SUSTAINABILITY IS OUR PRIORITY
We’ve been committed to green practices since we started this business, and whenever possible, we’ll look for sustainable options in our design process. This can be as simple as incorporating native plants or encouraging you to consider a different turf species — or it might be something more elaborate, like permeable paving or a rain garden installation.
In addition, we’ve worked to implement practices that incorporate integrated systems to help reduce the use of pesticides.
Carbon Sequestration:
A great way to reduce your home's carbon footprint is by capturing or controlling your home's stormwater runoff. Research shows that capturing stormwater runoff can help to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a home.
Carbon sequestration (aka pulling carbon out of the air and storing it) can be achieved through the installation of bio retention, bio-filtration, and vegetated swales on your property. Common examples of this in home landscapes are rain gardens or dry stream beds. These systems not only add beauty and interest to your yard but they serve as tools to capture and store atmospheric carbon dioxide. The sequestration of atmospheric carbon can be used to mitigate or defer climate change by slowing the atmospheric accumulation of greenhouse gasses. Use of native plantings in these applications is particularly helpful due to their extensive and deep rooting characteristics as native prairie plantings are able to store more carbon in soil than non-native plantings.
Natural Fertilizers
A lawn and garden that receives heavy chemical application may look green and healthy, however, what is actually occurring is a strengthening of the plant above the ground and a weakening of the plant's structure (its roots and the soil). Commercial fertilizers are an empty type of food much like empty calories humans ingest through refined sugars. Commercial fertilizers shut down soil production of nitrogen and slow down, or halt, humus formation and carbon storage. At this point the soil begins to deteriorate resulting in lawns becoming dependent on the fertilizer. Schmidt’s organic fertilizer options feed lawn and garden soils naturally, strengthening the plants from the ground up without the harmful residual effects.
Integrated Pest Management
Pesticides are a commonly used tool in the lawn and landscape industry. In fact, the EPA indicates that homeowners use ten times more pesticides per acre than farmers. Despite their frequent use, their damaging effects to our environment and people are often understated. At Schmidt we work hard to limit our use of pesticides and offer many different safe alternatives to pesticide use that are nearly as effective, without the dangerous side effects.
Likely the best example of pesticide overuse in our industry is produced by the lawn care industry. According to the EPA, 67 million pounds of pesticides are applied to lawns per year.In fact, a common pesticide that even homeowners use to apply to lawns is 2-4D, a defoliant that kills broadleaf weeds such as dandelions. Most consumers are unaware that 2-4D exposure has been linked to cause numerous neurological diseases and myriad of different cancers. It is also known to significantly affect animal and human hormones.
What’s more, its residual effects are long lasting and are known to appear in water tables. This is just one example. Similar things can be said for most all pesticides. Schmidt believes there is no safe pesticide, that’s why we turn to alternatives.
We employ a technique called Integrated Pest Management (IPM) which is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.
Turf Alternatives
There is nothing more American than a lawn. Americans are obsessed with lawns, accounting for a multi-billion dollar industry. The origins of manicured lawns date back to 1700’s England and France. Wealthy aristocrats were clearing land and sowing seeds to produce sweeping green expanses of turf. This was a mark of status which showed they didn’t need the land to produce food or to graze animals. In fact, the lawn as we know it did not become common in our country until the late 18th century. It wasn’t until the American Garden Club stepped in that the lawn as we know it began to proliferate. The Club convinced Americans that it was their civic duty to maintain a beautiful and healthy lawn, which meant keeping a lawn with “a single type of grass with no intruding weeds, kept at a height of an inch and a half, uniformly green and neatly edged.” Fast forward to now.
It is commonplace for many Americans to utilize a service to manage the weeds and fertilize their lawns to maintain the picture painted by the Club so many years ago.. But at what cost? Synthetic fertilizers used by most lawn care services actively work against nature by shutting down soil production of nitrogen and slowing down, or halting, humus formation and carbon storage. Eventually the soil begins to deteriorate and as a consequence lawns become dependent on the fertilizer. Pesticide commonly used in lawn care such as 2-4D, a defoliant which kills broadleaf weeds such as dandelions, has been linked to cause numerous neurological diseases and myriad of different cancers, is known to significantly affect animal and human hormones and even appear in water tables. To top it off, cutting the turf with a gas powered lawn mower is adding significant harm to our environment as a clear contributor to climate change. According to the EPA the average push lawn mower pollutes at an exponentially higher rate than any vehicle on the road. An average push lawn mower running for 1 hour pollutes as much as 40 cars driving for 100 miles. In total, the EPA has found lawn mowers and other motorized garden equipment is responsible for producing up to 5% of the nation’s air pollution!
