Re: lawns

   From: "William A. Grant" <grant@cruzio.com>
   Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 08:45:10 -0800

   Why not tax people who have lawns - double the amount if there is one in =
   front and behind the house?
   Future generations will wonder at our arrogance - wasting water, =
   fertilizer, oil & gasoline, and making slaves of teenage boys just to =
   produce a pathetic square of green.bill grant, california

Humph! Such assumptions!

I have a huge lawn.  It came with the house and we have no intentions of
ripping anything out we have no immediate use for.  We want to keep some
lawn regardless.

My lawn requires:

Zero water.
Zero fertilizers.
Zero sprays.
Zero weed killer.
Zero oil and gasoline.
Zero teenage boys.

My SO mows it with an electic mulching lawnmower.  Not totally no-work but
given that it adds up to 2 hours every other week in the summer only...  We
feed the lawn with its own clippings.  We spend maybe 5 minutes a week
handweeding out oxtounge and blackberry.  We plan to do a one-time only
aeration and spreading of compost to repair the damage of decades of
neglect.

Do we have a garden magazine lawn? No.  Do we have a green surface that
kids can play on, we can walk on, we can throw parties on, we can roll on,
that keeps the area from getting muddy?  Yes.

I object to postage stamp lawns that are fenced in or too otherwise
inaccessable...I don't see the point.  I object to lawns that are there
because boredom is a fashion statement.  I object to chemical fertilizers,
pesticides, weed killers, etc.  But do I object to lawns?  Nope.  

Besides, they make great growing space for salad greens (dandelions, yum).

Cyndi

_______________________________________________________________________________
Oakland, California            Zone 9 USDA; Zone 16 Sunset Western Garden Guide
Chemically sensitive/disabled - Organic Gardening only by choice and neccessity
_______________________________________________________________________________
"There's nothing wrong with me.  Maybe there's                     Cyndi Norman
something wrong with the universe." (ST:TNG)           cyndi@consultclarity.com
                                                 http://www.consultclarity.com/
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