Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’

Post by jdhawk » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 4:07 PM UTC

brlewis wrote: post #210

dbingham wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're going for a perfectly maintained look to wild plantings, then yeah, that's a a lot of work. We've replaced our lawn with wild savanna, and it's zero work. We just let it go. It looks totally wild, and I'm happy with that. (Getting it in place - removing the invasives, improving the soil, planting trees, and spreading native wildflower and grass seeds was a lot of work - but since its established its very li…

In New England letting grasses flourish would also provide a home for ticks and Lyme disease. I try to be friendly to pollinators but unfriendly to ticks.

Post by ZeroFries » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 4:09 PM UTC

corporate_shi11 wrote: post #208

dbingham wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're going for a perfectly maintained look to wild plantings, then yeah, that's a a lot of work. We've replaced our lawn with wild savanna, and it's zero work. We just let it go. It looks totally wild, and I'm happy with that. (Getting it in place - removing the invasives, improving the soil, planting trees, and spreading native wildflower and grass seeds was a lot of work - but since its established its very li…

You're telling people that they "need" to change their subjective appreciation of what constitutes beauty and aesthetic pleasure? I mean this as sincere constructive criticism, you will not win support for sustainability with such a demand. People don't enjoy being told how they "need" to feel about something as personal as aesthetic experience. Focus on how sustainability is good for people and how it will improve t…

Post by nsxwolf » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 4:15 PM UTC

Post by sp332 » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 4:16 PM UTC

DrRobinson wrote: post #137

vosper wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But the whole 'using water' claim is muddied. The water the animal drinks passes through it and into the ground. Yes, it's not like the water is destroyed. It may be diverted from directly flowing into a river, sure, and perhaps goes straight back to the atmosphere rather than into the sea via evaporation, exhalation, and transpiration... but it's not gone .

I don't really see the point of this argument, isn't this true for basically _all_ water usage?

Post by ladyattis » Mon, Jan 06, 2020, 4:18 PM UTC

ZeroFries wrote: post #234

ladyattis wrote: post #227

If you can't get rid of the lawn due to HOA regs or local laws try clover. Most folks won't notice the difference and bees love it. One my old elementary schools still has a huge clover field and the bees still come around for the flowers during Spring.

This is the viable alternative, having similar aesthetics to a traditional lawn. However there's still a fair amount of push-back. I just bought a house and am planning a clover lawn this spring, and discussing it with extended family over the holidays was met with a large amount of skepticism.