Today we slice seeded and added the early fall fertilizer to your lawn. We’ve been working to improve the soil through the year, and now is the time when we can finally reap the benefits. After all the heat of the summer, we want your lawn looking its best in the fall. It has been hot and dry and the evidence of climate change is all over the world. Whether you have a carbon footprint, a term coined by the oil industry, or are followed around by a climate shadow, we all need to be as responsible as we can. The climate shadow is a concept developed by Emma Pattee, a climate journalist, to help visualize how the sum of our life’s choices influence the climate.

Take clothing, for example. Clothing is something that doesn’t directly release greenhouse gases but casts a long shadow. Since 2000 the number of clothing items produced has doubled and we keep them for a much shorter time. It’s called ‘fast fashion’. The  garment industry is one of the most polluting in the world , accounting for 10% of global greenhouse gases and producing 20% of global waste water. It takes 2400 gallons of water to produce a single pair of jeans. And polyester does not return gracefully into the earth.

To help the planet, you can choose to buy natural fibers, wear them longer and join the ‘slow fashion’
movement. My mother would watch TV while darning the worn out heels of our socks. Does anyone today even know what darning is?

This year so far we’ve been in a Severe Drought. Since April, it has been the driest summer in recent history. Last year was the wettest. These extreme weather patterns will be with us for a while. We better get used to them.

This is what I wrote in 2016, the year of an Extreme Drought and it still applies today. “We’ve had a drought, an extreme drought with watering restrictions and dried up streams. It’s time for cooler heads to prevail. We are anxious to reinvigorate these long suffering lawns. We’ve had long hot summers, and even Septembers before, and with the slice seeding and active soil biology, the lawns have always bounced back. The seed may sit dormant for a while but eventually it sprouts and things get back to normal. The seed we plant will do best if kept moist. A light, 10 minute watering three times a day is best”.
I was desperately seeking rain that never came, but the lawns that year bounced back just fine. I was amazed and quite relieved in October.

Thanks,

Mike Murray