It is said that spring moves up the East Coast at the rate
of 15 miles a day. With it come the songbirds and geese,
blooming fruit trees, the smell of warming earth, and plans
for summer gardens. Unfortunately, neighborhoods also turn
toxic from lawn care companies indiscriminately applying
herbicides and pesticides, and ground water is contaminated
with nitrates from synthetic fertilizers.

In a major breakthrough for the environment and the lawn care
industry, pioneer NaturaLawn of America is providing natural,
organic-based lawn care alternatives. The services are available
in much of the country; there are 53 operating franchises
throughout the United States, in 23 states. The company’s
service is based on a natural organic-based fertilization
program used in conjunction with a specially designed
Integrated Pest Management program (IPM). NaturaLawn(r) of
America’s IPM system has reduced weed and insect control
usage on lawns by over 80 percent compared to traditional
chemical lawn care.

NaturaLawn(r) of America custom blends their product line to
the geographic area, and on a per customer basis. They offer
two different programs. IPM is always used, but they also work
with those who are chemically sensitive and can’t have any
herbicides used on their land at all.

Dandelions and other weeds are much harder to control once
they have emerged. The rule of thumb is that as soon as the
forsythia is blooming it is time to begin natural weed
control. We are a bit late for that now, but at least we
can try to convince local lawn care companies to go natural
for next year, and choose to live with and enjoy our
dandelions for now.

For additional information, e-mail NaturaLawn of America
at: natural@nl-amer.com, or visit their website at
http://www.nl-amer.com.