Water, mow, fertilize....the right way to do it.

ECOPOL put out a survey a few weeks back and 3/4's of our readers believe that lawns should be managed. If that is the way we feel then we should be managing our lawns in way that is environmentally conscious. In researching this project we came across this amazing article by Consumer Reports that illustrates how to properly engage in lawn care.

The article highlights how to properly water you lawn and garden, which include tips around how often and when. We need to reimagine our relationship with water, if we believe our lawns should be managed, then we have to manage our water usage.

The article also discusses the facts around fertilizers and the different kinds which include organic, and slow and fast release fertilizers.

The last point the article touches on is mowing tips which include how often, how high, and which mower to use.

Use this link to read this article and watch a very informative video that is posted on the link.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2013/07/essential-lawn-care-tips/index.htm

Lawnmowers, more like Ozone-mowers.

We've all used lawnmowers before, I think that is safe to assume, correct? Whether we get up early on Sunday morning to mow the lawn or we were an innocent teenager just trying to earn some extra cash to pay for a soda, we've all done it before. Back in the day, I used to go around my neighborhood to help mow their lawns, pull their weeds, wash their cars, etc. I've used practically every single type of lawnmower, from the push mowers of the olden days to the modern ride-able mowers, I've used them. Back in those days, I never understood gas emissions and energy costs, but as I grew older and became more environmentally aware, I quickly realized how much these universal lawn maintenance machines impact us economically and especially environmentally.

I found this article from National Geographic. The article itself is rather short, but super informative about how much these lawnmowers can hurt us. "In 2009, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality found that an hour of gas-powered lawn mowing produces as much pollution as four hours of driving a car." The Environmental Protective Agency estimates around 50 million people use their mowers on any summer weekend. That's 50 million hours worth of pollution entering our atmosphere and depleting our ozone layer. Talk about mood killer, right?