Going Organic Can Sometimes be out of Your Control

There will come a time when you do everything right for your vegetable garden, family, pets, kids and so on, to make sure you are going as “organic” as possible, only to have something out of your control happen. I lead with this because it happened to me just yesterday.

I have a good amount of grass to grow as do all my neighbors. I took the time to change my mower blade to a mulching blade so I would not have to bag the clippings and can actually have them serve a purpose and that is to provide nutrients to the lawn as they decay as well as provide food for the ecosystem in the soil. It is a win-win situation for everybody or should I say everybody and everything.

So I am sitting at my kitchen table yesterday afternoon, I like out the window and notice that the lawn service for my neighbor shows up. I just figured they were there to cut, edge, trim and all of that good stuff, but instead they rolled out a huge hose and started spraying some kind chemical all over their lawn. When I questioned them about it, they said it was to keep mosquitoes and other insects at “bay”.

Now granted I have lived in my house for over seven years and I can tell you I have never had any problems with insects and I have never used any chemicals to treat my lawn. So this raises the big organic or non-organic debate that goes round and round.

My neighbor pays for a service to dump some chemical on the lawn that “kills” things. Sure they say only insects, but it is created for the sole purpose of “killing” something. How much of that chemical is needed to kill larger living things, like say rabbits, birds, or even Fido the family pet. They will say it is safe because they use it, but I doubt that they even know what’s in it.

My point is this. Here you have my neighbor who pays to have chemicals sprayed on his lawn to keep bugs in check. Yet just a mere twenty feet from him is me and I use nothing on my lawn and have no problems with any kinds of insects. Maybe because I don’t put down something harmful that keeps the birds away which hunt the insects and eats them.

I have been using organic style methods on my lawn for a number of years and my grass is stronger, thicker, greener and more healthier than it has ever been and here is the best part, it actually has saved me time, effort and money in the process.

I don’t have to pay someone to drop chemicals to make my lawn look good and I don’t have bag up my grass to be put in a landfill. Everytime I cut my grass it’s like fertilizing it naturally. You could say it is like taking care of two tasks at the same time.

When next year rolls around and my neighbor needs his grass to turn green he will call upon his trusty lawn service and pay them the fee they charge which I am sure is a lot, while I will sit back watch my green grass grow for the mere cost it takes to run the lawn mower.

About the Author

Mike is the author of the book Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person, as well as the president and CEO of Mike the Gardener Enterprises, LLC. You can, follow him on Twitter as well as join his Facebook fan page.