MM: Something I was pondering during my 700 miles of driving was, in the convergent and dull "green lawn" mentality of white bread amerika, there's an inordinate prejudice against any plant in the yard that's not grass, which then all get lumped into a category labeled WEEDS, which then further merit whatever draconian methods of chemical warfare are necessary to eliminate them ... and the end result is a toxic micro-environment of our own doing. The off-the-shelf poisons that are marketed freely are as ample as they are scary. How do we curb this mindless predisposition toward toxic lawns?
DG: Your view of the mentality of white bread amerika is right on. One of the (many) villains is the lawn care company. They hoodwink folks into these "programs" which include unnecessary spraying on a regular basis of insecticide, way too much fertilizer, grub "control," and so on. After leaving a couple job sites when the sprayers came in and started their work, I decided that I would not, or have my employees, crawling around in the gardens that have been sprayed by chemicals. Although when enlightened, most people understand the needlessness (and expense) of these chemical applications, not to mention the hazards to our health and the health of the ecosystem, they want to end these programs. HOWEVER, there is a mentality out there....just go to Home Depot on a weekend in the spring and see all the people buying grub control, chemical fertilizers, etc. ... as if they'd been HYPNOTIZED. Zombie Grub Killers.
MM: Lawn care companies ... the name says it all: CHEMLAWN! Whatever. The word WEED is an emotionally (irrationally) charged word .
Anyhow, welcome to my world. Time to go kills some grubs. Or maybe give them some love instead? Huh?
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