Safer Lawn & Gardening Practices

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Joyce Benson Add a Comment |
Tag(s): Hazardous Products / Health Issues, The Great Green Outdoors

Many of us want a lush lawn surrounded by blooming trees, flowers, and gardens, but are concerned about the health effects that various lawn and garden products have, especially on our children and pets. Thankfully, there are many safer and more sustainable products on the market these days.

Fertilizers and Weed Control: Organic fertilizers encourage microbial activity in the soil, which keeps lawns and planting beds rich and healthy. TerraCycle, Cockadoodle Doo, Jobes, Espoma, Burn Out II, and Concern All Natural products are brands that create earth-friendly gardening products.
Deer Repellent (deer may be enchanting to look at grazing in a field, but not when their nibbling on your prized plants!): TerraCycle, Deer Out, Liquid Fence. Also, you can deter deer by planting native, deer-resistant plants.
Insecticides (products designed to kill soft-bodied insects): Insecticidal soaps, horticultural oils, pyrethrins, Bt (bacillus thuringiensis), and non-toxic traps such as Safer Sticky Whitefly traps.
Beneficial bugs to control insects: Ladybugs, Praying Mantis, Green lacewings larvae, Parasitic nematodes, Predator mites, and Trichogramma wasps are a few bugs that will seek and destroy all kinds of insects, grubs, and moth caterpillars.
Fungicides (products that inhibit or kill fungi or fungal spores): Neem, sulfur.