Content about Agriculture

The city of Glendale, Calif., has began enforcing a prohibition on synthetic turf for front lawns, according to an article in the Glendale News Press. 

The Glendale ban has been in place for three months, according to the article, but code enforcement officers have recently issued six violation notices to property owners who refused to remove the artificial turf from their front yards. Faux grass in the backyard is permitted, however.

Dalton, Ga.-based SYNLawn has begun selling its brand of residential synthetic grass at 463 Lowe's stores.

The new program is a continuation of a trial offering conducted in Lowe’s stores in five states earlier this year.  SYNLawn will provide rolls of synthetic turf in the most popular sizes, along with basic installation tools for Lowe’s customers who need smaller amounts of turf and want to install it themselves.

A Canada-based franchise operation based on independently owned yard care companies continues to gain traction in the United States. 

Founded in 1970 by an Ontario businessman, Weed Man branched into franchising in 1976. Each operation, which provides complete lawn care service (including fertilization, weed, insect and disease management, as well as aeration and seeding), is locally owned ad operated. 

Gloucester, Mass.-based Rule is promoting greener gardens through a new solar-powered RainPerfect pump system designed for use with rain barrels.

The product made its debut in January, and is now working its way to consumers nationwide, according to the company. It was developed and produced by ITT Corp.'s Flow Control division.

Electric corded lawn mowers accounted for only 6% of the walk-behind market in 2010 — but that’s up from 2.9% in 2009, according to data from consumer research firm The NPD Group.


Soaring fuel prices, tougher government emissions standards and a general trend toward environmental stewardship have given rise to more cordless electric walk mowers and manual mowers, especially for homeowners with smaller lawns. And powered mowers are feeling the trend, as well.


A warning issued on March 22 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicates that U.S. consumers can still purchase harmful home and garden insecticides over the Internet. 

More than 2,800 customers across the United States have purchased an ant control product called “Fast Ant Bait” through fastpestcontrol.com, according to the EPA. The product contains mirex, a pesticide that was banned in 1978 because it can cause liver, skin, reproductive and nerve damage.

Edison, N.J. -- American lawns don't need to be dandelion-free, says the founder of SafeLawns.org. It's much better for them to be healthy for children and other living things. 

That's one of the many green-minded messages Paul Tukey delivered to a small group during the New Jersey Flower & Garden Show here. Tukey is founder of the non-profit pro-environment organization SafeLawns.org

Several years ago, the couple down the street -- one of them a landscape architect -- decided to tear out their front lawn and put in a drought tolerant garden. This being Southern California, no one batted an eye. In fact, San Diego Home & Gardens magazine did a photo spread on the project.