The Organic Lawn Care Manual: A Natural, Low-maintenance System for a Beautiful, Safe Lawn

by Paul Tukey

Create a gorgeous lawn that is free of harsh chemicals. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know to grow and maintain a thriving lawn using organic gardening methods. With expert advice on planting the best grass varieties, nourishing the soil, watering, fighting weeds, and sustainable maintenance, Paul Tukey helps you create a luscious and inviting lawn that is pesticide-free and safe for your children and pets. 

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Reference, Green, Environment

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 15, 2007

About the author

A working journalist for more than 40 years, Paul Tukey has won awards in the worlds of newspapers, magazines, films, television and books. He launched his career in sportswriting with Maine Sunday Telegram and Portland Press Herald in the 1980s covering the Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots and Bruins. In the ’90s, he founded his own media company, People, Places & Plants, which launched several magazines and an EMMY-nominated HGTV program of the same name. Paul directed, produced and hosted 52 episodes of the program for four years under contract to the Scripps Networks.

Winner of the prestigious Communicator of the Year Award from the American Horticultural Society, as well as the 2018 Green Medal Award from the Garden Writers of America, Paul has been featured in thousands of media outlets from Martha Stewart and Good Morning America as well as National Geographic, Readers Digest and the New York Times, which called him, “The godfather of the natural land care movement.” His first two books include the Organic Lawn Care Manual (Storey 2007) and Tag, Toss & Run: 40 Classic Lawn Games (Storey 2012). His 2010 feature-length documentary film titled, “A Chemical Reaction,” profiling the lawn pesticide bans sweeping across Canada and the U.S., earned three EMMY nominations.

His latest work is a departure from the environmental genre. In the book, Raising Tomorrow's Champions, Paul investigates the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team for insight in what it takes to develop championship level qualities in sports and life. "Time will tell and the audience will be the judge," said Paul. "But I think this is the best work of my career." An avid gardener, photographer, writer, and runner, Paul was inspired to write his latest book by his daughter, Angie. Just 11 years old, she has been playing elite club-level soccer for five years.

In daily life, Paul serves as the Director of Environmental Stewardship for the Glenstone Museum in Potomac., Md. Paul has led the way in creating a “living classroom” on the all-organic 300-acre site that includes native meadows, a five-acre organic lawn, and restored streams and tributaries.

Reviews

[Sariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked this book out from the library because I wanted to find a way to safely care for our lawn. As time goes on, credible scientists are finding more and more links between the use of chemicals we use on our lawns and the rise in childhood cancers. That is just not a risk I am willing to take just to have a bright green and weed free lawn. My neighbors are free to sneer all they want. I care not.

Part of the author's purpose is to convince people that an unnaturally green and weed free lawn is NOT NORMAL, and to try and bend nature that forcefully to your will is dangerous, because it leads people to dump all sorts of horrible things on their lawns for the sake of this artificial beauty.

Of course, the majority of the book is how to care for your lawn in a completely natural and safe way. At first it my seem like a lot more work than just spreading some weed 'n feed around, but in the long term, your lawn will be healthier and be able to resist pests and weeds unlike a chemically laden lawn will, which will result in much less work for you.

I recommend this book without reservation to anyone who wants to keep their yards beautiful and their children (and for that matter the local wildlife) safe.

[Lise · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband purchased "The Organic Lawn Care Manual" in 2008. Out of curiousity, I thumbed through it and found it highly compelling. Paul Tukey's advice just makes good sense - for the earth and for ourselves. And it's easy to follow. We immediately adopted the all organic routine, tested our soil and amended it based on the results, applied corn gluten for weed control, and even started making compost. Our lawn looks great, not in a 1950's suburban perfect sort of way, but real and healthy. What's more though - the book inspired me to start advocating for natural lawn and garden care practices. I signed up as a member at [...], joined the Million Acre Challenge, and even did a speech on organic gardening at my local Toastmasters club. I'm not exaggerating by saying that this book inspired me to make many positive changes in my life and my community. If you care about the environment, it's a must read!

[Cynthia Mauck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just under a year ago I became a first-time homeowner at the age of 63. The lawn was not in good shape last summer and looks even worse this summer - a LOT of moss from a very snowy winter, and a lot of clover and other weeds. I'm determined to keep synthetic chemicals off my lawn. This book is excellent in giving me the guidance I need. Before reading this book I knew nothing about lawn care. I thought all you needed to do was water it and mow it. I didn't even know how often to water it or how much water to give it when I would water it. I did know not to water at night. I certainly had no knowledge of the types of grass, compost, aeration, dethatching, etc. Boy do I know it all now. Thank you Paul Tukey. I am really looking forward to having a much healthier and nicer looking lawn as the seasons progress. I have a stupendous 4k video camera and will document every step of the way - from crappy looking lawn to excellent looking lawn.

[Lorilin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful and comprehensive. I especially liked the chapter on weeds (and the subsection on how to identify each weed, though wild strawberry wasn't included...).

A lot of the info in here was repeat for me. I'm going to keep doing what I can to strengthen my soil (mostly through adding organic matter via compost and leaving grass clippings so they can work their nitrogen-fixing magic).

I need to get a soil test finally, too. And I might consider a more permanent border between my turf and perennial beds. All good things that are fun to think about.

[Literate Duck · Rating 4 out of 5]

some good resources at the end, including lawn games. pretty comprehensive guide to lawn care. gets to the root of the issue.

[Alex Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I (or rather, my lawn) live and die by this book! So helpful. I use it as a reference often.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unexpectedly a very detailed and complete manual on the subject.

[Jspedal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book becuase I would like to help our lawn become more healthy. This book gave some good ideas that don't require a significant investment of money; but with patience and hard work you can improve your soil and in turn have a healthier lawn. I also liked that the focus wasn't on having a golf course-like lawn and the book wasn't preachy about organics but gave a comparison between synthetics and organics.

[Stephen Heverin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good concise guide to taking a new look at your lawn and how you can move away from being chemically dependent and having a lawn which is still a good lawn, but without all the treatment and overhead. Whether you are looking to tackle you lawn yourself, or bring in a landscaper to do your lawn, this is a must read to give you the background you need to understand how you will want to tackle your lawn.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great! Tukey tells you everything you need to know to make the transition to an organic lawn. It has plenty of useful advice from someone who works with this on a daily basis. I refer to it often. He lives on the east coast, and while he tries to make the book as geographically diverse as possible, sometimes one does have to take location into account.

[Laura Cyr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book for other New Englanders dealing with lawn issues. It is informative, concise and easy to flip through for info. I would have preferred more concrete ways to get rid of moles and some annoying weeds (other than just starting a new organic lawn from scratch).

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to why organic lawns are important, and how to go about it in general practice. Good reference on a few varieties of weeds and how to rid the lawn of them more naturally. Unfortunately, he stops short of giving specific equipment and soil amendment product recommendations.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

After recently replacing our patio and landscaping about half of our yard we've decided we'll try to maintain our lawn and gardens without the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizer. This was a good introduction.

[Jackie Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Check out his videos on www.safelawns.org...maybe I should stop reading this book and watching videos and actually MOW MY LAWN

[Cari · Rating 5 out of 5]

full of excellent information and graphics. not as dull as i imagined reading about growing grass would be.

[jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

*super* helpful, straightforward, and informative. now let's hope it works!

[Sacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

My introduction to the life of a lawn. I had no idea, but I've followed the simplest suggestions and can see improvements.

[Jessica Blevins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for anyone who wants to learn more about their lawn.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reference. Xeriscape

[Leticia Vega · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great reference.