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Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’

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Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’

#61

Post by smokeyfish »

core-questions wrote: post #55
ravenstine wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's sad is dandelions are neither ugly nor bad for your lawn. They feed bees and the tap roots draw nutrients from deep in the soil, which also benefits the grass.

Dandelions are definitely ugly. The problem is that they're weeds: they will grow with abandon and fill up every single possible spot on your lawn, crowding each other out in their rabid attempts to get some delicious sun. Mow them down and you're just acting as an evolutionary selection filter for short, creeping dandelions instead. It only takes a month or two of mowing to end up with a totally different, fully ada…

They are useful and edible.

Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’

#62

Post by joekunin »

core-questions wrote: post #55
ravenstine wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's sad is dandelions are neither ugly nor bad for your lawn. They feed bees and the tap roots draw nutrients from deep in the soil, which also benefits the grass.

Dandelions are definitely ugly. The problem is that they're weeds: they will grow with abandon and fill up every single possible spot on your lawn, crowding each other out in their rabid attempts to get some delicious sun. Mow them down and you're just acting as an evolutionary selection filter for short, creeping dandelions instead. It only takes a month or two of mowing to end up with a totally different, fully ada…

Dandelions are also medicinal and nutritious.

Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’

#63

Post by NeedMoreTea »

core-questions wrote: post #55
ravenstine wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's sad is dandelions are neither ugly nor bad for your lawn. They feed bees and the tap roots draw nutrients from deep in the soil, which also benefits the grass.

Dandelions are definitely ugly. The problem is that they're weeds: they will grow with abandon and fill up every single possible spot on your lawn, crowding each other out in their rabid attempts to get some delicious sun. Mow them down and you're just acting as an evolutionary selection filter for short, creeping dandelions instead. It only takes a month or two of mowing to end up with a totally different, fully ada…

This gets tricky. A weed is merely a plant in the wrong place.

We have a corner of garden that we left to nature to get a little wildlife oasis. The nettles and brambles nature added need regular effort to keep controlled, the dandelions are mostly benign in amongst the 6"-foot long grass, they don't dominate like they do on a cricket pitch length lawn.

Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’

#64

Post by otabdeveloper2 »

larnmar wrote: post #37
freepor wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, lawns are obviously a dumb idea unless you're using the lawn for something like relaxing or playing games. If you're just in a conformity contest with your neighbors then you might as well have something zero-maintenance or agriculturally productive there.

Lawns are aesthetically pleasing to humans. It has been widely observed that humans, having adapted to life in the African savannah, have a tendency to turn everything into an idealised version of their natural habitat. Regents Park, or your local golf course, is like a superstimulus version of the nicer parts of prehistoric Kenya. Lots of nice green grass; not too long, indicating grazing animals nearby. Trees scatt…

> Lawns are aesthetically pleasing to humans.

Citation needed. My anecdotal experience doesn't agree.

> It has been widely observed...

Really? By who?

> ...that humans, having adapted to life in the African savannah,

Citation, again, needed. As far as I know, practically no ancient hominid artifacts have been found in the 'African savannah'.

> ...have a tendency to turn everything into an idealised version of their natural habitat.

Except that lawns are absolutely nothing at all like an 'African savannah'. And the fact that the largest part of humanity (India, China) live in habitats that resemble ant hills more than they do a savanna.

Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’

#65

Post by reportgunner »

shartshooter wrote: post #27

Why do lawns even factor into the equation when the reality is that industry, farms, etc. own the majority of all water usage? I live in a desert area and hate seeing lawns watered in the middle of the summer but its impact seems trivial. Agriculture is a major user of ground and surface water in the United States, accounting for approximately 80 percent of the Nation's consumptive water use and over 90 percent in ma…

I would like to point out that getting rid of your lawn, using it to plant your own vegetables and eating them is a way to cut down on eating bovine meat.

Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’

#66

Post by onion2k »

AmericanChopper wrote: post #59
onion2k wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presumably you also live in a cave and hunt animals for your dinner. Meanwhile the rest of us have realised we can actually ignore our primal instincts that serve no beneficial purpose and use our brains to figure out something better.

Pretty much everything you find aesthetically pleasing is a primal instinct. The high-and-mighty-ness of this comment really beggars belief. I hope that somebody like yourself could confidently say you’ve never wasted your time on something frivolous like companionship or sexual needs.

Saying we like lawns because our cave-dwelling ancestors saw them as good hunting ground is fine, but to extend that to saying that's a reason why we should have them is not. We can ignore that particular primal urge if giving up lawns is good for the environment. The same goes for every other "primal instinct" - we've evolved to the point where we can make a conscious decision about what we do regardless of what our cave-dwelling ancestors might have thought.

We can, and do, rise above our evolutionary biology if it suits us. It's a good thing too, or violence and rape would be far more prevalent.

Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’

#68

Post by TeMPOraL »

EdwardDiego wrote: post #48
philosopher1234 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you elaborate why that is?

They can run around on it, play ball games with their mates, you can put down a slip 'n slide in the summer, there's room for a trampoline etc. etc.

Also (I'm guessing) room for barbecue parties and such - generally facilitating socialization with other families with children.

Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’

#69

Post by Ma8ee »

rahuldottech wrote: post #58
rbirkby wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A friend once explained that boys are like dogs. They need exercising twice a day. A back yard and a ball are sufficient for that. A paved area is more likely than lawn to provide yet more trips to ER.

Ehhhhh. I disagree. That's too much of a generalisation. Different people, different interests. Many kids do like to exercise. Many prefer staying indoor.

But all kids need exercise every day:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guid...

Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’

#70

Post by Ma8ee »

sigstoat wrote: post #36
ravenstine wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's sad is dandelions are neither ugly nor bad for your lawn. They feed bees and the tap roots draw nutrients from deep in the soil, which also benefits the grass.

> What's sad is dandelions are neither ugly as lawn owner, i like the flowers, and abhor the dense wad of ugly they leave behind after seeding, which in my experience actively displaces the grass that was trying to grow there.

Cut the grass after flowering (you might need to use a scythe) and remove the hay. Never spread fertilisers on the lawn.
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