Fulfilling Walt's dream...
and then some

Well before this week's guest became the woman Paul Tukey calls the "grand dame of American Horticulture", Katy Moss Warner was carrying out Walt Disney's environmentally friendly vision for his sprawling Florida playground. For 24 years Katy's genious for creating colorful gardens and managing largely natural landscapes made the 30+ thousand acres of Walt Disney World a tourist's paradise. Her official title was Director of Horticultural and Environmental Initiatives, but her skill-sets were equal parts maestro, magician and chief choreographer-in-charge of floral entertainment. As she puts it, "what do you do to get people excited about plants?" Of course, she had some pretty strong motivation:

"It was really important to figure out just how to grab the attention of 40-million people each year, when your competition is Mickey Mouse, a castle and the smell of chocolate chip cookies."

Today, Katy is president Emeritus of the American Horticultural Society, a national, non-profit, member-based organization with a bold vision of "making America a nation of gardeners, a land of gardens."

She currently serves on the board of "America in Bloom", a national awards program that encourages beautification as a way of planting pride in communities across America. She also serves on the Advisory Council of "The Growing Connection", an international organization sponsored by the United Nations that encourages youth in America and developing countries to grow food and share their successes and challenges with each other.

A visionary and dynamo, Katy Moss Warner has a sustainable picture of America's future - and it begins in our own back yards. Don't miss what is easily one of the most riveting interviews we've done, with one of the most fascinating people you will ever encounter.

Hidden agenda?

A new turfgrass study shows - according to those who funded it - that you can reduce your carbon footprint in your own backyard, simply by "managing your lawn responsibly." On the surface, it's true; healthy turfgrass does capture up to four times more carbon from the air, than is produced by today's lawnmowers. Paul takes the findings to task for what the study doesn't tell us (like all the energy being used to run those machines and make all that chemical fertilizer). By the way, the study was paid for by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI). We think you can see the big picture, but judge for yourself.

eMail call!

Tricia lives in the Tampa Bay area and asks, what is the best grass seed to use on a very sandy, very shady yard in south Florida? Paul recommends either centipede grass, or chewings red fescue. Another popular grass natural to Florida is bahia, but that's more for full-sun yards, as is zoysia grass.

Malathion danger

Google that and see what pops up. Not pretty, is it? Now visit the Sierra Club of Canada web site and read what our neighbors to the north are doing about this extremely toxic chemical that's being widely used today to fight West Nile virus-carrying mosquitos. Thanks to Christina, a listener in Missouri, for raising the question!

Next week

We take a brief break, our first vacation from the show in four months. But there's plenty to listen to right here in the the archives. As always, thanks for joining us! We'll see you again LIVE on Thursday night, July 10th.

Learn how you too can lead the crusade in your community to help "save our environment, one lawn at a time." Please visit us online at www.safelawns.org and www.safelawns.net

Gardening for the Rest of Us

Kerry Mendez has mastered the art of low-maintenance perennial gardening. She and her husband own a quarter-acre homestead in upstate NY that boasts big, beautiful ever-blooming beds of everything you can think of, everywhere. In this episode Kerry takes us through the basics of growing perennials, without all the back-breaking work. Now THAT's for me! As well as writing about it for several of the leading horticulture magazines, Kerry teaches this stuff. Is she good at it? More than 6,000 people of all ages have taken her classes.

Tribute to a Matriarch

Paul Tukey was in Boston this week to scope out the SafeLawns Foundation's latest organic lawn makeover project, the Rose Kennedy GreenWay. The four-acre tract is Beantown's version of the successful project we're doing on the National Mall in Washington DC (see the video!), one of several marquee projects we have going across America to prove you can grow lush green grass without a speck of chemical.

Oh, Canada!

Paul has been having a blast this week north of the border working on a documentary we are shooting, a full-length feature film about the tiny town of Hudson, near Montreal, Quebec. In 1991 Hudson became the first community in North America to ban toxic chemical pesticides. The industry sued (Chemlawn and Spraytech, to be precise). It was a monumental court battle. When it was over, Hudson had prevailed! Hear all about it, and about the film we're making, in this episode.

Seen Our Truck?

Fact is, those distinctive SafeLawns & Landscapes lawn care vehicles are starting to pop up in quite a few more neighborhoods in the northeast. Scott Schotter, our CEO stops by this show to update progress we're making in signing up lawn care professionals who want to go all-organic with us. It's becoming a revolution. A small one, sure, but growing larger every day.

