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Skip to Article Content- health-e head2toe: How Environmental Exposure May Affect Your Child
- Gentle Care for Baby's Skin and Hair What's in baby skin and hair care products?
- The Facts About BPA What you need to know about possible risks from bisphenol-A.
- 5 Surprising Sources of Lead Exposure Where to look for lead dangers beyond old paint.
- Safer Cleaning Products How you can reduce chemical exposure and still have a clean house.
- When Your Child Has Allergies Tips on reducing allergy triggers in your home.
- Fumes, Smoke, and More How to cut down on things that may irritate your child's eyes.
- Avoiding Asthma Triggers Making your home healthier when your child has asthma.
- Safer Pest Control Keeping pests out of the house without using extreme measures.
- Organic Lawn Care Maintaining a safer lawn for your kids and your pets.
- Choosing Personal Care Products Helping your child make healthy choices about hair and skin care.
- Achoo! Scents and Fragrances If it smells good but makes you sneeze, think twice.
- Natural Cosmetics: Makeup Tips How to look good while using products that are gentle on the skin.
- Slideshow: What's Irritating Your Child's Skin? From soap to bug spray, a look at possible skin irritants and gentler choices.
- Slideshow: Indoor Air Pollution What is your family breathing in, and how can you make it better?
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Organic Lawn Care
Do you pull out the weed killer at the first sign of dandelions? If so, you could be putting your family at risk. All pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides are toxic on some level. Along with killing pests and weeds, they can also harm you, your children, your pets, and any wildlife on your lawn.
Young children are especially at risk from pesticides. Their bodies and immune systems are still developing. They are also more likely to spend time outside on the lawn, playing or crawling and coming in contact with any pesticides used there.
It is possible to keep your lawn healthy and looking good without using pesticides. And, if you must use pesticides, you can help keep your family safe by using them with care, and only when needed.
Lawn Care: Start With the Basics
When your lawn is healthy, there's less chance that weeds or pests will take it over. Pests often indicate that your lawn isn't getting the nutrients it needs.
The first step to a healthy lawn is healthy soil. Without healthy soil, grass and other plants have a harder time growing and staying healthy. A soil test will tell you what the pH level is and whether your soil needs extra nutrients. Most grasses do best in a soil with a pH between 6.5 and 7.0. If you find that your soil needs help or a pH adjustment, you can add nutrients as needed.
Most lawns need fertilizer once a year. You can top-dress with a quarter- to a half-inch of compost. Or look for fertilizer that's labeled "slow release" or "natural organic" fertilizer.
Next, find out what types of grasses do best in your area. Each type of grass has different needs for water, sun, and temperature, and choosing one that matches your climate will improve your chances for a healthy lawn.
Know How to Mow
The way you mow your lawn can also make a difference. By leaving your grass a little longer -- usually between 2 ½ and 3 ½ inches -- you can usually improve your lawn's health. This is because the leaves of longer grass have more access to sunlight, which helps the grass grow thicker and create deeper roots.