At Schmidt we are committed to offering viable alternatives to the lawn. Some common alternatives are fine fescues, microclover and groundcover perennials. Read below for more details.
No Mow Turf
No Mow Lawn forms a dense sod that withstands moderate foot traffic,inhibits weed growth and thrives in low nitrogen soils. The deep-rooted fescues (up to 9" deep) enhance drought resistance by reducing water loss and reaching deeper water reserves.
A cool-season lawn, No Mow grows during spring and fall, when the temperatures are cooler. Because of this cool-season growth, mowing twice a year is a popular approach – once in late spring when the seed heads appear, and then again in fall. The minimum height for mowing is 3.5 - 4 inches. Left un-mowed, the fine fescues in No Mow lay down and form a soft, attractive mat of deep green grass. Once established, No Mow is a slow growing, low maintenance lawn for large or small landscapes.
Microclover
Prior to the invention of chemical weed killers and fertilizers, microclover was included in lawn seed mixes. Microclover and grass actually work well together, as the clover pulls fertilizer out of the air and brings it down to the soil to be absorbed. The microclover varieties that we use flower less prolifically than standard white clover and they tend to spread well. Microclover is not as "micro" as the name might suggest.From a distance, it is difficult to tell that there is microclover in the lawn, but up close you will notice it.
Groundcovers
Groundcovers sprawl across the ground but don’t grow tall, eliminating the need to mow while providing the perfect alternative to grass. This category includes low maintenance plants which spread quickly, smother weeds and fill in pathways. Allow us to help you select plants that will do well in your area.
Rainwater Collection
Thousands of gallons of rainwater run off our roofs every year - and capturing this water for reuse just makes sense. We can help you collect and reuse this rainwater with a simple rain barrel or a more complex underground application. Rainwater collection may be more impactful than you might think- one inch of rain captured from a 2,000 square foot will equal 1,150 gallons of water. Imagine that over the course of an entire year!
Rain Barrels: Did you know that rainwater is better for your plants than city water? In fact, it's way better! City water contains additives such as chlorine, fluoride, magnesium and other chemicals that can be potentially hazardous to plants. Rainwater is nature's perfect plant food. It contains natural amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, organic matter, even bird poop (yes bird poop) that help plants grow. Harvesting and storing rainwater can also reduce erosion and pollution of our rivers, lakes, and oceans by reducing the amount of stormwater runoff (a huge source of pollution in many urban areas).
In addition to the environmental benefits, homeowners can save money on utility bills by capturing and using the free water that's falling from the sky. Harvesting rainwater reduces the demand on a community's drinking water supply and reduces the amount of water that needs to be processed at wastewater treatment plants.
Rain Water Harvesting: The rain water harvesting system we use adds the beauty of a water feature to a rainwater collection system for capturing, filtering, and reusing our most precious resource – water! Whether you choose a pondless waterfall or bubbling urn to add to your landscape, you’ll be happy knowing your rainwater harvesting system not only looks great but is beneficial for the environment too
Native Plantings:
Native plants are those that occur naturally in a region in which they evolved. They are the ecological basis upon which life depends, including birds, animals and people. Most of the landscaping plants available in nurseries are alien species from other countries. These exotic plants not only sever the food web, but many have become invasive pests, outcompeting native species and degrading habitat in remaining natural areas. There are a number of benefits to using natives. Once they are established they are low maintenance. Many native plants offer beautiful showy flowers that produce abundant colorful fruits and seeds as well as brilliant seasonal changes in colors. Natives also help combat climate change by reducing noise and carbon pollution from lawn mower exhaust, and even require less water. Many native plants, especially long-living trees like oaks and maples, are effective at storing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Native plants also provide vital habitat for birds, provide nectar for pollinators including hummingbirds, native bees, butterflies, moths, and bats, and provide protective shelter for many mammals.
How Can We Help You?
Give us a call and let's discuss your needs, goals, and dreams.
We would be honored to call you our client.