Mowing the Lawn - Creating Our Bee Lawn

"Perfect Lawns" Stink

Traditional Turf Grass Lawn in April

I had a nemesis called the Grand Prix. It was a coppery gold and had a black Briggs & Stratton motor mounted on it. This was controlled by a series of wires and ropes. It had a grass catcher that would only catch a very small amount of grass dangling precariously from one side. It was a lawnmower. I hated that thing. I distinctly remember being left with that thing during the summer between 6th and 7th grade. I'd be under orders from my parents to mow the lawn before they came home. And I did my level best. But even if I managed to get it started the first time, if I ever shut it down to empty the tiny grass catcher, the job was over. I'd struggle with adjustments to the choke. I'd pull the starter cord until my arm was sore. It would simply refuse to turn over. And then I'd be in trouble. "It's not my fault!" I'd protest, to no avail, and my dad would go outside, pull the cord, and it would start right up.

So I've never liked lawns and lawnmowers, and I still don't, but for different reasons.

The Hated Grand Prix

They are a waste of acreage. They are an amazing source of a variety of pollution and greenhouse gasses.  

I won't go into all the details here, because others have covered the topic more than adequately. I highly recommend the article "Grass Lawns Are an Ecological Catastrophe" by Lenore Hitchler.

The title is the bottom line. Condensed, the high points are these:

• There may be more lawns than the eight largest irrigated crops combined in the U.S.
• They are expensive. Americans spend more than $60 billion (with a "b") on the turf-grass industry each year.
• They are time consuming. Americans spend roughly three million hours a year pushing or riding lawnmowers.
• A decade ago, Americans were using 90 million pounds of synthetic fertilizer every year on lawns. Most use ammonia extracted from natural gas, which is acquired through drilling and fracking, thus contributing to water pollution.
• Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers cause the loss of soil carbon and organic nitrogen leading to erosion and runoff. The runoff contributes to water pollution and less sequestration of CO2 in the soil leading to more climate change.
• That wretched Briggs & Stratton engine on that Grand Prix? According to the EPA, each gas-powered lawn mower produces as much air pollution as 43 new automobiles driven 12,000 miles per year.

  

  A Lawnmower Polluting the Air

And the list goes on. I think, though, that the little green signs that are put up after a "perfect lawn" is treated with fertilizers and poisons to kill all the "weeds" says more than enough to argue for the elimination of turf grass. "Keep Children and Pets Off." 

What is the point of having a lawn if your children and pets can't play on it?

What to Do Instead

Of course, when we moved into our suburban home, the 1/4 acre lot was mostly turf grass. Luckily for us, its upkeep was clearly not a priority for the previous owners. Getting rid of it will, nevertheless, be a project for years. 

First, we acquired a battery powered electric lawnmower. 

Bee Lawn in August

Second, we intend to fill our yard with cultivated produce, eliminating more grass.

Third, we've begun the process of replacing the remaining turf grass with a bee lawn. Basically, this year we used a hand aerator to poke some holes in the lawn in late March and early April. We threw handfuls of Dutch white clover, red clover, and red creeping fescue into the space, watered it, and waited. This type of lawn is tougher, required no watering at all this year and the plants out-compete weeds. It's a lovely green. We apply zero poison to it - children and pets (we don't actually have these) can go anywhere they want on it, and they won't get sick. We have bees buzzing about all over the yard. By doing a little more each year, we expect to be rid of our turf grass soon. 

The day will come when we will be using the entire 1/4 acre as a habitat for wildlife and as a producer of food. The day the last weak blade of turf grass is expunged from our lot will be a day to celebrate.