November 19, 2007

Collaborative Tests Organic Lawn Care

Can you spot the difference between these two pictures? Both were restored and replanted at the same time this September. The one on the left has an irrigation system and was watered everyday for over a month after planting. The one on the right was watered only by the rain.

click image for larger view

It is the small portion of Mill River Park on Main Street at Clinton Avenue. It was recently replanted with a heavy supplement of compost using organic methods by Bob Huntley of Stamford Parks Maintenance under the direction of Mike Papa, a Mill River Park supporter. Mike’s landscape contracting firm Artscape specializes in lawn installation and maintenance methods that do not rely on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. He says, with organic methods, “we feed the soil rather than feeding the plant”.  

Mike has shared his calendar for organic lawn maintenance with us. We are sharing it with you, especially those of you with lawns upstream of Mill River Park because what you put on your grass eventually ends up in Mill River. But, the real reward for using organic methods is that your grass does not become “addicted to fertilizer and constant watering” and just looks better because it is healthier, says Mike. You can get more information from the Organic Land Care Committee of Connecticut and Massachusetts.