and the reasons why we are at the tipping point environmentally because of lawns.

For instance, a few fun facts (sarcasm intended) from the book:

* In a recent ten-year period, more than 75,000 Americans per year were injured using lawn mowers. (The use of the word "Americans" leads me to think this number does not even include immigrant workers, who are the ones doing the majority of the lawncare in this nation.)

* About 7 million birds die each year because of lawn-care pesticides.

* Suburban households and lawn-care operators apply more herbicides per acre on lawns than most farmers spread to grow crops.

* Using a gas-powered leaf blower for half an hour creates as many polluting hydro-carbon emissions as driving a car 30 mph for 7,700 miles.

* Americans spill more oil just filling up their lawncare equipment each summer than was spilled by the Exxon Valdez in Alaska.

* The runoff of phosphorus from lawn fertilizers is causing killing algae blooms in our nation's waters.

Don't even ask about the excessive waste of water (I need a brief break from drought talk here in Atlanta, even though it's daily headline news). Short-term steps those of us with lawns can take? Mowing high (and remember push mowers?). Irrigating properly. Reducing routine fertilizer treatments designed to overtreat lawns (and pad manufacturers' pockets). Choosing the right turfgrass for our locale. Grasscycling, which means leaving your grass clippings on your lawn to add nitrogen back to the soil, and is really the cutest word, isn't it?

Bigger ideas? Freedom lawns, where you just let it all hang out, mowing regularly but getting off the fertilizer/pesticide treadmill. Xeriscaping, where you plant native trees, shrubs and other vegetation, plus use pebbles, stones and more to create an attractive, climate-appropriate landscape. Front-yard vegetable gardens. Laws that limit or forbid phosphorus and other chemicals (this is already happening in some places, most notably in New England where the fishing industry is suffering greatly as a result of water pollution). Noise-pollution ordinances to help give us back our beautiful spring and summer days, without the constant whirring of gas-guzzling, ear-deafening lawn-care tools. Truth-in-labeling laws so that we know more about the hazards involving what's in those lawncare products, not only for our environment outdoors but when we track the chemicals into our homes.

The biggest idea of all? Awareness. Because, as I shared in a comment to a post of mine earlier this week, knowledge known cannot be unknown.

I am not done with the American lawn yet, my friends. In fact, I feel as if I have only just begun.

Now, as for anyone who is just beginning their organic gardens, I have a great book for you. You Grow, Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening, by Gayla Trail, is one of the most readable, helpful books on "getting going" that I've seen. It leans towards small-space urban gardening, but has useful information, attractively and succinctly presented, that would be of use to anyone. Five sections cover Plan, Planet, Grow, Bounty, and Chill, plus there's a key that shows how easy or hard each project is. It's a fast, fast read (less than 200 well-designed pages) filled with tons of projects, recipes and great gardening ideas. Trust me--I've read a bunch of gardening books and this one is a real winner. For those of you who are Companion Planters to your Take Five team as part of the FoodShed Planet Victory Garden Drive, this may be something to recommend to your team. And, as with the lawn book above, I borrowed it at my local public library.

As a result of reading this book, I'm adding to my Growing Challenge commitment (click on The Growing Challenge icon on my right-hand column to link to Melinda's "gardening carnival" where she challenged folks to grow something new this year. I already said I was growing a vegetarian garden, with protein sources such as beans and ancient grains). I'm now going to grow loofah sponges as well. I already grow calendula and lavender (which I add to homemade soaps) as well as a variety of herbs (from which I make teas). By adding the loofahs, I'll now have a complete Spa Garden! How fun is that?

One final link for you today: Remember when my friend Kelly and I found that native persimmon tree while out walking one day last fall (springtime, to my friends in Australia!) and then I thought I was going to die when I ate one of the fruits? (Oh, wait, I'm not sure I told you about that!) Well, I ended up writing an article about persimmons for New Life Journal. It's running in the current issue, with the pictures I took and all! You can read it here. A special shout-out to Kelly for always being willing to join me on crazy adventures. And for the Benadryl!