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No Mow May, Low Mow Spring

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Re: No Mow May, Low Mow Spring

#31

Post by cmrdporcupine »

thatfrenchguy wrote: post #8
kelnos wrote: post #5

> residents of Appleton, Wisconsin [...] convinced their City Council to suspend their weed ordinance for the month of May. This reminds me that there are many municipalities and homeowners' associations that essentially require you to mow your lawn weekly or bi-weekly, lest your grass gets too long and they fine you, because... reasons. It's really gross that we allow people to be such busybodies.

Never really understood why people have lawns in the first place, no-one ever sits on them. Really shocked me when I moved to the US, people value having backyards and just don't spend time there (yeah I'm watching you commenting down on how much you use it and challenge you to actual journal how much time your family spends in there)

Unless you live in an arid area... if it's not grass ... something else is growing there. Something usually far more labour-intensive to maintain.

If humans displace natural grazing animals, something has to replace them. A lawnmower.

I live on 6 acres. Half of it I leave wooded. I have a small hobby vineyard. And the house and garage. The rest, well, it has to be mowed. Because I don't have sheep or goats to do it for me.

Even when I lived in Toronto on a 25'x100' property, I had to mow almost weekly to keep weeds down.

Yes, the lawn thing is a bit silly. But people who act like a native plant or whatever garden or landscaping is less labour intensive are fooling themselves. I've tried both. Around here, it'll fill with burrs and dandelions and pigweed and ticks and whatever in no time at all.

Re: No Mow May, Low Mow Spring

#32

Post by jonnycomputer »

madoublet wrote: post #7
programmarchy wrote: post #6

Main problem I have with long grass is that it seems to attract more mosquitoes. I’d actually prefer xeriscaping but my HOA doesn’t allow it.

Also impractical simply b/c non-commercial mowers cannot cut long grass.

As someone who has been doing this for a few years in Virginia, which is plenty wet, it's not really bad. I minimize mowing until May (a little earlier this year because its been so warm so early), and the first go of it is tough, but I put the setting on the highest; then I keep it relatively short by June or July. Meaning, its really no big deal.

The real issue, as far as I'm concerned, is what are you letting grow. If you just let it all out, it's not likely that you just have commercial grass growing, but a bunch of weeds. Now I like weeds, myself, but some are less desirable than others, particularly some invasive ones, and neighbors can complain (mine don't). My approach is to selectively weed the lawn (yes, by hand, and it's a half-acre) to try to rid it of the weeds I don't want, and selectively encourage those I do (e.g. in my case, the native fleabane which flowers in May). I do see a difference in the number of insects visiting fleabane compared to non-native weeds. Now, I'm in a rural enclave of an urban area in an environmentally sensitive part of Virginia, so my approach is different than it might be if I were in a California suburb, for example.

Re: No Mow May, Low Mow Spring

#33

Post by adriand »

kelnos wrote: post #5

> residents of Appleton, Wisconsin [...] convinced their City Council to suspend their weed ordinance for the month of May. This reminds me that there are many municipalities and homeowners' associations that essentially require you to mow your lawn weekly or bi-weekly, lest your grass gets too long and they fine you, because... reasons. It's really gross that we allow people to be such busybodies.

I think having property standards is an important part of ensuring that people keep up their properties and by extension, maintain (and ideally beautify) their neighbourhoods. I can see how someone who puts the time and effort into creating an alternative to a lawn (such as a garden featuring wild species) may take issue with an ordnance that doesn't take into account alternatives to a traditional lawn, but when people don't maintain their properties and their yards are full of tall grass and weeds, or worse, tall grass, weeds, trash and dog shit (it all kind of goes together), it's unsightly.

Re: No Mow May, Low Mow Spring

#35

Post by pdntspa »

thatfrenchguy wrote: post #8
kelnos wrote: post #5

> residents of Appleton, Wisconsin [...] convinced their City Council to suspend their weed ordinance for the month of May. This reminds me that there are many municipalities and homeowners' associations that essentially require you to mow your lawn weekly or bi-weekly, lest your grass gets too long and they fine you, because... reasons. It's really gross that we allow people to be such busybodies.

Never really understood why people have lawns in the first place, no-one ever sits on them. Really shocked me when I moved to the US, people value having backyards and just don't spend time there (yeah I'm watching you commenting down on how much you use it and challenge you to actual journal how much time your family spends in there)

The dog (a german shepherd) uses the backyard to run literally all day long. She'd go crazy cooped up in the house. We both use it for fetch all the time. I use it to smoke since I can't do so in the house. The shade from the big tree in the center is nice for reading. Pulling weeds (they got really thick and stalky this year) and leveling the ground around the holes the dog digs helps keep me in shape. It's a nice background for a twitch show I've been thinking of doing. It's a nice space for parties.

But yeah fuck off with the judging. I like space and I like living in the city.

Re: No Mow May, Low Mow Spring

#36

Post by 10u152 »

camhart wrote: post #24

My lawn is 100% for my kids. Schools give kids less and less time to get their energy out. They need areas to play and exhaust themselves more than ever. Most dog owners use the backyard in a similar fashion. Though thats only the backyard. Front yard could be rock, plants, flowers, long grass, etc and wouldn't make a difference.

