Got a lawn? Think green

May 21, 2010 · Posted in Environment · 1 Comment 

Yes,  homeowners,  it’s time to think about your lawn. If you need a big patch for kids and dogs to romp on, make sure they’re not getting a dose of pesticides along with the fresh air.

Here’s a story by the Camera’s Mark Collins  on how to take care of your big green expanse.

Brad Wolfe of Organo-Lawn sprays clove oil, a natural weed killer, on a lawn in north Boulder.

If you haven’t cut your lawn by now, you’re probably walking through calf-high grass. Spring has sprung, and the following are tips to green up your lawn care habits this year.

Weed early

When it comes to attacking unwanted weeds, “the sooner the better,” said Brad Wolfe, owner of Boulder’s Organo-Lawn lawn care company. “The longer you wait, the more hardened the weeds get.”
Wolfe’s company is the first in the area to use an organic weed control product, One Earth Weed Control.
Wolfe said Organo-Lawn was instrumental in making the organic clove-based product a selective weed-control product.

“That means it will kill the weeds, but not the grass (upon application),” Wolfe said.
He said the product works quickly on many types of weeds.
“It will kill certain thistle and dandelion in no time,” Wolfe said. 

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Electric lawnmower convert

May 10, 2010 · Posted in G.I.Y. · Comments Off 

Hey! It’s a guest post from Camera editorial page editor Erika Stutzman.

Erika

This weekend, we took advantage of a program that swaps carbon-meanie gasoline-powered lawnmowers for small, efficient electric ones.

We have a small yard; we leave the grass clippings mulch to keep them out of landfills. We have an organic garden that feeds us. We are persnickety about our water usage here in the dry American West, using as little as possible and only in the cool of early morning or late evenings.

But yes, our mower was powered by gasoline. Even last summer, when gasoline cost about $100 a gallon. Because in addition to trying to be green, we are also thrifty. The mower was from the 1970s and was a hand-me-down from our children’s grandpa; it was too small to be very useful (except for small yards, like ours) and it took some serious muscle power, as it was both old, and a push mower.

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Green Drinks Boulder at Outlook Hotel

April 27, 2010 · Posted in Environment · 1 Comment 

Boulder’s first zero-waste hotel-slash-blues venue hosted April’s Green Drinks Boulder event, and it turned out to be a great spot for hanging out with enviro-folks.

Boulder Outlook Hotel and Suites has that distinct swimming-pool smell when you first enter, but two things help you get past that: one, the pool is heated by the sun, which is awesome, and two, you’re headed into the Blues and Greens bar anyway, where the smell won’t follow you. Instead, you can grab an Avery IPA and some conversation, which is precisely what I did.

Green Drinks Boulder: John and Rick

John, left, and Rick.

Happily, I quickly met up with a familiar face in Rick, who wasted no time in introducing me to John DeFilippi, owner of ecoLogical Lawn Care. We chatted about the recent dandelion protests. John says that there’s no quick solution to dandelions, rather that it takes time to build up a good, thick grass — unless you want to go the chemical route.

As for Rick, we discovered we’re neighbors. Maybe he’ll check out my new neighborhood blog. (Wow. I must be breaking nerd records here, somewhere.)

Soon it was time for our fearless leaders to pick winners for fine prizes, like $50 to Organic Dish, which is another reason you ought to come hang out (as if you needed more than the chance of meeting swell people, as I did this month, and at Green Drinks Boulder’s January and February meet-ups). Read more

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