CELEBRATING 26 YEARS! Welcome to my weekly series! THE LANDSCAPE ASK PROFESSIONAL Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs Linda K. Lillie has been President of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc. for the last 26 years. She is a graduate of Connecticut College in Botany, an accredited NOFA Organic Land Care Professional, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national award winning landscape designer for her design and installation projects. I have heard that Sprigs & Twigs has an Organic Lawn Care Program and I'd like to know more about it. My husband puts down bags of stuff on our lawn and I'm worried he's doing something harmful? Thank you, Kathy Hello Kathy- (This is Part 3 of my answer to your question) Sprigs & Twigs offers the only true, 100% Organic Lawn Care Program in the area; we would be happy to visit with you and explain it in more detail. while it is fashionable for other companies to claim they do "organic" lawn care, it is often boastful marketing because they almost always include synthetic chemicals. #3 Using high nitrogen chemical fertilization in the summer rather that organic lawn care helps weeds more than the turf grass. In this region, cool season turf grasses predominate. These grasses grow best in the cooler months of the spring and the fall. In the heat of the summer, they go dormant. Summer application of high nitrogen, synthetic chemical fertilizers over-stimulates and forces rapid grass growth during periods when grass is trying to go dormant to store energy. Weeds on the other hand, are warm season plants that love to be fertilized in the heat of the summer. # 4 Using a chemical lawn care program to create a lush green lawn that is the envy of your neighbors is creating a chemical "dump" in your lawn that causes cancer and other health problem in your pets and a growing concern for people as well. There are numerous studies by respected researchers and universities that confirm the undeniable link between lawn herbicides and pesticides and dog cancers. In future articles, I'll address other aspects of why organic lawn care is the only way to go. Sprigs & Twigs is especially proud that a large number of our staff are Accredited Organic Land Care professionals (AOLCPS) who have passed the rigorous NOFA training program. CONTINUED NEXT WEEK... Sprigs &wigs EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO: info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie, Sprigs & Twigs Inc, PO Box 245, Gales Ferry, CT 06335 best SPRIGS & TWIGS VOTED THE BEST BY DAY READERS EVERY YEARI CELEBRATING 26 YEARS! Welcome to my weekly series! THE LANDSCAPE ASK PROFESSIONAL Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs Linda K. Lillie has been President of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc. for the last 26 years. She is a graduate of Connecticut College in Botany, an accredited NOFA Organic Land Care Professional, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national award winning landscape designer for her design and installation projects. I have heard that Sprigs & Twigs has an Organic Lawn Care Program and I'd like to know more about it. My husband puts down bags of stuff on our lawn and I'm worried he's doing something harmful? Thank you, Kathy Hello Kathy- (This is Part 3 of my answer to your question) Sprigs & Twigs offers the only true, 100% Organic Lawn Care Program in the area; we would be happy to visit with you and explain it in more detail. while it is fashionable for other companies to claim they do "organic" lawn care, it is often boastful marketing because they almost always include synthetic chemicals. #3 Using high nitrogen chemical fertilization in the summer rather that organic lawn care helps weeds more than the turf grass. In this region, cool season turf grasses predominate. These grasses grow best in the cooler months of the spring and the fall. In the heat of the summer, they go dormant. Summer application of high nitrogen, synthetic chemical fertilizers over-stimulates and forces rapid grass growth during periods when grass is trying to go dormant to store energy. Weeds on the other hand, are warm season plants that love to be fertilized in the heat of the summer. # 4 Using a chemical lawn care program to create a lush green lawn that is the envy of your neighbors is creating a chemical "dump" in your lawn that causes cancer and other health problem in your pets and a growing concern for people as well. There are numerous studies by respected researchers and universities that confirm the undeniable link between lawn herbicides and pesticides and dog cancers. In future articles, I'll address other aspects of why organic lawn care is the only way to go. Sprigs & Twigs is especially proud that a large number of our staff are Accredited Organic Land Care professionals (AOLCPS) who have passed the rigorous NOFA training program. CONTINUED NEXT WEEK... Sprigs &wigs EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO: info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie, Sprigs & Twigs Inc, PO Box 245, Gales Ferry, CT 06335 best SPRIGS & TWIGS VOTED THE BEST BY DAY READERS EVERY YEARI