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symplastless wrote:

To winterize or not to winterize lawn

"Winterize your lawn", the big sign outside the garden store commanded. I've
fed it, watered it, mowed it, raked it and watched a lot of it die away. Now
I'm supposed to winterize it? I hope it's too late. Grass lawns have to be
the stupidest thing we've come up with outside of a thong swimsuits! We
constantly battle dandelions, Queen's lace, thistle, violets, chicory and
clover that thrive naturally, so we can grow grass that must be nursed
through an annual four-step chemical dependency.

Imagine the conversation The Creator might have with St. Francis about this:

"Frank you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on
down there in the Midwest? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle
and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan.
Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with
abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracted butterflies,
honeybees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors
by now. But all I see are these green rectangles."

" It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites.

They started calling your flowers "weeds" and went to great extent to kill
them and replace them with grass".

" Grass? But its so boring. Its not colorful. It doesn't attract
butterflies, birds and bees, Only grubs and sod worms. Its' temperamental
with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that green grass
growing there?

" Apparently so, Lord, They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green.
They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poising any other plant that
crops up in the lawn".

" The spring rains and cool weather probably make grass grow really fast.
That must make the Suburbanites happy".

" Not exactly, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it-sometimes
twice a week".

" They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?"

" Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags."

" They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?"

" No, sir. Just the opposite. They pay to throw it away".

" Now let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow. And
when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?"

" Yes, sir."

" These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the
rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot
of work."

" You aren't going to believe this Lord. When the grass stops growing so
fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can
continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it."

" What nonsense! At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer
stroke of genius,

if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty
an d shade in the summer . In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a
natural blanket

to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they
rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of
life."

" You better sit down, Lord. The suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As
soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and have them
hauled away."

" No! What do they do to protect the shrub and the tree roots in the winter
and keep the soil moist and loose?"

" After throwing away your leaves, they go out and buy something they call
mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in the place of leaves."

" and where do they get this mulch?"

" They cut down trees and grind them up."

"Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore. Saint Catherine, you're
in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?"

" Dumb and Dumber, Lord. It's a real stupid movie about.

" Never mind I think I just heard the whole story."

anonymous

this is precious, simply precious...

On Oct 7, 5:36 am, Jim wrote:
symplastless wrote:

To winterize or not to winterize lawn
snip

this is precious, simply precious

Yeah. I have seen that several times over the years and there is so
much truth to it. I see that the annual 'what to use to bag leaves'
threads have started over alt.home.repair. Even after they have been
told the simple way is to mow/mulch em, they still go on about buying
fancy equipment to vacuum them up.

Harry K

Harry K wrote:

Jim wrote:
symplastless wrote:

To winterize or not to winterize lawn
snip

this is precious, simply precious

Yeah. I have seen that several times over the years and there is so
much truth to it. I see that the annual 'what to use to bag leaves'
threads have started over alt.home.repair. Even after they have been
told the simple way is to mow/mulch em, they still go on about buying
fancy equipment to vacuum them up.

Harry K

http://www.milkyspore.com/

I've been trying to move my customers towards organic methods.
triple shred, putting leaves through the shredder three times
produces some dense mulch. with the new and deeper understanding
acquired recently for how many of the selective herbicides and
insecticides as well as improper or incorrect applications of
nitrogen actually have a great negative impact on the environment
as well as the ground water, I've decided it is now time to make
some changes concerning how the suburbanites acquire and obtain
the lawns they desire.

in short, if the chemical bonds with the soil at the molecular
particle level then that chemical is removed from my list of
what is acceptable to use. the list is getting short.

Jim

Jim wrote:
Harry K wrote:

Jim wrote:
symplastless wrote:

To winterize or not to winterize lawn
snip
this is precious, simply precious
Yeah. I have seen that several times over the years and there is so
much truth to it. I see that the annual 'what to use to bag leaves'
threads have started over alt.home.repair. Even after they have been
told the simple way is to mow/mulch em, they still go on about buying
fancy equipment to vacuum them up.

Harry K

http://www.milkyspore.com/

I've been trying to move my customers towards organic methods.
triple shred, putting leaves through the shredder three times
produces some dense mulch. with the new and deeper understanding
acquired recently for how many of the selective herbicides and
insecticides as well as improper or incorrect applications of
nitrogen actually have a great negative impact on the environment
as well as the ground water, I've decided it is now time to make
some changes concerning how the suburbanites acquire and obtain
the lawns they desire.

in short, if the chemical bonds with the soil at the molecular
particle level then that chemical is removed from my list of
what is acceptable to use. the list is getting short.

Jim
We cut the grass with a bush hog a couple of times a year whether it
needs it or not. I ain't raking no leaves or riding or pushing a lawn
mower even if you pay me gold standard to do it.. The birds love the
thistles that grow in the back yard. I've found that you don't need
bird feeders to attract them, just let the natural flora grow up and the
birds will flock to it to get the seeds and nectar (humming birds love
phlox and other sweet smelling flowers.. The birds planted mulberry
trees and currant bushes and black raspberries all over the property
around the edges of our woods..They have done more to benefit the
property and myself(I love berry jam) than any stinkin' lawnmower
would.I don't use herbicide or pesticide on anything. It's not nice to
poison plants and animals. I do live on a farm, and don't worry about
what my neighbors think of my lack of grass cutting.. The leaves rot
down and disintegrate by themselves under the trees. The wells out here
in farm country tend to wind up contaminated by the over zealous
application of herbicide and pesticide, and I for one don't want to add
that crap to the water I pull up out of the ground that I have to drink.
Quite a few of the private wells out here are contaminated with Alachor/
the breakdown product of the Herbicide Lasso. It is carcinogenic and
once it is in the groundwater it takes a long time to dissipate..

