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plea for organic lawns



February 16, 2003 NY Times
Organic Methods Are Urged for Lawns and Farms
By CAROLE PAQUETTE
purred in part by the agency that supplies water to most of Suffolk County, a campaign is under way to ask residents to rethink the way they keep their lawns green. Several nonprofit bodies are promoting the use of organic methods — those that recreate the natural process — to maintain lawns and gardens, a process those involved with water quality say would keep excessive amounts of chemicals, like nitrates, found in synthetic fertilizers and pesticides out of the groundwater. According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, if the concentration of nitrates found in drinking water exceeds E.P.A. health standards, health problems may result. There are some drinking water sources in East Northport and the North Fork area that, before treatment, exceed these standards as a result of farming that was done there many years ago. While the use of organic products — like compost to fertilize and garlic oil to ward off mosquitoes — is voluntary, some municipalities are incorporating such materials into their landscaping programs, and new federal standards are strengthening their credibility. At the Suffolk County Water Authority, a nonprofit independent organization that provides water to 80 percent of Suffolk's residents and businesses, more than $2.5 million a year is spent in removing nitrates from its 450 wells, according to Stephen M. Jones, the chief executive. Because of filtration, nitrate levels on Long Island are currently comfortably within E.P.A. and state limits, but costs could rise if more filtration were needed, according to the water authority. Because of a sharp increase in water use during the summer, the agency has begun a campaign aimed at educating its 360,000 customers on how to change their watering habits and still keep their lawns green and urging them toward organic maintenance. Last year, Suffolk customers used 12.16 billion gallons of water in July, an increase of 23 percent over the 9.88 billion gallons used in 2001. The July numbers, since 1987, have traditionally been double the amount used monthly from September to May, Mr. Jones said. "This has been since the prevalence of the automated sprinkler, and people tend to water their lawns indiscriminately." Last year, the agency began a $450,000 three-year program to compare the effects of lawn care with chemical fertilizers and pesticides with the use of organic products. Its partners in the project are three nonprofit groups: the Long Island Organic Horticultural Association and the Long Island Neighborhood Network, a lobbying and educational group, both based in Massapequa; and the Long Island Groundwater Research Institute, based at the State University at Stony Brook. In addition, the water authority has begun a $100,000 advertising campaign to "get people to think differently," Mr. Jones said. Notices will be placed with water bills, asking customers to water their lawns every other day for longer periods of time, rather than every day for short periods. "This method will send grass roots deeper and able to survive a dry spell without turning brown and will thus require less fertilizer," he said. "Shallow roots are unable to completely pick up the fertilizer's nitrates, which then go into the groundwater." The agency will also use only organic products at its eight customer service facilities and Oakdale headquarters. The use of organic products and maintenance, while increasing, has been slow, mainly because initially it is more costly and "labor-intensive, since weeding is done by hand," said Steve Restmeyer, president of the Horticultural Association and owner of Eco-Logical Organic Landscaping
of Yaphank.
Nevertheless, he added, while it can take up to three years for soil to return to its natural state, the cost and labor decrease as the lawn becomes drought-resistant and the need for continuous fertilizing is reduced. "Once an organic system is established, the property becomes self-sustaining," said Beth Fiteni, program coordinator for the Long Island Neighborhood Network. While some commercial landscapers have begun using organic products, there is still a long way to go. Out of hundreds of commercial landscaping services, about 40 are estimated to offer organic services, according to the Neighborhood Network. AT this point there is no talk of government-imposed countywide restrictions on the use of chemical products, like the ban in 1970 on the sale of detergents containing phosphates. Despite an outcry at the time, residents have come to accept having a less than traditional white wash. There is some evidence of heightened public sensitivity to the danger of chemical lawn products. Over the past five years, nursery owners say, there has been a noticeable increase in the purchase of organic products. At the 150-year-old Hicks Nursery in Westbury, 33 percent of the lawn and garden fertilizer sold is organic, according to Al Littmann, a manager. "People are becoming more aware, and very concerned with the environment and what they eat, especially vegetables," he said. "There are more organic products on the market today, and people figure it's just as good and it doesn't hurt you, so why not use it?" As the sale of organic products has increased, the price of the products "has come down substantially," he said. "Five years ago, 100 percent organic tree and lawn food was three times the price of chemical lawn food, now it's only $1 or $2 more," he said. Suffolk County was prompted to put an organic maintenance program into effect at county-owned facilities in the 1990's. The towns of Babylon and Huntington have both instituted organic programs at their facilities. The property surrounding Babylon's town hall, its ball fields and golf courses are maintained organically and the town is phasing in the program at its other facilities, according to Debbie Pfeiffer, a spokeswoman. In Huntington, as a requisite toward getting zoning approval to build the Greens at Half Hollow in Dix Hills — a development of 1,200 condominiums and an 18-hole golf course on 400 acres of land — the developer, SBJ Associates, was asked "to hire a consultant to gear the course toward organic uses, and from what we know they are following that action," said Mark Cuthbertson, a town councilman. The town has also hired a consultant to plan organic maintenance at its 18-hole Crab Meadow Golf Course in Northport. "Our ultimate goal there is to have it all organic," he said, adding that Huntington has allocated $3,000 for a brochure showing property owners "how to move toward organics." At Planting Fields Arboretum, a 409-acre state historic park in Oyster Bay, the 200 cultivated acres of flower beds are fertilized primarily with leaf compost and organic products, according to Vincent Simeone, the assistant director. "Chemical products are used on a limited basis," he said. "Over the past eight years we have been going more to the natural. All we are doing is mimicking nature." Last year a new set of federal regulations spurred farmers toward organic methods. In October, the United States Department of Agriculture set strict standards for farmers with gross sales over $5,000 a year who wanted to label their food products with the official "U.S.D.A. Organic" seal, certifying that their crops were 95 to 100 percent produced by organic methods. Among other criteria, they must prove their land has been free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides for three years. According to Rex Farr, a member of the Long Island chapter of the Northeast Organic Farmers Association, a nonprofit group that has been accredited by the Agriculture Department to inspect and certify farms, the benefit is not to the farmer, but to the consumer. "The grower doesn't get the certification for himself, but when the consumer sees the word `organic,' they are more apt to buy those products because they know rules have been applied," said Mr. Farr, who owns a 60-acre fruit and vegetable farm in Baiting Hollow. Of the state's 259 farmers with organic certification, 10 are on Long Island, he said. Green Thumb of Water Mill, a 100-acre vegetable and flower farm owned by the Halsey family, who have farmed the land continuously since 1700, "returned organic in 1976" and is certified, said Bill Halsey. "It is more time-consuming and time is money, but we feel it is a better way to farm concerning the health of both the farm and the farmer," he said. However, not all farmers are able to make a commitment to "total organic farming," according to Dale Moyer, a specialist at the Riverhead-based Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, an education and research organization affiliated with Cornell University. "The bigger you get, the more difficult it is to do organic produce," he said. "For those farming on a larger scale for the wholesale market it would be very labor-intensive. And there are major pest concerns, such as worms in sweet corn, that would be very difficult to control." However, he added, "Most of those with farms over 100 acres are looking toward some type of organic practice such as crop rotation and incorporating compost."
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