A Greener Lawn

The following was an article I wrote for the Fall edition of Local Biz Magazine in Durham.

In the spring of 2009, Ontario’s province-wide pesticide ban comes into effect and homeowners will no longer be able to buy or use traditional lawn care methods. Next spring, the best defence to keeping your lawn weed-free will be to keep it healthy and lush.

But there’s a little secret that others in the lawn care industry don’t want you to know about—a low-maintenance grass seed called EcoLawn that’s been held back for ten years now. This grass is a blend of seven fine fescue grasses and taps a very deep root. Most lawns have turf with roots two to three inches deep but EcoLawn delves nine inches (22.86 cm) in clay soil and 14 inches (35.56 cm) in sand-based soils. All the nutrients your lawn needs are right there for the EcoLawn grass root.
What all this means for homeowners is that, once this grass is established, you don’t need to water as much, you don’t need to fertilize, you don’t need to aerate, you don’t need chemicals for weeds or insects, you just don’t need lawn care. The grass grows slowly (only nine inches a year) so you only have to cut it once a month or, if you choose, not at all.

EcoLawn has been shockingly absent from the big box stores and gardening centres after it was pitched to the big guys ten years ago and denied. Such a block made sense at the time: a low-maintenance grass would cut into the profit margins of lawn mowers, fertilizers, pesticides and the regular grass seed and top soil with weed seed properties in it.

There’s no way that this business model would risk this kind of setup—a solid money maker and an endless cycle that you’ll pay for year after year to protect your curb appeal—but whether by education or government decree, people’s minds are changing. They’re looking for alternatives- green, eco-friendly alternatives that will help the environment, save them time, save them money and offer up a great looking lawn.
Great ideas can only be kept underground so long.
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Craig McPherson of Durham Lawn Jockey wants to see a healthier lawn and healthier environment for everyone and their family. He believes we owe it to the planet to be responsible.