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No more fooling Mother Nature DIY Network’s Ahmed Hassan talks through the basics of organic landscaping and gardening 
Ahmed Hassan is certainly not afraid to push around Mother Nature. It's no big deal to take an ordinary yard and make it into a giant chessboard or introduce a water feature in what he calls "blitz style makeovers," as he does on the DIY Network's "Turf War" and "Yard Crashers."" Talking organic lawns and gardens, though, takes more restraint, not only in discussion but also practice. "Typically, when I think of eco-friendly gardening, I tune in with nature, rather than exerting my will," says Ahmed, 37, a certified landscape technician based in the San Francisco Bay area. "It's all about minimizing your carbon footprint. You can't bring in a bunch of gas-driven tractors and call that eco-friendly. Rototillers are not ecofriendly." Increasingly, however, more gardeners have taken their traditional gardens and lawns and gone organic, according to the National Gardening Association (NGA), eschewing chemicals altogether or using them very reluctantly (this is called "hybrid" gardening). Even traditional gardeners are concerned about the environmental impact of chemicals and tools used to coax their soil: Only 21 percent of those surveyed by NGA gave their lawn maintenance practices a "green" grade. No one should beat themselves up over this, says Hassan, one of six kids who started working outside at age 10 with his dad, something he loved because "it felt very masculine to me. I smelled like dirt." Being truly organic in lawn and gardening is more than a notion, one that individuals should think long and hard about. "Eco-friendly takes a whole new level of awareness people may not already have," Hassan says. "It's like saying 'old-fashioned' because you don't impact the earth as much." However, Hassan offers some advice for those who want to move in this direction: Start by avoiding walking on wet soil, Hassan says. Mashing down the soil squishes the air out of it and harms natural drainage, making it difficult for microorganisms, which are "always eating and pooping" to thrive. Then consider growing grass from seed instead of laying sod, Hassan says. And of course, organic lawn care requires homeowners to resist the urge to mow their lawns into submission. Just take off a top layer of grass, no shorter than 2 1/2 inches, with a mulching mower and let the cuttings feed the lawn. In summer, opt for a weekly water soak instead of daily watering, organic gardening experts suggest. Chemically speaking, only use products when really necessary, Hassan says, not out of our habit or a misplaced urge to eradicate every weed in sight. Start from scratch: Propagate existing plants by dividing the mother plant and growing from seed. Use ground cover from the front yard and use these plants in the backyard. The carbon footprint is instantly smaller because potted plants must be trucked across the country, burning gas and using other resources on a grand scale. Use the classifieds: Check sites like Craigslist to pick up rock or other landscaping items someone is getting rid of. Rethink composting: "Think about building a compost pile using wood that would come off trees and shrubs and use that in your garden," Hassan says. Bring soil to life: Use a low-impact mulching mower in warmer seasons to recycle grass and encourage an environment where microorganisms and earthworms can thrive, which helps the soil hold water and thwart disease. Reuse nature's waste: Hassan suggests repurposing wood, such as old furniture, to build structures for a garden. Soft woods are great for decorative trellises, he says. "I did a twig wall structure," Hassan says. "Instead of taking them to the dump, I built a 10-by-12 partial decorative panel that covered a shed. Hold the electricity: "Don't use all the power tools," Hassan says. "It's a very different way of doing things." Be realistic: Telling a landscaper to turn a traditional lawn into an organic one is a hard sell because the results aren't guaranteed. An organic lawn, for example, may be kinder to the earth and the animals that nibble at the grass, but it is not entirely weed-free. Organic land management "takes a little more work, and is great for do-it-yourselfers," Hassan says. "Eco-friendly means more work. If you enjoy it, that's the route you will go through." For more information about organic landscaping and gardening, call or visit the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service at 800-346-9140 or http://attra.ncat.org/. |
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