Green and Clean

Reported October 2005

SAN FRANCISCO (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Most people love the look of a lush, green lawn, but if you have kids you probably worry about using pesticides and chemicals to keep it that way. Now there are alternatives to chemicals that will keep your lawn green and clean.

It's one of the greenest, prettiest, best golf courses in the country, and now, San Francisco's Harding Park is on the PGA tour. It made the list even though it uses fewer chemicals and pesticides than any other PGA course in the country.

The golf course is part of San Francisco's pest management program that applies to all city courses and parks. Chris Geiger, Ph.D., entomologist and the toxics reduction coordinator for San Francisco's Environment Department, says, "In its simplest form that means better safe than sorry."

The city is using ingenious ways to keep its grass green. Groundskeepers use microbes to knock out fungus and soap to get rid of weeds. They hand pluck wild daisies, flush out moles with hoses, and use traps to catch cockroaches.

The Souza family uses the same chemical-free principle the Harding Park uses. Homeowner Negar Souza says, "If our children were playing outside if they touched around their mouth put their fingers in their mouths, [I fear] they would ingest something that would be harmful to them."

Geiger says the following steps will keep your lawn safe and green. First, test your soil to ensure proper nutrient balance. Choose the right variety of grass for your climate. Check for proper drainage. Aerate once a year. Leave grass clippings, and use the one-third rule -- mowing only the top one-third of the grass.

"Prevention is absolutely the key," he says. And if you manage your lawn well, it'll out-compete many weeds -- pesticide free. San Francisco has one of the toughest pesticide-reduction laws in the country. In the past 10 years, San Francisco has reduced its pesticide use by 70 percent.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

San Francisco Environment Department
11 Grove Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 355-3700
environment@sfgov.org

Recycling Hotline
(415) 554-7329





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