CELEBRATING 26 YEARS! Welcome to My weekly series! THE LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONAL Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs ASKI 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. Dear Linda, 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 2 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. Over the last 70 years, billions of marketing dollars have been spent fostering the vision of a perfect lawn that is the envy of the neighborhood. Applying synthetic chemicals to lawns began just after World War II when chemical companies shifted their focus from wartime chemical production to synthetic chemical lawn care products. Today every spring, homeowners begin the annual process of applying bags of "4-step" lawn care product or hiring a chemical application company. Although this lawn care approach is simple and easy, most people have no idea what is being put on their lawns. In fact, many lawn care companies have no idea what they are putting on their customers' lawns or why - just ask them. People naturally presume that lawn care products are safe since they are being applied or sold by a well-known brand or company. On the contrary, some lawn care products can be downright harmful to you, your children, pets, neighborhood and the environment. Let's take a closer look at the drawbacks of synthetic chemical lawn care programs: #1 Synthetic chemical fertilizers apply heavy doses of nitrogen to the soil, which is a waste of your money because only 30-35% of synthetic lawn fertilizers ever reach the grass roots. The rest leaches through the soil and creates major pollution problems in streams, lakes and drinking water supplies. of the synthetic fertilizer that does reach the grass plants, it is still too much for the grass to properly utilize. In future articles, I'll address other aspects of why organic lawn care is the only way to go. CONTINUED NEXT WEEK... 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. Sprigs &wigs EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO: info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie, Sprigs & Twigs Inc, PO Box 245, Gales Ferry, CT 06335 SPRICS & TWIGS VOTED THE BEST BY DAY READERS EVERY YEAR! WWW.SPRIGSANDTWIGS.NET CELEBRATING 26 YEARS ! Welcome to My weekly series ! THE LANDSCAPE PROFESSIONAL Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs ASKI 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 . Dear Linda , 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 2 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 . Over the last 70 years , billions of marketing dollars have been spent fostering the vision of a perfect lawn that is the envy of the neighborhood . Applying synthetic chemicals to lawns began just after World War II when chemical companies shifted their focus from wartime chemical production to synthetic chemical lawn care products . Today every spring , homeowners begin the annual process of applying bags of " 4 - step " lawn care product or hiring a chemical application company . Although this lawn care approach is simple and easy , most people have no idea what is being put on their lawns . In fact , many lawn care companies have no idea what they are putting on their customers ' lawns or why - just ask them . People naturally presume that lawn care products are safe since they are being applied or sold by a well - known brand or company . On the contrary , some lawn care products can be downright harmful to you , your children , pets , neighborhood and the environment . Let's take a closer look at the drawbacks of synthetic chemical lawn care programs : # 1 Synthetic chemical fertilizers apply heavy doses of nitrogen to the soil , which is a waste of your money because only 30-35 % of synthetic lawn fertilizers ever reach the grass roots . The rest leaches through the soil and creates major pollution problems in streams , lakes and drinking water supplies . of the synthetic fertilizer that does reach the grass plants , it is still too much for the grass to properly utilize . In future articles , I'll address other aspects of why organic lawn care is the only way to go . CONTINUED NEXT WEEK ... 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 . Sprigs & wigs EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO : info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie , Sprigs & Twigs Inc , PO Box 245 , Gales Ferry , CT 06335 SPRICS & TWIGS VOTED THE BEST BY DAY READERS EVERY YEAR ! WWW.SPRIGSANDTWIGS.NET