Learn how you too can lead the crusade in your community to help "save our environment, one lawn at a time." Please visit us online at www.safelawns.org and www.safelawns.net

Enjoy the show and...see you next week!

Living (and teaching) her generation's legacy

We welcome two guests this week, each with their own unique contributions to our environment and the organic movement. Author, actress, chef, yoga instructor and wholistic lifestyle expert, Anna Getty is the great granddaughter of oil magnate, J. Paul Getty. Her gift to earth and its inhabitants becomes self-evident when you hear her speak.

"There is a voice missing, and I want to be that voice…The goal is bettering your health, bettering the health of your family, bettering the quality of the environment, doing it all at the same time, and doing it in a way that's fun, accessible, easy and adventurous."

She calls this conscious mentality, PureStyle Living. It's not just her company's brand name, it embodies everything she believes in and teaches.

Taking good care of the land

Our second guest, Paul Sachs, became one of the founders of America's quest to manage the land organically. That was 25 years ago. Today, Paul runs the company he started, North Country Organics of Bradford, Vermont, and is considered one of the foremost authorities on organic landscaping. He has written three books, including one on organic golf course management.

We discuss "green washers" (companies who try to disguise chemical products using terms like organic based), as well as very controversial legislation that is creeping into more and more states: the banning of pesticide fertilizers - including the truly organic kind.

Linkology

Healthy Child, Healthy World

Learn how you too can lead the crusade in your community to help "save our environment, one lawn at a time." Please visit us online at www.safelawns.org and www.safelawns.net

See you next week!

Avert your ears

Organic or chemical, "no pesticide is safe." This week's guest, Gary Fish should know. A former ChemLawn employee, who for years has headed up the Maine Board of Pesticide Control, his stories of pesticide abuse, consumer ignorance, and unconscionable commercial lawn care practices should concern you. Gary has long-preached the "less is more" approach to pesticide application. He and Paul Tukey also discuss the growing number of states working on laws to regulate phosphorus, the chemical in fertilizer responsible for creating devastating algae bloom in our lakes. To be fair, Gary says lawncare in general- organic or otherwise - is too complicated for almost everyone. That's why he founded "Yardscapes" a terrific resource for homeowners. Tons of tips and great advice, check it out! 

Nuts you say?

This week's e-mail brings an SOS from Michael A. in High Point, NC who asks how to stop the tenacious weed, Nut Grass (or nut sedge) from taking over the other two-thirds of his yard. Like all weeds, it's a messenger trying to tell you something. Paul advises changing your soil "type."

Speaking of pests

Moles, voles and grubs continue to dominate your e-concerns. Courtney O. in Cumberland County, ME works with the Soil & Water Conservation District there, helping consumers with these fellas. She keeps hearing that Bonide Moletox II, which contains zinc phosphide, seems to work- but is it safe? Gary Fish pretty much covered the notion of safe pesticides.

Program note...

Next week only, our show airs on Wednesday night, June 11th. We've lined up two captivating guests including Anna Getty, one of the leaders of the organic movement in America who also happens to be the great granddaughter of oil baron, J. Paul Getty. That makes her one of the world's most visible heiresses, a fact you will quickly forget when you hear her passion for this planet. Joining her on the show will be a pioneer in the going-organic crusade, Paul Sachs, who founded North Country Organics (yes, the grub control people).

Learn how you too can lead the crusade in your community to help "save our environment, one lawn at a time." Please visit us on the 'Net at www.safelawns.org and www.safelawns.net

See you next week!

The Big Myth

It is the biggest piece of misinformation out there, and the #1 reason why consumers reject organic lawn and garden solutions. We are led to believe it means giving up lush green grass and beautiful plants and flowers to protect the environment, when, in fact, we can have it all, naturally! Our guest this week is America's first lady of horticulture, Barbara Damrosch, who has been writing about understanding nature's role in everything we grow for more than 30 years. Her book, The Garden Primer, is the #1 best-selling gardening book of all-time. Written two decades ago, Barb re-released it this past year with additional organic tips and advice. We still aren't sure how she finds the time to write a regular column in the Washington Post, do TV shows on the Learning Channel, PBS and HGTV, and tend her own year-round veggie garden on Four Season Farm in Harborside, Maine where Barb and husband Eliot Coleman call home.

Berry, Berry Good

How DO you keep birds from eating your plump strawberries? Paul Tukey says it's a net sum game (21:50 into the show). Thanks to caller Shirley M. in Uncasville, CT for the great question!

