Alison McCoy

I see regular concrete cinder blocks are approved for organic gardening.  I'd planned to use more whiskey barrels to plant my garden this year, but after looking into cost, seems they have gone up in price quite a bit where I am, so I'm off in search of plan B.  I have some landscaping blocks that I could rearrange to make some new beds and just add my veggies to my regular landscape, are these safe? Do they put anything extra in those decorative blocks? Is the coloring harmful? I know this is probably a silly question, but well, I was unsure. Thanks for any help!

As someone who has been on the path of trying to convert to organic lawn care, I can understand the occasional feeling that for every step forward it seems we take two back. The process can be a little daunting.  Many people have been conditioned to care for their lawns using traditional very unhealthy methods, and doing so are left with very unhealthy soil. We have become a society demanding instant gratification, buying one bag of something that guarantees instant results, can seem much more appealing than than the months or even years of coaxing your yard back to a healthy self sufficient environment. The choice is easy for me, but for those of you still sitting on the fence, here's something to consider:
When we moved to our new house, our lawn was infested with grubs. Our lawn was a small field of weeds with only memories of grass.  After researching natural remedies, (all listed on this site) I ventured down to the local garden store in search of Milky Spore.  The very helpful gentleman there informed me that using the spore was extremely effective, but could take a couple years to eliminate the infestation, instead I could purchase a couple of these red bags of stuff and have them gone by the end of the summer. I left with my spore.....THANK GOODNESS!!!

    Most of us have heard about the plight of the bees.  The last I heard nearly 1/3 of North Americas honey bee's had disappeared due to what scientists call colony collapse disorder. Of course the cause has been up for debate among scientists.  Unfortunately I do not believe that enough people fully grasp the crucial role these little creatures play. While surfing the web, I came across an article at www.SafeLawns.org  titled "Product Puts Beekeepers, Lawn Growers at Odds".  It discusses the link between the chemical substance called "imidacloprid" commonly used to treat grubs and the collapse of the hives. I warrants taking a look.

Something to consider the next time you look at a beautiful flower, bite into a juicy piece of watermelon on a hot summers day or sweeten your cup of tea with a dollop of honey.  Just how important is that green suburban lawn in the grand scheme of things?
  I wanted to post this for those of you that come across this gem of a site , like I did, while surfing the web for answers.  Most of us as consumers are left in the dark about the possible ramifications of using various products available to "beautify" our lawns, and I don't believe the average weekend warrior uses said products intending to cause harm to this amazing planet. Unfortunately our ignorance may cause lasting devastation.
  The bees provide us with so much, what can we do to save them???  I am by no means an expert on the subject, but at the very least isn't the threat of losing some of our most treasured crops reason enough to commit to never putting synthetic yuck on our lawns again? and  for goodness sake....PLANT SOME CLOVER

A few new developments, and I thought I'd ask for opinions. First, I just got back the soil test, ph is only 5.6!!! Yikes, this is very discouraging.  I've been following the guidelines for adding lime, I guess maybe my pine trees are out competing my efforts? So my question is, if I go ahead and and till, how much lime can I add at one time without doing damage, and then how long should I wait to retest the soil?  Secondly, I just found out we are having a cicada emergence this spring, this is my first experience with these.  Bad idea to plant grass this spring?? Do I need to wait 'til fall after they are gone?
Thanks for any advice!!!

Muddy mess probably wasn't the best description I could've used.  More like a sandy disaster, mixed with the compost and occasional left over bags of potting soil, etc. from other uses that I've thrown out there, and when rained on becomes a magnet for little boys shoes and dog paws. Sorry, I'll try to be more precise   I have literally been trying to add anything and everything to the front yard I can, hoping to improve the soil.  I should mention that we are surrounded by pine trees, lots of them. As the crow flies we are probably less than 10 miles from the shore.  I can't seem to find anyone who has planted a yard in the area intending to use organic practices, and unfortunately the people at the garden centers seem determined to sell me yucky stuff. I'm just hoping to get the seed in before I lose the advantage of the spring rains and cooler temps.  Thanks for your help!!!

A majority of what I had was weeds when we bought the house, with grass growing around the perimeter of the yard.  We figured out we had grubs,(this was my first experience with them.) So we sent in a soil sample and I proceeded to find a natural way to combat the grubs.  The guy at the garden center said milky spore was the only natural was to do this....but it would take 2-4 years to kill all of the grubs.  Not good news, still, I left with my big blue bag and applied it last spring and again in the fall.  I hoped that maybe if we got the soil right, which by the way came back with a ph level of 5.2 last spring, and planted some turbo seed, maybe the grass could withstand the grubs and they'd, I don't know move on. My second dilemma is that I have very sandy soil, and I really can't afford to bring in top soil, let alone the fact that most of the soil I went to look at didn't look much different than what I have. So I spent last summer adding lime, building compost piles, mowinghigh and mulching what grass I did have.  Then I tilled it all up and threw out some seed, just hoping to build the soil. Sounds crazy, huh?  Still, I am absolutely determined to do this naturally, I've no choice but to do it cheaply, the lazy part is not a big deal, because I enjoy working outside, but this year I have to come up with some results, because as you can imagine it is a mess and I feel a bit like I'm running in circles. At this point, trying to convince any one that natural is the way to go, is not working out so well. As of today, the grubs are still here, I can see the robins picking at them as I type, but  I do have quite a bit more grass comming back this year than last, I'm getting ready to send off another soil sample.  My hope is to dump all of the compost I've collected on the yard, till whats there up and plant seed. But, my husband wants nice green soft grass that the chemlawn guy promises he can provide, I want something that's not going to kill my kids or the environment.  Am I just completely going about this all wrong?

