Formerly Clean Calgary Association

Green Calgary

Yard & Garden

Healthy Home's Calgary Yard & Garden Worksheet

Additional Resources

Green Calgary's Compost Guide

Green Calgary's Vermicomposting Guide

Love the Dandelions: What do Dandelions Tell Us?

11 Steps to a Pesticide Free Lawn - taken from www.pesticidefreeyards.org.

1. Healthy Lawns Need Healthy Soil
Proper soil preparation and lawn maintenance practices will help to build healthy and deep-rooted lawns. To condition and enrich your soil, add natural organic matter like compost on a regular basis. Healthy lawns are more resistant to disease and drought and will out-compete weeds.

2. Choose the Right Grass
Choose drought tolerant grass seeds and overseed your lawn in the spring or fall. Use a grass seed mixture rather than one variety. A thick lawn will crowd out weeds.

3. Mow High to Discourage Weeds
Keep your lawn mower blade at a height of 7 cm (3 inches)

4. Grass Cycle
Leave your grass clippings on the lawn to return nutrients to the soil. Less raking! This can supply up to 30% of your lawn's fertilizer needs and helps retain moisture.

5. Accept Some Weeds
Using chemicals and pesticides is not worth the health risk. Allow clover in your lawn for its nitrogen-fixing magic.

6. Consider Alternative Plants
Alternatives to grass include trees, shrubs, ground covers, and wild flowers (native speices work best).

7. Aerate - Let Your Lawn Breathe
Once a year remove small plugs of earth to allow air and water to get to the roots (aerate). A pesticide-free lawn will encourage earthworms, nature's aerators.

8. Water the Roots
Let your lawn soak up 1 inch of water, once a week early in the morning, to promote deep root growth. To measure and inch of water, put an empty tuna tin under your sprinkler - stop watering once it fills up.

9. Top-Dress and Fertilize
Once a year, in the fall, use an organic fertilizer (long term value), or apply a top layer of natural organic matter such as compost (top-dress).

10. Thatch
Most lawns don't have a thatch problem. Thatch is a thick compacted layer of dead plants and grass. Too much thatch stops water and nutrients from getting to the roots. To prevent thatch: aerate, rake briskly, water properly and don't over-fertilize.

11. Control Weeds & Insects Natuarally
Dig out weeds and their roots by hand. Pour boiling water on weeds that are growing between patio stones, etc. Use a stick or your hand to knock insects off plants into a dish of soapy water. Practicing natural lawn care will create a healthy lawn, which is unattractive to pests.

Non-Toxic Lawncare Companies

Buyer Beware: many companies are using the word 'sustainable' or 'organic' when marketing their lawncare business, however, they continue to use pesticides. In the lawncare industry, these words are completely unregulated and we are seeing many questionable practices being called organic and/or sustainable. When it comes to lawncare, there is no organic certification, as is the case with food.

If you want a pesticide-free yard, you must be diligent and ask a lot of questions before hiring a lawncare service company. Integrated Pest Management (IPM), as it is called by industry, still allows for the use of herbicides/pesticides. And even 2,4-D (glyphosate) pesticide is considered to be "organic" from a chemistry perspective. Ask, "what exactly do you mean by organic/sustainable?"

Ecoyards (www.eco-yards.com): 403.969.1176 or info@eco-yards.com.

Pixie Gardens (www.pixiegardens.ca): 403.512.4217 or pixiegardens@telus.net.