Dog Biscuits

In this week's e-mail, Barbara D. in Brunswick, Maine asks, what can I do to keep fido and fifi from "watering" my brown (formerly green) spots? A group of vets in Wisconsin solved it. One word: Yucca.

Take the Pledge

Our Million Acre Challenge gets a boost from Gary G. in Montgomery, Ohio who says he's been pitching city hall in his hometown to climb aboard the movement. What's that about? Glad you asked! No reason municipal property Everywhere USA can't Go Green. Find out more here.

Cover Your Ears!

Next week, former ChemLawn employee Gary Fish, longtime manager of the pesticide programs for the Maine Board of Pesticides Control, joins us. Wait 'till you hear some of his horror stories!

Linkology

Resources mentioned on this week's show...
Grub control: North Country Organics
Dog Biscuits: Yucca, Lawngard

Sorry for the delay in getting this published. When granddaughters graduate high school with valedictorian honors (ahem), one simply must be there- no matter the distance!

This week's show (live on May 22nd) features nationally recognized organic landscape educator, author (Good Bug, Bad Bug is her latest book) and popular gardening talk show host, Jessica Walliser. For advice on building natural retaining walls, to better plant nutrition, catch her on The Organic Gardeners every weekend on Lime Radio, heard around the world on Sirius Channel 114, and locally on KDKA in Pittsburgh.

In LawnCare News

Paul Tukey takes aim at... a new survey says that while 9-of-10 households believe it's important to maintain their landscapes in a sustainable way, only half of all households say they know how to maintain lawns and gardens in environmental-friendly ways... a battle between environmentalists & homeowners, against the city of Burlington, North Carolina. The issue: human waste fertilizer.

e-Mail Call!

A lady in DC has family and neighbors all upset 'cause she took Paul's advice to get healthier grass, and is letting her lawn grow (and grow, and grow!). It's already over a foot high and the seeds still haven't dropped. Family, start your engines! Another email about yard in Detroit in desperate need of soil amendments. Free coffee grounds from Starbucks and Canadian peat to the rescue? Not so fast.

Organic Lawncare DVDs ...FREE!

We've more than 30 videos full of advice you can download on the SafeLawns Foundation web site. Thank you to a Gloria B. in Houston for reminding us we need to mention this invaluable, free resource more often!

Other links on this week's show include...
National Gardening Association
Scotts Miracle-Gro Company
People, Places and Plants magazine

Learn how you too can lead the crusade in your community to help us "save our environment, one lawn at a time." Please visit us on the 'Net at www.safelawns.org and www.safelawns.net

See you next week!

Fueled by what Rob Johnston calls consumers' grocery store sticker shock, and angst over the skyrocketing price of gas, Americans are again looking to local organic farmers for food. Rob is thrilled to see the resurgence of backyard vegetable gardening. And not just because he sells seeds. Johnny's Selected Seeds, by Maine standards, is big business. Next to seed companies on a global scale, however, not so much. Making all the sweeter those seven All-America awards he's won, the MVP trophy of Rob's industry. Not too shabby for a 1970 college dropout whose 35-year old company today services home gardeners and small commercial growers across the USA and more than 50 other countries with products, research and technical savvy.

From this week's email bag, host Paul Tukey offers tips on how to vanquish poison ivy, what to do about moss (Paul happens to like the stuff- the moss, we mean), and answers concerns about overseeding.

Some other links...
American Seed Trade (www.amseed.com) and Northeast Organic Farmers Association (www.nofa.org). Rob Johnston's blog.

Enjoy the show and see you next week!

Visit us online at www.safelawns.org and www.safelawns.net. And for great gardening advice in the Northeast, it's People, Places & Plants magazine. 

SafeLawns & Landscapes Radio is a Penguin Pods production.

You know her as the versatile actress who has starred on TV and the silver screen for going on two decades. Now, meet Victoria Rowell, bestselling author, organic gardening enthusiast, and evangelist, of sorts, for putting things right with Mother Nature. Joining us for our special Mother's Day show, in this exclusive interview Victoria shares some of her life-altering moments growing up a foster child on a 60-acre farm in West Lebanon, Maine. Her book, "The Women Who Raised Me" is as much a tribute to the inspirational people who truly helped shape her tireless advocacy for foster care programs, as it is a testament to Ms. Rowell's brilliant story-telling. Oh, and something else. Paul Tukey divulges a little known guilty pleasure he indulges. We won't spoil the surprise, but let's just say that Victoria has been "in his life" for the past 18-years. So, next time you settle in with The Young and The Restless hoping that Drucilla Winters will return, or watch a re-run of Diagnosis Murder to see Dr. Amanda Bentley save Mark's bacon one more time, you can tell folks you know the real Victoria Rowell. A true star who is as down to earth as anyone you will ever meet.