Does anyone know anything about Eco-lawn seed?(www.wildflowerfarm.com)
We spent last year trying to build the soil and adjust the ph, and attempting to rid the soil of grubs, this year we want to plant. Spending last summer with the kids and dog playing in a muddy mess...well it is not an experience I want to repeat!  So here's my dilemma, Paul, I know you reccomend tall fescue, but we live in a neighborhood, and after being here two years I've come to understand that my neighboors take their lawn care VERY seriously (i.e. Chemlawn, mowing services, oodles and oodles of empty bags of Scotts and containers of Round up sitting out by the curb, sprinkler systems guzzling out gallons of water) The looks of mild curiosity and inquiries about my eyesore have grown to outrage. The chemlawn guy still comes by weekly, leaving little pamphlets. Any way you get my drift.  Well, growing up in the south, my husband wants that nice soft walk around in your barefeet, northern grass. (We now live in SE Massachusetts)
    I need a compromise or I fear I will walk out my front door one morning with a little white sign in my yard warning all living creatures to stay off. Regardless of what my neighboors want to do to the patch of Earth they inhabit, I just can't sleep at night going that route.  Besides,  if I can make a go of this perhaps I convince them to follow suit. I had planned to plant a eco friendly mix, but after looking through some of the postings, found that the formula was very similar to what someone else had planted, ending up with a field of clover.  So I came across this eco lawn stuff and was wondering if anyone had any input.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!!!

Now that the weather is getting warmer and rainy, I'll watch for them.  That's when they seemed to come out last year, but I haven't seen any so far this spring. When I do, I'll post a picture.

Does anybody know of anypossible bug or critter that infected Northeastern lawns recently (last year or so)?  We just relocated to south eastermn MA end of last summer.  The yard at the new house was a mess, lots of weeds and stuff, but I decided to put it off til this spring. I had planned on just bringing in some topsoil but financially that just really isn't possible right now,and after investigating what I could buy by the tuckload, the soil I've already got looks much betterthan what they had to offer .
    So this week I raked off all the pine needles, leaves, etc. There are huge bare areas where weeds had been thriving last summer. At first I figured it must have been a case of neglect and bad soil, but as I started poking around, the soil doesn't seem bad, a little sandy, but not bad. I'm trying to locate an extension office to have a soil test done.
    In the meantime I got to thinking about little things I noticed last fall: lots of little holes in the yard, too small I think though for moles or chipmunks although we do have some of the latter. We have some earthworms and a lot of these little tiny things that are the size and color of worms but look more like snakes. We also had quite a few normal snakes. We live in a very wooded area so I guess that's normal.
    Everyone around here seems to either not pay any attention to their lawns, or uses Chemlawn (which I absolutely refuse to do).  I want to make sure I correct any issues with the soil, critters, etc. before I plant seed.  I am so unfamiliar with the soils and such here, but I also don't want to spend the whole summer without any grass for the kids to play on while I get my bearings. So if anyone can shed some light on any of this, it would be greatly appreciated. And is there a particular grass that does better in this slightly sandy soil?
Thanks!!!
Alison

Thanks!!! I have to say, I was feeling the same way about the drain field... but had lots of people telling me to go ahead.  I think I'll try your suggestion of the whiskey barrels around other areas of the yard, I guess there's really no reason my garden has to be in one part of the yard. 

I have a couple silly questions! In the past our composting was always just done in a big pile somewhere out of the way, because we lived out in the country and that worked fine.  Now however, we have moved into a neighborhood. We have limited useable space in the back yard and a lot of shade.  The previous owners left a pen of sorts that was probably used for chickens or rabbits for 4h, and I'd like to take that and convert it to a composting area.  It would be large enough to have 3 piles going at once. My question is... it is somewhat shady, will that affect how hot my pile gets? 

My second question is this... I'd like to put in a garden next year. The problem is that usable ground is again a problem. We live in the middle of cranberry bogs so I am concerned about pesticide runoff, there is also a  huge drainage ditch running along one side of the property which I'm sure has added all kinds of awful stuff to the ground.  The only real spot I have sits on top of the drainage field for our septic tank.  Any ideas of any kind of raised beds I could put in that would be economical as well as not allowing any of the yuckies in the ground to contaminate the produce? Or am I just being overly paranoid?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!