May 26, 2009

The Londoner

Local News

A natural approach to keeping the perfect lawn

With Ontario’s new cosmetic pesticide ban now in effect business and homeowners alike are looking for alternatives when it comes to maintaining their lawns. One option is exchanging old chemical maintained lawns for grass more accepting of natural alternatives, an option London Life has chosen as Matt Carswell (front), Andrew Donaldson and coworkers from Clintar Landscape Management switched out the company’s old lawn last week

Londoners looking for an example of the perfect lawn have needed to look no further than the offices of London Life.

The lawns around the insurance company’s Dufferin St. office have long had the look of an upscale golf club – a look that has been achieved through the use of chemical pesticides now banned under the province’s cosmetic pesticide legislation.

Last week, the company continued a process it started a year ago by exchanging that legendary grass for one more accepting of natural alternatives to chemical pesticides.

Rob Gereghty, a spokesperson with London Life, said the move was made to comply with the ban, but to also make sure the grasses around the building continued to look as good as ever.

“We wanted to comply with the new pesticide ban, that was our reasoning. The new grass is similar, but actually more durable. It’s called dwarf bluegrass and it doesn’t require any pesticides,” Mr. Gereghty says. “We changed the grass on the Wellington St. side a year ago and after the proper grooming it looks as good as it ever did. Certainly the old lawn had that great reputation. This new grass around the rest of the building will match up perfectly.”

Moving to a more accepting type of grass is just one of the options Greg Sandle offers to Londoners. Mr. Sandle, London’s pesticide education coordinator, says a lawn more accepting of natural alternatives makes a lot of sense.

“It’s an option. To remove a lawn that had been looked after through pesticides and chemicals and replace it with a different kind of grass that could be maintained more naturally,” Mr. Sandle says. “It’s one option people can look to. I think that’s a better lawn. People simply have to change their perception of what the perfect lawn is.”

Mr. Sandle says Londoners are going to need to adjust their perception of what a well maintained lawn can be in light of the province’s cosmetic pesticide ban.

“There will be dandelions, there will be weeds. But we want people to just relax, they’re only weeds. The province has taken over the ban, so that involves educating the public on what is still available and what their options are,” Mr. Sandle says. “There are products like Round Up which can still be used to get rid of noxious weeds like poison ivy, but when you buy a product like that you will now be handed a Class 7 pesticide form which tells the community what is allowed. The thing people need to know is there are all-natural products out there”

The ban prohibits the sale of about 250 pesticide products, along with another 80 or so pesticide ingredients, for cosmetic purposes. Lower risk pesticides and biopesticides are available for controlling weeds.

When it comes to maintaining a lawn – either residential grass or that on a commercial property – Mr. Sandle says the first approach should be a healthy lawn.

“One of the best things people can do is buy a soil test kit which you can find at pretty much any garden store. They go for $25-$35. You take a sample of your lawn, you send it in, the postage is already paid, and in a few days you will get an email telling you about the nutrients in your lawn, what it is lacking and what it needs,” Mr. Sandle says. “People who used to just buy a big bag of fertilizer may find that wasn’t necessary, that there were other products they could have used.”

Mr. Sandle also recommends that people start maintaining their lawns right now as opposed to later in the summer.

“The best time is right now. Your winter fertilizers are for growing in the spring. But now is a stress period for grass, the weather is warmer, the sun is out, there is less water. So this is the time people need to tend to their lawns.”

London, Mr. Sandle says, appears to be moving towards the more natural approach. The cosmetic pesticide ban simply has people focusing more attention to what those alternatives may be.

“People maybe didn’t realize they needed a healthy lawn to begin with,” Mr. Sandle says. “So you fertilize four times a year. Over seeding can smother those weeds that come along. It’s about putting more thought into what you are doing. You really have to be out there, enjoying your gardening.”

The ideas Mr. Sandle says that will work for a London homeowner will work just as well on a business owner, just on a larger scale. And Mr. Sandle again wants to remind Londoners the occasional dandelion isn’t something to be feared. “You will see businesses with dandelions on their lawns, that simply might be an indication they aren’t using pesticides.”

The City of London obviously has large sections of land to maintain over the course of the year and Mr. Sandle says focusing on a more natural approach has been the policy for many years now.

“We’ve been naturalizing parts of parks instead of just going in and cutting for 10 years or so. You look more recently, something like Veterans Memorial Parkway, we planted a meadow mix that never needs mowing,” Mr. Sandle says. “We are going with more naturalization and we are doing that on purpose.”

An example of those natural products would be something like horticultural vinegar, which the city is using instead of Round Up for controlling weeds on traffic islands and an area such as Reginald Cooper Square behind London City Hall.

“Horticultural vinegar has higher acidic acid, 12-30 per cent. Your household vinegar has five per cent, but it would work too,” Mr. Sandle says. “We’re changing our practices, planting different species, using natural products, products that are better for the environment.”

Mr. Sandle says he sees examples all across the city of people moving towards more environmentally friendly lawn care – or even doing away with the traditional lawn all together.

“There are alternatives. People are asking do they need a lawn. Wild gardens are more popular. People start them usually on the boulevard and then keep on going. We are reviewing our bylaws to allow more naturalization because people are seeking alternatives,” Mr. Sandle says. “In the past, people had to fight for a more naturalized lawn. The bylaw says if the grass is more than eight inches high it had to be cut. But people were demanding to have that option. People in the past have been looking for the quick fix. But whatever your approach, take your time. Nothing happens right away, it’s a gradual process.”

WANT MORE INFO?
For more information about the province’s cosmetic pesticide ban, details on natural alternatives to pesticides and better practices for lawn care, visit http://www.london.ca/growingnaturally