Why Organic
An organic lawn supports the local environment, people and pets with management practices that utilize natural biological cycles of the land without the use of synthetic chemicals.
Features of an organic lawn:
- The turfgrass species is appropriate for your climate and space.
- Healthy soils with high organic matter and microbial activity.
- The grass is mowed high, and all grass clippings are left on the lawn.
- Mowing is done with sharp blades and with an energy efficient, low-emissions mower.
- Fallen leaves are mulched into the lawn (and any excessive leaves are composted).
- No synthetic products are added.
- Watering only occurs during dry spells or extreme stress.
- Turfgrass is allowed to enter dormancy according to the species.
Making the switch to organic lawn care
Practicing organic lawn care is not difficult!
Organic lawn care involves the same amount of work as a chemical fed lawn - it's just different steps. For example:
- Instead of heading to the store for chemicals, you'll order and perform a soil test.
- Instead of short, frequent watering, you'll water less often, but deeper.
- Instead of adding synthetic fertilizer, you'll add organic amendments only based on the needs of your soil.
- View our lawn care tips for organic practices we recommend.
If your lawn has been relying on synthetic fertilizers and weed killers for years, have patience as it will take time, potentially a few years, for your lawn to be fully broken from its dependency on chemicals. You might see more weeds in the transition period and will need a plan for the transition. Some growing pains should be expected.
Environmental benefits of organic lawns
Sometimes people ask, “Aren’t lawns bad for the environment?” Turns out that’s not true, especially if the lawns are organic and have healthy soils.
A chemically managed lawn that is frequently mowed and is missing grass clippings and soil microorganisms, won’t have much environmental benefit. But an organic lawn with thick grass, deep roots, healthy soils, and energy-efficient maintenance practices can do a lot to store climate warming carbon, soak up stormwater, and provide the oxygen we breathe.
Here are some of the benefits of an organic lawn with healthy soils, and the science behind them:
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Healthy lawns offset climate change
Carbon is added to soil when microorganisms digest organic matter, and plants leach out “liquid” carbon through their roots as food for the microorganisms that give nutrients back to the plant.Natural grasslands can store more carbon than most forests. Up to a third of grass roots die every year, and the blades die annually. The organic matter left by dead roots and grass clippings are digested by microorganisms. Much of that organic matter is converted to humus, which is a stable organic matter that stores carbon below ground. While trees store a lot of carbon in their wood and roots, they don’t die in large amounts each year, and their leaves are recycled quickly back into plant nutrients for the tree.
Calculating carbon storage of grasslands vs forests
Ever heard of a teragram? A teragram (or megaton) is equal to 2,204,622,621 pounds. The Great Pyramid at Giza weighs a massive 6 teragrams. The United States emits 6,870 teragrams of carbon dioxide each year through the burning of carbon based fuels like coal and oil. Carbon that is not stored in trees, soil, living organisms, or the ocean ends up trapped in the atmosphere, contributing to warming of the atmosphere.The United States has an estimated 50,000 square miles of lawn, about the size of Alabama ( NASA), and 1.1 million square miles of forest, twice the area of Alaska ( USFS). While U.S. forests are estimated to trap and store 236 teragrams of carbon dioxide each year , if all existing U.S. lawns were organic and had healthy soil biology, they could store up to 16.7 teragrams of carbon dioxide each year. If U.S. lawns then covered as much area as U.S. forests, they could store a lot more carbon each year!
That doesn’t mean we should ever replace forests with lawns, but it’s a great reason to go organic with the lawns we do have—healthy soil means more plant growth, and more microorganisms, which means more carbon storage. But always leave grass clippings—taking them off the lawn can reduce carbon capture by 60%.
Healthy lawns contribute to air quality
Hundreds of millions of tons of dust circles the earth annually (Griffin et al. 2003, Aerobiologia Vol. 19) and is a serious atmospheric pollutant. Grass blades capture many air-borne dust particles, and when rain and dew wash dust from the leaf blades to the ground, microbes then help break the pollutants down or bind them in the soil. The long blades of an organic lawn help to trap particulate matter and they remove an estimated 12 million tons of dust and dirt annually (Maryland Institute of Applied Agriculture).Pollutants in the atmosphere can also make rainfall acidic, which is harmful to aquatic life in our streams and water bodies. When rainfall filters through a healthy lawn, acidity can be reduced one-tenth of its original levels (Maryland Institute of Applied Agriculture).
