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Natural Chemicals

So you want a lush, green lawn and a gorgeous, colorful garden but you don’t want to douse your yard with chemicals in the process. What to do?

It’s no longer tough to find natural lawn care products, since most products now have natural or organic alternatives and many nurseries carry them. The demand for organic products has grown in recent years, as people learn more about the dangers that chemically laden pesticides and herbicides pose to their pets, children, wildlife, water supplies and the environment in general. One recent study, published in the Annals of Neurology, even tied regular exposure to pesticides to a 70 percent increased risk for Parkinson’s disease.

But using organic products is only part of the solution. To reduce the need for pest control and fertilizers, experts say you should plan a natural lawn from the get-go. Start by preparing the soil properly, choosing indigenous plants and grasses and watering smartly (at the roots and in the early morning or overnight). Introduce beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, that will eat pests you don’t want around. And remember that when you use products that kill bugs, you are killing the good along with the bad.

The city of Seattle is trying to lead the way in natural lawn care, by steering people to natural products and the nurseries that carry them. The city’s Public Utilities department recently compiled a list of area nurseries that sell chemical-free alternatives to pesticides.

For more information about natural products and natural lawn care practices, please click here.

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To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org