That was Paul Tukey's motto back in the early 90's when he had a thriving lawn-care business in Maine. He used pesticides and chemical fertilizers on the lawns of his 800 customers and has never made as much money as he did then. But in 1994, after developing blurry vision, nosebleeds and cold sweats, he was diagnosed with acute pesticide poisoning. And that was the end of his mow, blow and go days. Now he's running Safelawns.org, a nonprofit that teaches organic lawn care to a growing audience of consumers who want a better, safer way to treat their lawns and gardens.
Paul, who grew up on a dairy farm in Maine and still lives outside Portland with his family, is the author of a new book (The Organic Lawn Care Manual) and one of dozens of folks giving lectures and culinary demonstrations here at the Flower Show. Topics include, on the horticulture side, flower arranging and ikebana and, on the culinary side, spicy Cuban cuisine and heart-healthy vegetarian fare.
Great stuff. Strikes me that Paul is yet another person here who's talking about changing the way we live so we use fewer precious resources (like water) and fewer synthetic products (like pesticides). The alternatives for lawns - using compost, organic fertilizers, drought-resistant plantings and less grass - are no longer obscure, or hard to buy or do. And they're a whole lot safer.
With spring coming, the lawn Olympics will be gearing up. Lots to think about.
Comments (2)
As a newcomer to Philadelphia with a handkerchief-size center city garden to create from a concreted over patch (the jackhammer will arrive shortly!) I was enormously looking forward to the famous Philadelphia flower show as a source of ideas and most of all growers and nurseries in this part of the country. I expected them all to be there with their catalogs at the ready and their gorgeous displays of the plants in which they specialize and the new introductions for 2007, etc. What a huge disappointment!
I was astounded at how much this was not a show for gardeners. I expected the US version of Chelsea and it is so not that. (I'm from Boston and New York - where I've also had gardens - but I lived and gardened in England for a number of years.) Why is the Philadelphia show so devoid of real gardening information. Only one display came close. Bulbs from a grower called Jacques something. No catalog available. WHERE ARE THE NURSERIES? Does the show not encourage their participation?
Even the venerable White Flower Farm wasn't represented. What's going on?
Posted by Beverly S Martin | March 8, 2007 8:04 AM
Posted on March 8, 2007 08:04
I think your readers should re-read that first paragraph. To casually toss of Paul Tukey's problems with the buzz phrase "acute pesticide poisoning" misses the point. America is conditioned to dump tons, and tons, and tons of this horrible in-organic matter onto our lawns in the hopes that their lawns look like the air brushed pictures in Better Homes and Gardens. And, tons, and tons, and tons of that inundated chemical nightmare wash right off our lawns and right into our water system, estuaries and food supply. This is an enormous problem and a serious health risk. Read what one man working a few lawns a week went through "blurry vision, nosebleeds and cold sweats" and multiply that nationwide.
We are polluting ourselves when we are polluting our environment and the idea that "it's just my lawn" and is just my business is not accurate. "What difference does one person make" - well that's just unaware thinking. I have news for everyone - WE ALL MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE and it's a huge difference when everyone thinks and acts the same.
Needless to say I've gone organic on my lawn because I can't stand the idea that I as an individual am polluting the water ways that I love, the creatures that I adore, and the food that I cherish and put back into my system (my body).
Nothing is separate it is all connected from the cigarette butts tossed out of windows, to the tailpipes of our cars, to the pesticides on our lawns. It's all just one big system we are a part of, and it all comes back home to roost in the air we breath, the water we drink and the food we eat. Each one of us has to care and care a lot to right this ship and change the perception that we stand apart from nature and the Earth somehow and realize fully how totally and completely integrated we in fact are. What each of us does matters a lot to everything.
Posted by Paul Burke | March 8, 2007 10:18 AM
Posted on March 8, 2007 10:18