Heat generated from paved surfaces increases air temperature and puts stress on trees, and hot air also traps more particulate matter that causes asthma and other illnesses. Lawns are 10 to 14 degrees cooler than surrounding paved surfaces, and a good choice along roadways or in some urban areas where trees are not a good fit. They will also help cool adjacent surfaces, like driveways, walls, and buildings.
Healthy lawns produce oxygen
Surprisingly, lawns can produce more oxygen than mature trees per acre. An acre of grass produces enough oxygen for 64 people a day (Maryland Agricultural Statistics Service), while an acre of trees produces enough oxygen for 18 people a day (Growing Air Foundation). The longer grass and deeper roots of an organic lawn will improve oxygen production.The grass and trees along our country's interstate system produce enough oxygen to support 22 million people! (Maryland Agricultural Statistics Service). A 50-square foot area of grass produces enough oxygen for a family of four (The Lawn Institute).
In the Mid-Atlantic, when many of our trees and gardens go dormant in the fall, or are devoid of leaves in the spring, our fescue lawns are green and growing, providing oxygen to improve the air we breathe. In summer, when the lawns are dormant, our trees, shrubs, and other plants are actively growing and take over more oxygen production.
Healthy lawns capture and infiltrate stormwater, and treat pollutants in runoff
With 43 inches of rain a year in Montgomery County, MD, and a lot of impervious surfaces, organic lawns can be a great solution to soak up and clean stormwater on your property, along with trees and other plants.A highly compacted lawn does not have the space in the soil to absorb a lot of rain during a storm. Instead, the water runs over the ground until it reaches a storm drain. This stormwater can pick up litter, oil and pollutants along the way.
In contrast, a well-aerated, organic lawn teeming with microorganisms and organic matter can absorb and hold large amounts of water. Organic lawns build more humus, and therefore soak up water like a sponge, contributing to ground water recharge and providing stored water to thirsty plants during dry spells. Lush turf is six times more effective in absorbing rain than an equivalent field of wheat (Maryland Institute of Applied Agriculture).
Humus is highly degraded, stable organic matter that has been digested by soil microorganisms, and can hold and capture even more water and nutrients than clay. Unfortunately. humus has been lost in developed areas due to loss of topsoil, soil microorganisms, and over fertilization. A 6% humus content soil can soak up almost every drop of rain except in extreme events. Any actions that build organic matter and microorganisms populations that create humus in our soil will greatly increase the water holding capacity of a lawn.
Pollutants from stormwater runoff can also be treated in a healthy lawn. Microorganisms in soils are one of the best treatment systems for the decomposition of pollutants from roadways and urban surfaces, such as heavy metals, chemicals, fuels, and disease-causing bacteria. Humus within our soils also help bind pollutants and keep them from washing off into waterways.
When 1” of rain falls, it amounts to 28,000 gallons of water per acre. A soil with a 1% humus content can hold 10,000 gallons of water per acre before it runs off or filters out, but a soil with a 6% humus content can hold 60,000 gallons of water.
We ran numbers on the rainfall data for Montgomery County, and found that a soil with just 1% humus in lawn soils will soak up the rainfall from 63% of our rain events, which amounts to 44% of our total rainfall. If we build up our lawn soils to a 3% humus content we can soak up rain from 86% of our rain events, which amounts to 79% of our rainfall. At 6% humus content soil can soak up almost every drop of rain except in extreme events. Any actions that build organic matter and microorganisms populations that create humus in our soil will greatly increase the water holding capacity of a lawn.
Healthy lawns provide erosion control
Soil lost through erosion contributes to lower agricultural and forest yields, increases airborne pollutants, and pollutes our waterways. The tall fescue grasses commonly used as turf in the Mid-Atlantic have evolved over millions of years to grow roots as deep as 2 or 3 feet that stabilize the soil. Grasses also grow lateral (sideways) roots, creating a strong, woven mat in the upper layer of the soil.A 1,000 square foot area of healthy turf grass (that’s only about 32 feet by 32 feet) can have up to 300 million feet of roots, making it nearly impossible for any soil to erode away from a lush lawn. The depth and woven network of grass roots provide better erosion control than gardens and natural areas without grasses.
Organically managed lawns are free from pesticides and synthetic fertilizers that can be harmful to land, water, and wildlife. The impacts are not just local, they are global. For example, migrating birds may feed off worms and insects in lawns