Agreed. All these articles are one sided. My backyard lawn is a soft play space that is self repairing, zero carbon (it's not watered or fertilized barring home made compost) and mowed with solar power. We picnic on it and play on it. It also is great at absorbing rainwater runoff, dog byproducts and carbon. Being mown also reduces snakes etc and allows a rich variety of birdlife to eat insects off my lawn. It also reduces ambient temperature in the summer compared with a hard surface and is cool to the touch all year round.

Re: No Mow May, Low Mow Spring

#37

Post by munificent »

thatfrenchguy wrote: post #8
kelnos wrote: post #5

> residents of Appleton, Wisconsin [...] convinced their City Council to suspend their weed ordinance for the month of May. This reminds me that there are many municipalities and homeowners' associations that essentially require you to mow your lawn weekly or bi-weekly, lest your grass gets too long and they fine you, because... reasons. It's really gross that we allow people to be such busybodies.

Never really understood why people have lawns in the first place, no-one ever sits on them. Really shocked me when I moved to the US, people value having backyards and just don't spend time there (yeah I'm watching you commenting down on how much you use it and challenge you to actual journal how much time your family spends in there)

> no-one ever sits on them.

Doing stuff on your lawn is only part of its function. Much of the value it provides, arguably most of the value is a combination of:

1. More distance and acoustic isolation from neighbors. A larger property with a house in the middle of it separated from others by space means you hear your neighbors less and they hear you less. It makes your home a little more of a sanctuary.

2. A better view out the window. Windows and the views they afford are a critical part of the indoor experience. They provide a connection to a larger space so that the house doesn't feel claustrophobic or too artificial. A window that opens onto a calm expanse of green can make the house feel more spacious and tranquil.

Now, of course, those benefits have to be weighed against the trade-offs. But, in general, people are not completely stupid and if millions of them have lawns, it's probably at least somewhat because they actually like having lawns and aren't mindless sheep manipulated by culture and nefarious HOA laws into having them.

Re: No Mow May, Low Mow Spring

#38

Post by asow92 »

morkalork wrote: post #21
dgacmu wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In western and more arid states they're a huge waste of water. Really depends on the climate. In other areas they're just a lost opportunity for biodiversity. Mixing in some clover or other small perennial soft small flowers can help a lot with making it both self-fertilizing and more pollinator-friendly. (We kept part of our grass for exactly that reason but it helps that we don't have to water the lawn here. With a…

Mixing clover and other small flowering plants with grass is definitely the way to go. I can sit on the swing in my backyard and lose count of all the bumblebees and small butterflies bouncing across the lawn. What I don't understand is, is the need for huge front lawns. It's all the work with none of the benefits. Just a waste of space really. People don't use them the same way at all.

> What I don't understand is, is the need for huge front lawns. It's all the work with none of the benefits. Just a waste of space really. People don't use them the same way at all.

Have you considered that some people just like looking at it and that's enough? It's their private property after all.

Re: No Mow May, Low Mow Spring

#39

Post by jonnycomputer »

morkalork wrote: post #21
dgacmu wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In western and more arid states they're a huge waste of water. Really depends on the climate. In other areas they're just a lost opportunity for biodiversity. Mixing in some clover or other small perennial soft small flowers can help a lot with making it both self-fertilizing and more pollinator-friendly. (We kept part of our grass for exactly that reason but it helps that we don't have to water the lawn here. With a…

Mixing clover and other small flowering plants with grass is definitely the way to go. I can sit on the swing in my backyard and lose count of all the bumblebees and small butterflies bouncing across the lawn. What I don't understand is, is the need for huge front lawns. It's all the work with none of the benefits. Just a waste of space really. People don't use them the same way at all.

Different neighborhoods work differently. I played baseball in my front yard. First (and only base, besides home) was the mailbox across the street.

But it's true that a lot of people don't use their front yards for much, except perhaps as a noise buffer from the road. If you go a non-lawn route, you'll need to be careful to maintain it in a way that doesn't encourage intervention by neighbors, municipalities, etc. On the other hand, I'm rewilding a bit of my back, and nobody says anything.

Re: No Mow May, Low Mow Spring

#40

Post by jonnycomputer »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #31
thatfrenchguy wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never really understood why people have lawns in the first place, no-one ever sits on them. Really shocked me when I moved to the US, people value having backyards and just don't spend time there (yeah I'm watching you commenting down on how much you use it and challenge you to actual journal how much time your family spends in there)

Unless you live in an arid area... if it's not grass ... something else is growing there. Something usually far more labour-intensive to maintain. If humans displace natural grazing animals, something has to replace them. A lawnmower. I live on 6 acres. Half of it I leave wooded. I have a small hobby vineyard. And the house and garage. The rest, well, it has to be mowed. Because I don't have sheep or goats to do it f…

It absolutely is more labor intensive. Partly because its a regularly disturbed area without a buffer zone to protect it from new weed intrusions. I get weeds I've never seen before each year on my lawn.

It's not just grazing animals btw. It's fire. Large parts of the US Southeast, for example, used to be savanna, basically grasslands interspersed by trees. Fire is necessary to maintain that, to beat back woody growth.

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