Organic Lawn Care: An Alternative to Traditional Lawn Care Takes Hold -- Concerns over pesticide and chemical usage drive need for alternatives  (March 1, 2005 - Toronto, ON) - As the concern over the use of lawn care chemicals grows, municipalities across Canada and the U.S. are crafting legislation that will reduce the use of pesticides, and homeowners are searching for answers on how to maintain a beautiful lawn. This development has fueled a growth in organic lawn care - according to the Organic Trade Association, an organization that spans North America, 43 percent of the population uses some type of organic product - but questions about effectiveness still remain for some homeowners. "Although awareness is on the rise, only a small portion of homeowners use an exclusively organic approach to lawn care, one that excludes all pesticide use," said Larry Maydonik, president of Nutri-Lawn. Anticipating that more homeowners will be interested in organic lawn care, Nutri-Lawn has developed the "Organics Plus" program, a trademarked "toolbox approach" to lawn care. "Organics Plus" utilizes products like corn gluten, beet extracts, vinegar solutions and naturally occurring soaps for weed management. Predatory nematodes are used for grub and insect control. Seaweed/kelp is used as a plant stimulator and restorative product. "Using one of these products by itself will only provide limited results," said Maydonik. "When used in combination, and at the right time, we have produced beautiful healthy lawns." According to some, chemical fertilizers can reduce the activity of beneficial organisms and they lack vital micronutrients. Organics Plus, in contrast, uses an organic or organic-based fertilizer and offers a premium fortified top-dressing. These products are high in nutrients, micronutrients and encourage a healthy population of beneficial soil microbes. Encouraging and maintaining a healthy microbial population helps reduce thatch buildup and has been shown to reduce disease incidence. The final piece of the Organics Plus program is the education process. Nutri-Lawn will show homeowners the important cultural aspects of organic lawn care including proper watering, mowing and the benefits of aeration, overseeding and liming where soils are acidic. "The key to all of this is that the development of organic pesticides as a viable alternative to traditional lawn care is well underway," Maydonik said. The Guelph Turfgrass Institute in conjunction with the University of Guelph, currently have a two year project that will provide a comparative demonstration of the effectiveness of conventional, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), to a non-pesticide alternative approach to lawn maintenance. The project will provide an opportunity for detailed observation of differences between these diverse methods of maintaining lawn turf. This is a hot topic within the lawn care industry. The science is evolving quickly in response to public demand and municipal bylaws. Nutri-lawn is attempting to test new products and venture where other companies are reluctant to pursue. About Nutri-Lawn Nutri-Lawn's corporate office is situated in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with regional offices in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and Cambridge, MA., USA. Founded in 1985 in Winnipeg, MB. In 1994, The Franchise Company (TFC) purchased controlling share interest with a vision of US expansion and created a wholly owned subsidiary, Nutrilawn U.S., Inc., with an office at 126 Prospect Street, Cambridge, MA 02139. In 2001, the company once again became privately owned. Nutri-Lawn currently operates in 50 locations with plans to expand throughout Canada and the United States. ### Source: Nutri-Lawn http://www.featurexpress.com/fxDetail_new.asp?relid=62817