Grass Plots Demonstrate Lawns That Require Less Input

This is your lawn on drugs: In 2001, Maine homeowners, the largest and least regulated pesticide user group in the state, purchased a record 1.8 million pounds of lawn care pesticides -- double the 1995 figure. Using these products impacts Maine waters and wildlife, and often has little or no benefit to turf.

Applying horticultural knowledge (such as choosing the right grass seeds and core aerating, ideally in the fall) instead of pesticides and fertilizers can create attractive, healthy lawns, and healthy lawns demand less water, mowing and chemicals. To disseminate this horticultural knowledge, Gary Fish, Maine's "turf guy" and a staff member of the Maine Board of Pesticides Control, unveiled 10 plots this fall that compare different grass seeds in order to show homeowners how choosing the right grass minimizes reliance on pesticides and fertilizers. The plots, at the Pine Tree State Arboretum, 153 Hospital St., on Rt. 9 in Augusta, include nine 50-sq.-ft. lawn plots planted side by side with "low input" grass seed mixes that thrive in Maine yards:

• Fine and Tall Fescues that are shade and drought tolerant;
• No Mow and Mow-Less mixes with mature heights of only a few inches;
• Fleur de Lawn and Ecology Lawn, which are low growing meadows;
• Sheeps Fescue, Hairgrass and Bluestem, recommended by the New York Botanical Garden;
• BayScaper Mix, concocted by Fish himself.

One plot is planted with improved Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass for higher input comparison.

Fish is available to discuss the demonstration and the principles of growing a healthier lawn. For more information, please contact Kelly Bourdeau, public information officer at the Maine Board of Pesticides Control, 287-7533.