This past Tuesday I sent a letter to my landscaper. I was too wimpy to make the phone call. Plus, Jose speaks primarily Spanish and communication is difficult. I made him aware in the letter that I am "going organic" and don't need his services anymore. I hope he receives the letter and doesn't one day show up this or next month! I'll assume for now I'm safe.
Anyway, after I sent the letter, I felt an enormous sense of freedom. Freedom from chemicals, freedom from having plants chopped down that I requested he not chop down, freedom from worrying about my kids playing in the chemical ridden grass, freedom from worrying about the lack of bugs and worms in my yard. Freedom from worrying about touching the soil when I'm planting bulbs and such.
So anyway, that freedom feeling has partly dissipated . It's not that I'm afraid to do work. I love the idea of burning calories. It's just that I don't like not knowing what I'm supposed to be doing. I started doing some research on lawn care which made me realize it's not as simple as I had thought. The more I investigate, the more I realize the more I need to know. Maintaining a lawn requires more than mowing. I've researched the web, took out a book on organic lawn care that I'm currently reading and also took out a DVD. It turns out that you must test the soil, figure out the type of grass you want, aerate it if you're good and strong, treat it with compost etc. etc. in what order I don't know yet. But there definitely seems to be some type of order.
I have also learned going organic is like taking an addict off drugs. No more nitrogen fertilizer, no more pesticide. No more quick and easy solutions. The lawn has to get used to being taken off the drugs. Unfortunately, it must get worse before it gets better. I haven't told my husband this part yet. He's not going to like it.
Anyway, this is what I have done so far: Researched lawns and organic lawn care, planted hyacinth bulbs that I should have planted in the fall. They've already sprouted so I hope they survive. Researched mowers and spoken "shop" with my neighbor who is a do-it-yourselfer. I also bought grass seed that supposedly grows slowly and doesn't require as much water than normal grass seed. I hope it fits in with the rest of the lawn. I personally don't care if it does but Ed will. I've been growing annuals from seed in my living room which I will then transplant to the garden. Bachelor Buttons, two types of zinnias, sunflowers, "convolvulus", poppies, three different types of cosmos, coreopsis (which have never worked for me) and the perennial butterfly flower, asclepias tuberosa. I think a couple of others that I can't recall as well. Overall, they're doing pretty well so far.
So basically, I have several different gardening areas but the main three are: the raised garden area in front of the house, the lawn, and the butterfly garden on the side. Last year, I kind of neglected the butterfly garden after school was out because I had no need to go that way - to get to the school bus - and it grew over the sidewalk. We couldn't contain it. I tried, Ed tried but to no avail. I'm not sure what to do with it now. It's all been chopped off but I'm sure once it gets warmer, plants will sprout. Then there will be mayhem. Well, maybe this year I'll pay more attention to it. As for the butterflies, maybe we saw three. But the bees loved it!
Now I need to form a plan before this all gets out of control. I need to finish reading , get the soil tested, put mulch under the big bush/tree in the corner of the lawn so weeds don't grow underneath. I have to also research blackberries because we have an out-of-control vine and I'm not sure if i should cut it or not. Does the fruit grow on old growth, new growth or both? Plus, I realized that maybe the bulbs I planted in the backyard for two years in a row now by the fence may not have survived because I planted shade loving plants but the area seems to be getting quite a bit of sun. I thought the lack of growth was due to chemicals. Maybe it's a combo.
So that's what I'm up to now. I will follow up on more details when there are some.
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