Spring Forum - Co-sponsored by Crystal Lake Conservancy,
Green Decade/Newton and the Newton Conservators
Thursday, May 9, 7-9pm
Newton Main Library – Druker Auditorium
Mary Owen
Extension Turf Educator and Specialist, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Better Lawn, Better Lake: How to have a Green Lawn without having a Green Crystal Lake
Better Lawn, Better Lake: How to have a Green Lawn without having a Green Crystal Lake
Here in New England you don’t have to walk far before you come to a brook or a stream or a pond or a lake. We are blessed with a network of interconnected
waterways that make their way through our yards, our parks and our communities and that flow into rivers and lakes and bays. It is imperative that we protect
these resources.
This session will help you to understand how, using some basic techniques and with a goal of reducing inputs, you can have a functional, fine lawn while protecting and enhancing the environment especially Crystal Lake. We will consider:
- Preventing movement of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) from the landscape into water
- Soil tests, what they tell you and how to use them
- What to look for when purchasing grass seed
- How to transition your lawn to lower input grasses
- Matching your maintenance to your landscape
- Making the best of ‘rainfall only’ watering
- Fertilizing: What? When?
Mary Owen is the Extension Turf Team Leader and Specialist for the University of Massachusetts. Mary is a veteran educator who directs the development of
outreach turf publications and programs and provides instruction for professional turf management programs such as the UMass Winter School for Turf
Managers. Serving as a resource for turf managers as well as community groups, she is an active participant in several industry organizations including the
New England Sports Turf Managers Association, the New England Regional Turfgrass Foundation, and the Massachusetts Association of Lawn Care
Professionals. Mary has served on both the Conservation Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission in her own community.
waterways that make their way through our yards, our parks and our communities and that flow into rivers and lakes and bays. It is imperative that we protect
these resources.
This session will help you to understand how, using some basic techniques and with a goal of reducing inputs, you can have a functional, fine lawn while protecting and enhancing the environment especially Crystal Lake. We will consider:
- Preventing movement of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) from the landscape into water
- Soil tests, what they tell you and how to use them
- What to look for when purchasing grass seed
- How to transition your lawn to lower input grasses
- Matching your maintenance to your landscape
- Making the best of ‘rainfall only’ watering
- Fertilizing: What? When?
Mary Owen is the Extension Turf Team Leader and Specialist for the University of Massachusetts. Mary is a veteran educator who directs the development of
outreach turf publications and programs and provides instruction for professional turf management programs such as the UMass Winter School for Turf
Managers. Serving as a resource for turf managers as well as community groups, she is an active participant in several industry organizations including the
New England Sports Turf Managers Association, the New England Regional Turfgrass Foundation, and the Massachusetts Association of Lawn Care
Professionals. Mary has served on both the Conservation Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission in her own community.
