Lawns cover 30 million acres in the U.S. and each year, we apply nearly 80 million pounds of pesticides in pursuit of suburbia’s mythical green carpet. In fact, homeowners use 10 times more chemical pesticides per acre on their lawns than farmers do on crops. That’s a lot of collateral damage to water quality and aquatic life, says Professor of Plant Sciences Bridget Ruemmele, not to mention exposure for homeowners and their pets—remember, it’s not called weed killer for nothing. The first step in going chemical free is to send your soil off to be tested.

• Most plants like soil to have a neutral pH of six or seven; if it’s lower, consider adding lime.

• Use fertilizers made of animal or plant composted materials with a ratio of 3-1-2 nitrogen/phosphorous/potassium. Apply two pounds per 1,000 square feet.

• Clover fixes nitrogen in the soil via the Rhizobia bacteria, which converts nitrogen gas into a useable form. Embrace it.

• Fall is the best time to plant your lawn because grass has two seasons to establish itself before the punishing heat and dryness of summer.  

• Loosen compacted soil by adding compost as a top dressing and renting a plug aerator, which pulls half-inch plugs of soil from the lawn to let air and nutrients in. Dispatch built-up thatch (dead grass) with a good garden rake.

• Don’t mow lower than two inches—you want to keep light away from lurking weed seeds.