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 The Dervaes family from Pasadena, California, can teach a person a thing or two about lawn care. Their sprawling urban homestead is a model of environmental responsibility and the envy of their neighbors. It is also the source of most of their sustenance—and raises extra money for the family to boot.
The Dervaes have turned their 8,712-square-foot yard into a mini solar-powered farm, home to four adults and an impressive number of chickens, ducks, pygmy goats and dwarf rabbits. Both the front and back yards are edible. Ripe tomatoes grow on vines hidden among fruit trees, fresh parsley, rows of green onions and root vegetables. Their garden produces more than 350 different varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs and berries that the family uses in a variety of ways such as canning, drying, freezing and fermenting.
The eldest daughter, Anais, blogs about the family’s efforts to live sustainable lives and the joys of being “modern pioneers” in a time when text messaging and SUVs are commonplace. They grow food not grass. Water is collected from the family’s solar-heated shower and reused. They tread lightly on the Earth by reducing, reusing and recycling. They compost and make use of the manure produced by their animals.
Naturally, you do not have to go to such extremes to enjoy a “greener” lawn or garden. But there are a few simple tips you can incorporate into your daily routine that will significantly reduce your negative impact on the planet. They are:
- Replace most or all conventional lawn grass with either native plants or food gardens. Native foliage is more sustainable and growing food means a productive use of resources, the opportunity to forgo pesticides and herbicides, and no carbon footprint for food shipping.
- Purchase a rain barrel from a gardening or home-improvement store. The spigot attached to the bottom of the container can be turned on and off and used to fill watering cans and buckets.
- Replace traditional sprinklers with soaker hoses. Found in the lawn and garden department of many retailers, soaker hoses consume up to 70% less water.
- Use natural remedies to deter pests. Items like boric acid, cayenne pepper and dried lavender can be purchased in bulk and used in place of ecology-damaging pesticides in your garden and flower beds to keep rodents and insects at bay.
- Plant fruit and nut trees for shade and sustenance. Almond, hazelnut, pecan and black-walnut trees are better suited for the midwest or northeastern states. Places like California and the southeastern US experience success with macadamia and pistachio trees. Apple, orange and cherry trees provide fruit year-round in warmer climates.
- Cut your remaining grass with a push mower instead of a gas-powered one. In addition to toning your muscles and giving you a good cardiovascular workout, push mowers reduce the emissions put into the atmosphere.
You lead by example when you beautify your lawn in an eco-friendly manner. Friends, family members and neighbors will come to you for advice on organic ways to water, treat and fertilize their own gardens and flower beds. Like the Dervaes clan, you may just have to create a Q & A webpage to field all of the questions you are asked.
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