stone said:
Lawns add to the run off problem...
As turf tends to often be planted on compacted soils, all the chems wash off into the streams and such.... the lawn simply isn't as permeable as people like to believe.
Sadly, getting a return to the natural plant populations gets more and more difficult with invasive turf grasses planted everywhere, and the soils that often come with the turf which contain seeds that don't belong... and... all the invasive exotic shrubs and vines and ground covers that new gardeners often plant.
Unless you never walk on your lawn, all lawns are compacted to some degree.
It is more permeable than you wish to believe.
You are correct about difficulty returning natural populations, Dandelions and crabgrass make sure of that.
I have to admit though that I did not know till a few years ago, there are many varieties of crab grass and some are sold for pasture use.
I have put in Buffalo Grass and Blue Stem, it takes a LOT of time and expenditure , in non-natural methods to get them going.
If you do not do the expenditures, you have wasted time and money and weeds will flourish.
I found that out a long time ago.
The Buffalo Grass did not show up till I had eradicated most weeds and had a fairly estabilished lawn, although there was as much Quack Grass as lawn grass.
Still stumped how it could just sit there for ten years or more and suddenly show up.
I think throwing old Rose Garden dirt and ashes from outside burner may have been part of it, as there are worms on a hill that is still mostly sand and rocks.
Having said that Quack Grass can make a fairly decent lawn although it will spread and is not as pretty as normal lawn grass.
If all one cares about is a green grass lawn, as I said earlier, some pasture mixes work pretty darn good.
