1.0Beyond Pesticides Daily News Bloghttps://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblogBeyond Pesticideshttps://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/author/beyond-pesticides/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="AubG8w3slb"><a href="https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2007/10/national-mall-tests-organic-lawn-care/">National Mall Tests Organic Lawn Care</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2007/10/national-mall-tests-organic-lawn-care/embed/#?secret=AubG8w3slb" width="600" height="338" title="“National Mall Tests Organic Lawn Care” — Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog" data-secret="AubG8w3slb" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); /* ]]> */ </script> (Beyond Pesticides, October 12, 2007) One of the nation’s most visible and heavily used plots of turf will be a demonstration site for organic lawn care over the next two years. Over four acres of Washington, DC’s National Mall will be maintained organically in order to determine “whether environmentally friendly treatments . . . can improve the viability of the soil enough to make grass more viable under the extreme compaction conditions of the National Mall,” according to the National Park Service (NPS). The area will be cared for by SafeLawns.org employees. According to NPS, “SafeLawns.org originally contacted the National Mall & Memorial Parks in Spring of 2007 offering to maintain at no cost to the NPS some portion of the National Mall using proactive environmentally friendly techniques and proceedures.” Among those used are aeration, compost and compost tea applications, and overseeding, all of which comply with Department of the Interior Integrated Pest Management requirements. The Environmental Protection Agency will also conduct independent soil monitoring, along with complete record-keeping of the project.The panels under SafeLawns.org’s care are currently closed to public use, along with others in the eastern half of the National Mall, as part of NPS’s scheduled rotation. They […]