Lawn Care with ZERO Carbon Footprint

In 2005 Good Earth Gardeners got serious about conservation landscaping.  Reducing the size or even completely removing a lawn is a key consideration in making a yard sustainable.  There are at least two problems with lawns – permeability and pollution.  Most lawns aren’t able to absorb much rainwater.  Water literally runs in sheets across the surface of a lawn with very little being absorbed into the soil to return to the water table.  Some lawns are so impermeable they are comparable to compacted road surfaces.

Ecologically intelligent replacements for lawns are not widely available, tested or functionally similar.  Conversion of lawns is initially expensive and conservation lawns require more care than traditional, established lawn.  As much as green homeowners want to reduce their environmental impact, when it comes to lawns, often replacing them just isn’t feasible.

So what is an environmentally concerned home owner to do?

A research study at the Harvard University campus grounds showed significant increase in the ability of turf to absorb water.  The study demonstrated improved plant and tree health when organic compost replaced synthetic fertilizers.  Good Earth Gardeners similarly amends turf with organic compost to improve plant growth, root depth and moisture retention.

But not all the solutions are in the grass. Improvements can also be made in the way grass is maintained.

One scientific organization estimates a single gas mower running for an hour emits the same amount of pollutants as eight new cars driving fifty-five miles per hour for the same amount of time.  We think we can eliminate the pollution associated with lawn care by replacing gas mowers with electric and push reel mowers.  We’re helping our clients convert at least fifty percent of their electric usage to alternative clean sources such as solar or wind, so using electric tools won’t simply transfer pollution; it will prevent it.  At the end of the season, we will calculate the fuel we used transporting our lawn tools to and from the job site and donate trees to be planted locally to reduce the total carbon footprint back down to zero.

Environmentally conscious lawn care can work for everyone.

Our clientele are homeowners and businesses with small to medium lawns.  We help our clients with larger lawns institute less frequent mowing programs and, when possible, convert lawn to meadow.

Compared to gasoline mowers, push reel and electric mowers have performed magnificently.  We are even starting to develop a portfolio of interesting cut patterns using our push mowers; diamonds and checkerboards to give the improved lawns an added element of ornamental whimsy.

Lawn care businesses are structured on a pricing scale that shows profitability only when work reaches a quantity goal.  Our business is priced similarly, so we can compete with the gasoline mowers and prevent homeowners from having to sacrifice environmental stewardship for dollars.  Right now, we’re breaking even but as we add more clients and are able to continue demonstrating that Good Earth Gardener’s Carbon Zero Lawn Care is as good as or better than a gasoline lawn, we’ll grow into profitability and hopefully, change how lawn care works in Anne Arundel county.  

After all, our grass really is greener.

Good Earth Gardeners' Carbon Zero Lawn Care

for small to medium lawns.  Weekly visits for as low as $45.

Download our form for a free service quote.