Why Electric?

Uncle Onion’s Electric, Organic Lawn Service is a culmination of 30 years of operating hay farms and owning lawn care companies. Over those 30 years, we’ve learned a thing or two about the health implications growing grass has on people, pets, and the environment. You may have heard that lawns are bad for the environment. We at Uncle Onion’s want to change that.

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Right up front, let’s settle the score about the misunderstanding about why lawns are bad for the environment. Large areas of grass are not bad for the environment. It’s the way we care for our lawns that is bad.

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Unfortunately, there isn’t one single thing we do to our lawns that we can simply stop doing to magically fix all our problems. Your yard is a system and everything that goes into maintaining that system contributes to poor health and environmental issues in some way.

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You may already be familiar with the hazards of synthetic fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides.

• More than any other group, homeowner’s tend to over fertilize, overkill weeds, and overkill bugs.

• Synthetic fertilizer, weed killer, and pesticides are immediately dangerous to anyone that comes into contact with them. This obviously puts lawn care workers at risk, but also kids and pets that want to play in a freshly treated lawn. Are you used to seeing the “other guys” little signs in the yard that say, “keep off!” after they’ve treated the grass? It doesn’t have to be that way!

• Fertilizer that sits in the dirt and is not used by the plants breaks down into greenhouse gasses.

• Runoff carries excess fertilizer, weed killer, and pesticides with it to the rivers, streams, and drinking water supplies.

• Fertilizer, weed killer, including pre and post emergents, and pesticides are part of every lawn care company's routine. Even ours! The difference being that our products are safer for the environment, people and kids, and pets.

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The products Uncle Onion’s will be using to treat lawns are all natural, organic, or allowed for use in growing organic vegetables. Even before we start organic lawn treatments, we are jumping ahead of the industry with our battery-powered equipment. Our lawn mowing equipment is quieter, produces no pollution in your yard, and reduces the concern for gas and oil spills in your grass and driveway to zero. Electric equipment is all-around cleaner for the environment than gas-powered equipment. Replacing one gas lawn mower with an electric mower is equivalent to removing 43 cars from the road every year!

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We probably aren't the cheapest lawn service in town, but we are the best. We can back this claim through healthy lawns that are safe for kids and pets. Your Uncle Onion's lawn will be the envy of the neighborhood.

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Common misconceptions to environmentally friendly lawn care

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I don't put chemicals in my yard! I only mow!

 

We are all pretty much familiar with how bad chemicals can be for us. What about the parts of lawn care that seem more innocent? Like lawn mowers?

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• Gas lawn equipment is a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

• 30 minutes of running a gas-powered leaf blower produces the same amount of emissions as driving a car 7,700 miles at 30 mph!

• ONE gas-powered lawn mower produces as much air pollution as 43 new automobiles driven 12,000 miles per year.

• Caring for lawns the old way produces 13 billion pounds of toxic pollutants every year.

 

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I don't even mow! I heard a dead lawn is best for the environment!

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You aren't wrong; you have heard that letting a lawn die is better than taking care of it. This doesn't take into account that there are BETTER ways to care for lawns! Lawns that are not taken care of, or are dead, are only slightly better than over-treated lawns. These lawns aren't producing or consuming as much carbon, but did you know...? 

• Bare spots and weak grass lead to erosion. You're losing vital nutrients, but your lawn is polluting waterways with all the dirt running down the street.

• A weak lawn will lead to soil impaction, which decreases the soils natural ability to absorb rainwater. This is bad year-round, but especially during heavy rain events. 

• The health of the soil in your yard directly impacts your home. That's right! Water doesn't always flow to the street. A lot of that water that would normally be absorbed by a healthy lawn is rushing toward your home. If you don't have problems yet, you will eventually notice foundation issues and possibly even flooded basements and crawlspaces. 

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What can I do for my lawn?

 

The easiest thing for you to do is to hire a company, such as Uncle Onion’s Electric, Organic Lawn Service, with a transparent commitment to the environment and public health. Companies like ours do all the hard work for you, like math (yuck), to ensure the least amount of wasted product possible. There is so much more than just reading a label and setting a spreader that goes into the decision for which products, and how much of those products, are applied to your lawn.

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Regardless the types of chemicals being applied to your lawn by anyone you hire, make sure the person applying the products is registered with the state, licensed to apply the product, and are in good standing with the state and EPA.

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Further, verify the products they use are safe for your family. Ensure products are applied per a soil test and that your lawn actually needs the nutrients being added. When someone pulls up in a truck and says they can spray your lawn today, even though they’ve never seen your lawn, send them on their way. At the very least, they need to measure, much less have the right product on the truck for the type of grass you have!

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If you prefer to do the work yourself, Uncle Onion’s can help you choose products and develop a plan to get you on your way! We’ll be here along your journey if you ever have questions.

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The basics for a healthy lawn include:

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• Weekly mowing. Yes! Weekly! We only offer weekly mowings with some very rare exceptions. The first trick to healthy grass is to cut as little as possible off every time you mow. The best way to do this is to mow AT LEAST once a week. Can you imagine mowing that often?! Better hire Uncle Onion!

• Water only as needed. In Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg, VA, most lawns only need about an inch of water a week. You really shouldn't need to water except in the heat of summer. A good lawn care program will reduce your lawns dependability on water. 

• Treat only as needed. Stop trying to keep your grass green when it's trying to go dormant! 

• Don't kill bugs! Most of them are beneficial. In a healthy yard, the good bugs will keep the bad bugs out. This goes for all diseases common in our area, not just bugs.

• Treat bare spots to keep them under control. 

• Leave the leaves! Some yards need leaves removed, there is such a thing as too many. But for the most part, leaves provide beneficial protection during the winter and nutrients in the Spring. Call us to determine your leaf removal needs! 

• Mulch, don't bag the grass! You can side-discharge, but mulching is best. Mulching will not produce too much thatch. The good bugs in your soil will thrive on the grass mulch and, in turn, provide your grass with food. Win, win! Uncle Onion's always mulches, unless the grass is really high. Call us to determine if mulching or collecting the grass is best for your situation. 

 

Other helpful tips to make your lawn an ecological haven!

 

• Pick up pet waste. Pet waste is as bad as too much fertilizer, and has all the same environmental impacts during runoff. Only, pet waste comes with the added problem of bacteria, and in some cases, viruses. 

• Pick up litter. Mowing that little piece of plastic isn't going to mulch it into the yard! 

• Don't let the grass get too high. Don't forget to trim around fences and under objects like trampolines or the BBQ.     

 

Say hi to you mom and them!

Uncle Onion