Harry K wrote:
On Oct 7, 5:36 am, Jim wrote:
symplastless wrote:

To winterize or not to winterize lawn
snip
this is precious, simply precious

Yeah. I have seen that several times over the years and there is so
much truth to it. I see that the annual 'what to use to bag leaves'
threads have started over alt.home.repair. Even after they have been
told the simple way is to mow/mulch em, they still go on about buying
fancy equipment to vacuum them up.

Harry K

What do you do when there is a 3 foot layer of leaves?

Grizzly wrote:

Jim wrote:
Harry K wrote:
Jim wrote:
symplastless wrote:

To winterize or not to winterize lawn
snip
this is precious, simply precious
Yeah. I have seen that several times over the years and there is so
much truth to it. I see that the annual 'what to use to bag leaves'
threads have started over alt.home.repair. Even after they have been
told the simple way is to mow/mulch em, they still go on about buying
fancy equipment to vacuum them up.

Harry K

http://www.milkyspore.com/

I've been trying to move my customers towards organic methods.
triple shred, putting leaves through the shredder three times
produces some dense mulch. with the new and deeper understanding
acquired recently for how many of the selective herbicides and
insecticides as well as improper or incorrect applications of
nitrogen actually have a great negative impact on the environment
as well as the ground water, I've decided it is now time to make
some changes concerning how the suburbanites acquire and obtain
the lawns they desire.

in short, if the chemical bonds with the soil at the molecular
particle level then that chemical is removed from my list of
what is acceptable to use. the list is getting short.

Jim
We cut the grass with a bush hog a couple of times a year whether it
needs it or not. I ain't raking no leaves or riding or pushing a lawn
mower even if you pay me gold standard to do it.. The birds love the
thistles that grow in the back yard. I've found that you don't need
bird feeders to attract them, just let the natural flora grow up and the
birds will flock to it to get the seeds and nectar (humming birds love
phlox and other sweet smelling flowers.. The birds planted mulberry
trees and currant bushes and black raspberries all over the property
around the edges of our woods..They have done more to benefit the
property and myself(I love berry jam) than any stinkin' lawnmower
would.I don't use herbicide or pesticide on anything. It's not nice to
poison plants and animals. I do live on a farm, and don't worry about
what my neighbors think of my lack of grass cutting.. The leaves rot
down and disintegrate by themselves under the trees. The wells out here
in farm country tend to wind up contaminated by the over zealous
application of herbicide and pesticide, and I for one don't want to add
that crap to the water I pull up out of the ground that I have to drink.
Quite a few of the private wells out here are contaminated with Alachor/
the breakdown product of the Herbicide Lasso. It is carcinogenic and
once it is in the groundwater it takes a long time to dissipate..

I'm glad you understand all this stuff. spread the word so others can also
begin the slow and long process of gaining an understanding.

Good Job Grizzly!

peace be with you,
Jim

On Oct 7, 3:17 pm, wrote:
Harry K wrote:
On Oct 7, 5:36 am, Jim wrote:
symplastless wrote:

To winterize or not to winterize lawn
snip
this is precious, simply precious

Yeah. I have seen that several times over the years and there is so
much truth to it. I see that the annual 'what to use to bag leaves'
threads have started over alt.home.repair. Even after they have been
told the simple way is to mow/mulch em, they still go on about buying
fancy equipment to vacuum them up.

Harry K

What do you do when there is a 3 foot layer of leaves?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Raise the mower deck and mow away. Would take several passes but when
done the leaves will have disappeared...or rather what shows will
disapear in a few days. I haven't done 3ft but have done 1 ft.

Methinks you exagerate a bit with the 3 foot layer.

You want to waste your time and valuable soil amendment by raking,
bagging and thowing away, be my guest but don't knock a sensible
method of dealing with leaves.

Harry K
Harry K

Jim wrote:
symplastless wrote:
To winterize or not to winterize lawn

"Winterize your lawn", the big sign outside the garden store commanded. I've
fed it, watered it, mowed it, raked it and watched a lot of it die away. Now
I'm supposed to winterize it? I hope it's too late. Grass lawns have to be
the stupidest thing we've come up with outside of a thong swimsuits!

Hold on. Thong swimsuits aren't stupid. They might be
stupid on you, but they're not stupid he
http://www.microkitten.com/

Rudy Canoza wrote:
Jim wrote:
symplastless wrote:
To winterize or not to winterize lawn

"Winterize your lawn", the big sign outside the garden store
commanded. I've
fed it, watered it, mowed it, raked it and watched a lot of it die
away. Now
I'm supposed to winterize it? I hope it's too late. Grass lawns have
to be
the stupidest thing we've come up with outside of a thong swimsuits!

Hold on. Thong swimsuits aren't stupid. They might be stupid on you,
but they're not stupid he http://www.microkitten.com/

Lawdy Miss Clawdy...