Spring Lawn Care: Chemical Control Or Let Weeds Grow? [Block Talk]

Meteorological spring started March 1 and the astronomical start of spring is a couple of weeks away with the March equinox on the 20th.

However, the spring lawn-care season may have been on your neighbors’ minds for weeks as they plan how they’re going to make their yards greener with fewer weeds — or if they’re going to take a chemical-free approach and pull weeds as they pop up or cut them along with the grass.

We’re surveying readers on that for Block Talk, Patch’s exclusive neighborhood etiquette column, but first, here are some things to know:

Tidy lawns are woven into the post-World War II culture and achievement of “the American Dream” of homeownership. They are an outward signal the families living inside are prosperous, take pride in their property and have a strong work ethic.

Lush, green lawns often come at a cost, though.

Multiple peer-reviewed studies link the use of residential pesticides and herbicides to childhood leukemia, neurological disorders and other health problems. Research also shows no lawn chemical is completely risk-free.

It’s possible to mitigate the harm of lawn chemicals. The Baton Rouge (Louisiana) Clinic advises wearing gloves, a long-sleeved shirt and pants, socks and closed-toe shoes, a face mask and safety glasses when mixing or applying chemicals.

To limit the environmental harm of lawn chemicals, apply only at recommended levels. Overapplication of any lawn chemical can result in runoff that carries toxic levels of chemicals or excessive nutrients into lakes, streams and groundwater, the Environmental Protection Agency says.

The agency recommends composting, which creates a slow-release natural fertilizer and soil-enhancing materials; the use of organic lawn chemical alternatives; and landscaping with native plants.

Whether they use consumer-grade chemicals or organic equivalents, neighbors with tidy green lawns may look disparagingly at the puffy dandelion head about to throw seeds to the winds or the creeping charlie heading more aggressively than its name suggests toward their yard.

It’s natural and not unattractive, a neighbor who embraces the tiny purple flowers of the ground ivy might argue. Say that person with the weedy lot is the lone holdout in a neighborhoodwide lawn beautification campaign, or just the established way of doing things.

Is that inconsiderate, drawing a neighborhood battle line or one property owner exercising their rights with an environmental statement?

Now, take our informal survey. As always, you can count on Patch not to collect your email address.

About Block Talk

Block Talk is an exclusive Patch series on neighborhood etiquette — and readers provide the answers. If you have a topic you'd like for us to consider, email beth.dalbey@patch.com with “Block Talk” as the subject line.

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