Dead in the Water

Looks can be deceiving. It's a well-worn phrase, but the reason it's so often used is because, well, it's one of those cliches that applies to many facets of life, in myriad forms. In this particular case, I use it to point to the beauty and breath-taking wonder of the waterways in my great state of New York. But looks can be deceiving.

How so? Because, the human quest for perfection is often counter to Mother Nature's. As I sit on my front porch, viewing the sparkle of a shimmering lake through the pine trees across the street, I am reminded of the sign I photographed at the end of my road:

We have all pretty much heard about how the universal quest for a perfect lawn is adversely affecting the health of the water we all admire and enjoy. How fertilizers drain into nearby waterways during rain storms, and somehow manage to do harm. Admit it, many of us say, “yeah, right,” or “whatever.” Maybe it's a bit of a problem, but it's not really our individual problem. Our grass looks great, while those tree huggers out there gripe about our Earth's demise. They bandy about words like algae blooms and organic alternatives. Blah, blah, blah. More lunatics on their soapboxes championing yet another environmental cause. Sadly, this attitude of “mind numb” has manifested itself in a new reality: dead water.

Did that term give you pause? I don't know about you, but anything that's supposed to be alive that is now termed “dead” usually makes me sit up and listen. So what is it...and what's the lawn fertilizer/dead zone connection? A quick primer: The nutrients in the synthetic fertilizers we've adored since the mid-twentieth century are chock-full of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in just the right combinations to create the weed-free lawn of our collective dreams. Better living through chemicals, right? Yet the “nutrients” so beneficial to grass hurts the Earth far more than it aids grass. For anyone rolling their eyes right now, tired of hearing about how fertilizers are harmful and disbelieving all the bad press, here's the problem in a nutshell: all that “good stuff” in fertilizers, AKA those above-mentioned nutrients that make grass healthy and strong—do their job incredibly well. They are especially adept at feeding algae, which marine life feed on. But too much of a good thing...well you know how that goes. Algae blooms in every nook and cranny of the underwater world, thriving in far greater numbers than the underwater life that can feed on it. When the algae dies, it sinks to the bottom of waterways and its decomposition process actually removes oxygen from the soil. We all need oxygen to live, so no oxygen means no life. The result: dead zones.

The irony is not lost on me. Who enjoys lush greenery more than I, author of a gardening blog? Grass, like other plants, provides a wonderful addition to our lives. It filters pollution, prevents soil erosion, keeps the ground cool, and feels so darn nice under bare feet. But perfect, weedless lawns that look more like wall-to-wall carpeting are not only expensive and time-consuming to achieve and maintain, but tell me honestly: does it really look all that good to you? Or have you, like so many others believed the hype that this is what a lawn must look like...or, why bother? We upstaters are not the only ones facing this dilemma. The lakes, rivers, streams and ponds all throughout New York and every other state in this nation are facing this dilemma. An article last month in The New York Post highlighted the growing “dead water” issue, stating, “Those perfectly manicured, brilliantly green lawns that surround many Hamptons mansions are contributing to the destruction of marine life on Long Island.” It adds a quote from a Save the Great South Bay activist: “The polluted groundwater is systematically killing all our bays, ponds and rivers by triggering massive algal blooms...choking sea life, poisoning shellfish. The only thing left would be jellyfish.”

We need, if you'll pardon the bad pun, a sea-change in our thinking. Let's give all nature's plants a chance to astonish us with their intrinsic beauty. Do we need sweeping front lawns of grass? If so, why? What are we trying to prove to others—and--ourselves--by spending an abundance of our time, money and effort to produce spans of outdoor greenery that looks like carpet, and makes our blood boil when the neighbor's dog takes a dump on it?

When we bought a little Adirondack “camp” more than a dozen years ago, we had no front lawn. As I gazed at the expanse of periwinkle stretching along the entire front yard, where I deemed a healthy span of grass should reside, I immediately decided to have a ton of fill dumped over the area so I could spread my grass seed. Then spring came, and the periwinkle bloomed. I was surrounded by a field of vivid purple blossoms, making my jaw drop, and all thought of grass blades vanish. We've since planted perennial beds around the perimeter of the periwinkle, and I love the effect.

If you can't give up your grass addiction, take a few tips from the Scientific American: “Go organic, both at home and on the farm. According to the Organic Trade Association, organic farmers and gardeners use composted manure and other natural materials, as well as crop rotation, to help improve soil fertility, rather than synthetic fertilizers that can result in an overabundance of nutrients. As a result, these practices protect ground water supplies and avoid runoff of chemicals that can cause dead zones and poisoned aquatic life. There is now a large variety of organic fertilizer available commercially, as well as many ways to keep pests at bay without resorting to harsh synthetic chemicals. A wealth of information on growing greener can be found online: Check out OrganicGardeningGuru.com and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Alternative Farming System Information Center, for starters. Those interested in face-to-face advice should consult with a master gardener at a local nursery that specializes in organic gardening.”

It's no longer difficult to find alternative options. We've got to band together on this one, folks. If each of us took one baby step--discard one bag of synthetic fertilizer or mix a few bags of compost or manure into the soil—great strides could be made.