How to Have A Healthy Lawn Without Pesticides

It seems like a real Catch-22: you want to keep your lawn clear of weeds, so you spray it with weed killer.

But if you do, you’ll be breaking the City of Toronto’s bylaw against pesticide use and could face a $5,000 fine for your efforts. That’s the kind of green you might not have been expecting to raise, as the annual spring lawn care ritual begins for another year.

And next year, all of Ontario will be following suit.

So if you can’t do one to control the other, are you doomed to simply having all those yellow dandelions and crabgrass taking over your once pristine backyard?

Not necessarily. There are ways to keep your pride and joy looking lush and healthy, without breaking any laws or hurting the environment.

“You want more lawn, thicker grass, because then the weed seeds can’t germinate and they’ll just blow away,” explains Scotts Canada‘s Jill Fairbrother. “You want to overseed your lawn in the spring and fall when the conditions are cool and wet and you want to feed your lawn throughout the season.”

Other tips include looking for pesticides made from chrysanthemum flower extract and weed killers made of vinegar and lemon juice and feed your garden Organic Miracle-Gro.

“Use any of the Miracle-Gro Organic products and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency allows you to call your vegetables organic,” Fairbrother explains.

Want to know more? Here’s some advice on how your green thumb can manage the green feat without help.

And to read Consumer Specialist Jee-Yun Lee’s blog on the topic, click here.

Ten quick tips to a pesticide free lawn

Weed guide: which are the ones in your backyard and how do you control them?

Alternatives to pesticides

Controlling bugs without pesticides

Questions to ask your lawn care company

Toronto pesticide bylaw FAQ: what’s allowed and what isn’t?

The best way to care for your lawn

Common lawn problems

Find specific pesticide ingredients

Pesticides manufacturers association view

Previous stories:

Grass that never needs watering, weeding or mowing

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