Lawn Facts:

Currently, 80 % of adult homeowners have a lawn. As of 2008, there were 50 million acres of lawn in the U.S. 

It occupies more land than any irrigated crop.

Lawn care is a 30 billion dollar industry. We are constantly hit with marketing to cause us to become involved in green grass envy.

Lawn care requires 800 million gallons of gasoline and 70 million lbs of chemicals per year

The chemical run-off from our lawns is one of the reasons for the 200 dead zones in the ocean today. (BTW, that has increased from 149 to 200 in only 5 years!)

Average annual rainfall is approximately 9.9 inches per year on the coast in San Diego County.

Marathon sod requires 4-6” per week!

Our landscapes use up 65-70% of our water consumption. Most of that is due to our lawn.

Things you can do TODAY to help.

1. Stop using chemical fertilizers. Insist that your gardeners do the same and leave lawn clippings on your lawn.

This will decrease the need for nitrogen by 50 %!  

2. Improve your soil by aerating and add organics (humate, aged manure, worm castings, grass clippings)

so the roots can get longer, therefore requiring less water.

3. Check your irrigation.  Lower your watering times. Right now (May/June) with the cooler temps and gray days, 2 times per week for 10-12 min. is enough.

Never water more than 3 days per week…ever.

4. Remove the little strips of lawn close to the sidewalk. Adjust the irrigation and install low-water plants instead.

This will eliminate water run-off.

 5. Look for products with mycorrhizae in it (good bacteria and fungi).

Better Grass choices for San Diego County:

Seashore paspalum,    Zoysia ‘Victoria’ ,   St Augustine