Civic Issue Post 2: Lawns to Gardens

Hello and welcome back to my spring 2023 civic issues blog. As a reminder focus of this blog will be on environmental issues. Last week we I gave my thoughts on a TED talk about the idea of indoor vertical farms as a possible way to sustainably meet future food production needs. This week, I’m going to be reviewing an article about a new trend that has been going around: Turning lawns into gardens.

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The article linked above is going to be the reference for the post, but a simple google search for “turning lawns into gardens” will bring up a number of similar results.

The general gist of the article is that lawns currently take up a huge amount of land in the US (some sources say close to 32 million acres of irrigated lawns exist in the US), and that compared to gardens, lawns are worse for the environment and also don’t bring as many benefits to the household.

The article makes several claims about lawns, most of which they provide sources for. However, as I’ll get into in a little bit, some of these claims and sources are questionable in their reliability or reasoning.

The first section of the article dives into the negative aspects of lawns. It raises the following points:

• • • • Lawns require time and money
        • They say that the average lawn takes 21 hours per year per 1/4 acre
        • Americans as a whole spend $29 billion on lawn care annually.
      • Lawns use a lot of water
        • They site a study which reports that the typical American lawn uses 10,000 gallons of irrigation water annually
        • This could be considered wasteful, particularly with areas that have concerns of water shortages and droughts
      • Lawncare often involves a lot of chemicals
        • Exposure to some of these chemicals can be linked to cancer in people and pets
        • These chemicals can also run off into the waterways and cause major environmental issues there
        • Fertilizer runoff can also cause significant issues (mainly eutrophication)
      • Lawnmowers can contribute to air (gas powered) and noise pollution

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Most of these points are accurate, but there are a couple things I’d like to point out:

• • • • 21/hours/year/0.25 acre seems like a bit of an overestimate. Obviously most of this time is going to be made up of time spent mowing. Therefore, the size and speed of your lawnmower is going to make a large difference in how much time you need to spend.
        • Also, different species of grass grow at different rates, and even the grass of the same species grows differently depending on the weather.
      • Water usage for lawns is highly variable. Sure, if you’re trying to have a nice green lawn in Arizona in June, you’re going to need a ton of water because the climate is just so hot and dry. On the other hand however, even here in Pennsylvania where our summers are pretty hot, we usually still get enough rain that lawns can be grown without any supplemental irrigation.
        • Drought tolerant grasses are also able to thrive in dryer conditions, so planting the right species for ones climate is a good way to reduce water requirements

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• • • • Exposure to pesticides and herbicides is certainly a concern, and in the right scenarios they can definitely have some adverse effects on people. However, many of the studies done linking these pesticides to cancer and other diseases are done with very high dosages of the chemical compared to what one would normally be exposed to if they waited until the lawn was dry before going out on it.
        • Also, plenty of pesticides and other chemicals can be used in gardens as well, so this is more of a matter of how people choose to manage their property, rather than being exposed to the chemicals simply because they have lawns.

The next part of the article is focused on the advantages of growing your own food. For simplicity, I am going to insert that section here so you can read their points for yourself:

• “You and your family will be more likely to eat fresh vegetables and fruits 
• The fruits and veggies you eat will have more nutrients.
• The fruits and vegetables you eat could be safer.
• You can save money. 
• Vegetable gardens are ecologically responsible. 
• They’re good for your spirit and your health.
• Gardens increase community.
• Vegetable gardens teach children vital life lessons. 
• They’re good for food independence and food security.”

My thoughts again:

• • • You’re probably only more likely to eat significantly more fruits and vegetables if they weren’t a normal part of your diet already (which they should be)
    • The produce you eat could be safer… but this depends on how you grow and wash the produce, and how it compares to what you used to buy
    • Overall, a vegetable garden is probably a better choice for the environment, since the variation in plants supports higher biodiversity and the flowers can be good food sources for various pollinators
    • Saving money is not guaranteed with growing your own produce, seeds, fertilizer, tools and other supplies all add up
    • Some areas may not allow a garden in place of a lawn, particularly in the front yard. This will depend on your local city laws or HOA regulations
    • A vegetable garden can definitely be a great way to get kids outdoors and teach them about nature and plants
    • The amount of hours of work required annually for a vegetable garden is almost certainly greater than the 21 hrs./year/0.25 acre that was reported for lawns. If you don’t have a lot of free time, converting your entire lawn to a garden is probably just going to end in failure and frustration

Conclusion:

A vegetable garden certainly has a unique set of benefits when compared to a traditional lawn, however the extent of those benefits vary widely based on your local conditions and own personal situation. For some people, keeping a front yard at least is non-negotiable, as it is regulated by law. For others, a whole yard sized garden is simply too much work and too much of a time commitment. So overall, like most things in life, there is no one size fits all solution. But in general, if you are looking to help out the environment and interested in having a garden, this concept is certainly an option.

And if you’re thinking “wow a garden would be great, but I don’t know where to start”, you’re in luck because that was the topic of my entire fall passion blog:

Fall Semester: The Garden Guide