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Go green and clean
A guide to animal-friendly lawn care
by Andy Lopez

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If your lawn is in a shady area, it will require accurate watering controls. In northern areas that are semi-arid and inter-mountain, try Kentucky bluegrass blended with a fine fescue. In the south, plant a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and any type of fescue blend where watering is not critical. Any one of these varieties will not harm your animals if they decide to eat some.

Northern climate lawn owners should use sod or seed mixtures rather than a single variety. Kentucky bluegrass, fescue, perennial ryegrass and tall fescue varieties make excellent mixtures.

Kentucky bluegrass
This variety is heat and drought tolerant, and has greater insect and disease resistance.

Perennial ryegrass
Versatile as a lawn, this grass germinates rapidly, and when mixed with Kentucky bluegrasses will help the new lawn establish faster.

Fine fescues
Creeping red fescue is my favorite type of grass seed; it is shade and drought-tolerant and makes an excellent addition to the mixture.

Tall fescues
New turf-type tall fescues are compatible in cool, humid regions as well as northern areas, and are heat and drought-tolerant.

Feed me!
Lawns require regular feeding. The best fertilizers are slow-release organic fertilizers with micro-biologics to help keep the soil alive. While organic fertilizers are safe, it is still best to keep your animals away until the application has dissolved. Pet-friendly organic lawn fertilizers are easy enough to find at most organic gardening centers; just make sure you read the ingredients to make sure they are 100 percent organic and do not have any chemical additives. Be careful to avoid products with sewer sludge as they are bad for your animal’s health and yours.
Apply a good quantity of rich compost once a year. It’s best to keep your animals off for a few days while it settles down, otherwise you might get trails of dirty footprints indoors! Compost is not a recommended dietary supplement, either, although it won’t hurt if your animal eats some.
Earthworm castings make a good lawn conditioner and can be applied and raked into the lawn to minimize your animals getting muddy when the sprinklers come on.
Apply rock dust to your lawn twice a year. A thin layer dusted on and then raked in will do just fine. This helps keep your lawn nice and healthy and provides for deep root systems. Water well after application. You can also make a tea of the rock dust and spray that on once per month.

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Published in the October/November 2005 issue of Animal Wellness