Building a healthy lawn

About this book

Lying on your back on a newmown lawn is the quintessential summertime pleasure. Traditionally, however, lush lawns have been achieved only by using heavy doses of chemical weed killers, pesticides and fertilizers, elements many homeowners have come to distrust and environmentalists to condemn. This breakthrough book shows how to grow a lawn that is beautiful to look at yet safe for kids, pets, picnics and badminton-and neither expensive nor time-consuming to maintain. Professional landscaper Stuart Franklin wrote this book in response to numerous customer questions. In clear, direct language, he explains exactly how a lawn grows and how to care for it. He then shows the homeowner how to move away from reliance on hazardous chemicals. The secret, he explains, is to build healthy soil and roots. The homeowner must work with the lawn, not against it, in mowing (don't cut the grass too short) and watering (water deeply, but not too often). There are 900 billion organisms living in a cubic foot of soil, and Franklin explains how to put them to work for the homeowner. Included are chapters on mowing, watering, fertilizing, soil building, thatch, equipment selection, seeding, weed control, diseases, and insects. There is a chapter on ground covers and mulches, because a lawn may not be suitable for every area. A reference section lists and illustrates desirable and undesirable lawn grasses. A useful calendar of month-by-month lawn care specifics completes the book, making it the only guide even a beginner needs to achieve the emerald green lawn of the American dream.