Lawn Care/Basics for Homeowners-Lawn Care/Listening to the Grass Grow

There are several printed or web-based tools that will allow you to assess the livability, safety and environmental soundness of your own lawn and landscaping. They include:

• Homestead Assessment System: Soil and Conditions Underground

  This is an interactive printable questionnaire with simple multiple choice questions that allows you to assess your own situation for soils, depth to bedrock and groundwater, and drainage patterns. The questionnaire is followed by an extended explanation of these issues and why they can be important, along with lists of possible mitigative measures.

  The 8-page "Tennessee" version of this questionnaire and tutorial is available for printout in .pdf format at:

  • http://economics.ag.utk.edu/pubs/homeasyst/sp508m.pdf

  The longer 17-page "Florida" Version is available for printout in .pdf format at:

  • http://homeasyst.ifas.ufl.edu/homeasyst/hsitech1.pdf
• Homestead Assessment System: Yard and Garden

  This is another set of questionnaires and tutorials, covering erosion, mowing, fertilization, landscaping and watering:

  The 8-page "Tennessee" version of this questionnaire and tutorial is available for printout in .pdf format at:

  • http://economics.ag.utk.edu/pubs/homeasyst/sp508g.pdf

  The longer 17-page "Florida" Version is available for printout in .pdf format at:

  • http://homeasyst.ifas.ufl.edu/homeasyst/yardch5.pdf
• Water Efficient Landscape Planner

  This graphic DOS program is more than ten years old, but contains an eloquent graphic sequence showing the effect of ten different landscape and environmental factors upon landscaping choices. It can be downloaded at:

  • http://www.epa.gov/seahome/landscp.html


• Fertilizer Storage and Handling Practices On the Farm and In The Home

  This is a computer adaptations of the questionnaires and tutorials of the Wisconsin Farmstead Assessment System. They allow the user to assess the safety of his storage and disposal practices by answering simple multiple choice questions. A downloadable DOS version and an HTML version that runs directly from the Web are available at:

  • http://www.epa.gov/seahome/farmfert.html


• Pesticide Storage and Handling Practices On the Farm and In the Home

  This offers the same questionnaire and tutorial package for pesticide management. A downloadable DOS version and an HTML version that runs directoly from the Web are available at:

  • http://www.epa.gov/seahome/farmpest.html

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Lawn Care/Basics for Homeowners-Lawn Care