I finally looked up the real cost of my 'green' lawn

For years I thought my Kentucky bluegrass was fine because I used a push mower and didn't water it much. Then my neighbor, who's a master gardener, asked me how many pounds of fertilizer I put down each spring. I checked the bag and realized I was using over 20 pounds a year on my small yard. She explained how that stuff runs off and messes up local water, which never crossed my mind. I'm switching to clover and native ground cover this fall. Has anyone else made a big change to their yard that actually helped?

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cole_lee96mo ago

Yeah that fertilizer runoff thing is wild, right? I did the same math last year and felt so dumb. Swapped out half my lawn for creeping thyme and it's way less work now.

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brooke715mo ago

Bet you wish you grabbed some of @xenarobinson's clover instead of dealing with all that thyme, huh?

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xenarobinson6mo ago

My old bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer was the wake-up call for me too. I switched to a mix of white clover and low-growing fescue, and the best part is I only have to mow it maybe three times a summer now. The clover feeds itself, so you can skip the fertilizer completely, and it stays green even when it's super dry. Just make sure you get the soil tested first, because sometimes you need to add a little lime to help the clover take over.

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