Speaking of Mother's Day, if you're reading this before this weekend and will be anywhere near LL Bean in Freeport, Maine, you can meet Paul and Victoria and hear them speak. On Saturday, May 10th (Victoria's birthday, by the way!), at 9 a.m. Paul takes his organic lawncare message and his book The Organic Lawncare Manual to Beans' flagship store. On Sunday, it's Vicky's turn. She speaks at 2:30 p.m. and will autograph her book for you, too!

In this week's show we address a troubling report from the GAO in Washington about what is - or is not - going on with the federal EPA. It has to do with more than 500 chemicals whose impact on consumers and our environment has yet to be determined. Look for the full story on the www.safelawns.org site this week, and then stay tuned right here for more. 

Next week's guest: Rob Johnston, the founder of Johnny's Selected Seeds in Albion, Maine joins on May 15th. They are celebrating 35-years as the best-known seed company in the country. Maybe we'll have cake. See you then!

Visit us online at www.safelawns.org and www.safelawns.net. And for great gardening advice in the Northeast, it's People, Places & Plants magazine. 

SafeLawns & Landscapes Radio is a Penguin Pods production.

Think about this for five seconds. One third of everything we eat relies on pollination by the honey bee. And they are mysteriously disappearing by the millions! Perhaps as much as 30% of the bee population in North America. That's $15 Billion worth of US fruits, nuts and veggies at risk! Hope you like corn, because that's pretty much what will be left.

David Hackenberg, a beekeeper for almost a half-century, says the phenominon known as Colony Collapse Disorder is no mystery to him. He blames imidacloprid, the active incredient in Merit, and most other grub controls - as well as numerous other insect-killing products. The pesticide is extremely toxic to bees, making their immune systems go haywire. Scientists don't all agree that a pesticide alone is killing off bees. But Hackenberg, a past president of the American Beekeepers Federation says the evidence is overwhelming that imidicloprid is the prime culprit in some bee tenders losing up to 90% of their hives over the past year.

Hackenberg joined host Paul Tukey last night, only to have his claims immediately be challenged by our first caller. Enjoy the show! In the meantime, we'll be out there continuing to help save our environment, one lawn at a time. Visit us online at www.safelawns.org.

Excellent week too for the SafeLawns movement! Not so good for Scotts, however. The EPA ordered the Ohio-based chemical lawncare company to stop selling and distributing two pesticide products. Scotts has agreed to a huge recall in the US. Stay tuned.

Make it 38 states now in which Paul Tukey has preached the SafeLawns gospel. He spoke in Tennessee this Earth Day. Officials held a news conference in his honor. All the big media were there. Roll cameras!

This week's guest is Peter Wild, a certified arborist and the founder and CEO of Arborjet Inc. of Boston. His company is leading the charge to help trees fight off exotic and native insect pests and diseases. Predators who threaten our natural and urban forests. They use a procedure that involves systemic injections of pesticides. If you're unaware of what's been going on with the insect invastion of our woodlands, you will want to hear his comments.

Our global family certainly is growing after just seven weeks of this radio show! Paul answers email from...let's see...Venezuela and tropical gardening...a man in California whose urban neighbors won't stop putting down chemcials...Annapolis, MD (yum, crabcakes!) where a landscape architect seeks advice on how to spec organic lawns by the Bay...and from the shores of Lake Michigan where a couple needs the right fertilizer product for waterfront property. Keep 'em coming folks! Fire away to paul@safelawns.org.

Oh, and Ken, our producer, even got one right! Yep, the guy who claims you can "fill a thimble" with what he knows about organic lawn and garden care knew the answer to one listener's query about groundcover plants. (psst: the password is Stepables). What is it they say about blind squirrels and acorns?

Start the buzz. Next Thursday night, May 1st, we'll be talking bees with David E. Hackenberg, past president of the American Beekeeping Federation and the man credited with determining the major cause of Colony Collapse Disorder.

Other helpful tips from this week's show:
ground cover plants - Jeepers Creepers 
organic fertilizers - Bradfield Organics 
compost tea - how to make it

Visit us online at www.safelawns.org or www.safelawns.net