b'Step 6 - Leave Watering to the Clouds Summer dormancy is a natural rest period for your lawn. When hot dry weather turns your grass golden, dont fret; it will recover with autumn rains.Save summer watering for your favorite places in the yard and water early in the morning to cut down on evaporation. 30% of the water consumed on the East Coastgoes to watering lawns. Step 7 - Mix Those Seeds If you must have an all grass patch of lawn, use fescue, rye, and clover. These are hardier and more drought resistant than bluegrasses. Clovercontains nitrogen-fi xing bacteria that will naturally fertilize your lawn.Look for seed containing fungi that are repellent to certain lawn pests.Seed in the fall when cooler and wetter days provide ideal conditions for germination and deeper root growth. Step 8 - Forget the LimeCape soils are naturally acidic allowing a wide variety of mosses to thrive. Celebrate moss in your lawn as it stays green all sum-mer and wont need mowing. For creative ways to landscape with moss see the Resources Chapter. Step 9 - Leave Thatch and Aerating Lets put down those rakes andWoes to the Microbes aerator and let the grass clippings and microbes doOrganically managed lawns are alive with earthworms and the work for us. benefi cial microbes that naturally recycle thatch and aerate your lawn.If you must toil over your grass, get down on your knees, break up and aerate compacted areas by hand, and apply compost before reseeding. Step 10 - Celebrate Diversity Train your eye to appreciate variety in your lawn. As many as 50 species of plants may grow in a typical nonherbicided lawn. Daisies will naturally adjust to bloom below the height of a cutter bar; so will other wildfl owers. Yellow wood sorrel adds texture and makes refreshing summer soups. Youll never have to mow patches of moss and lichens. As your dream-lawn addiction subsides, you will begin to appreciate additions of color and texture to your lawn. When weeding mania hits, do it by hand, or, if you must apply something, use greenproductsfor pre-emergent weed control. Step 11 - Take a Walk on the Wild Side Feeling seduced by the perfect turf on TV? Suff ering from lawn envy? Take a walk in any of the Capes nature preserves and appreciate the beauty of diverse grasses, wildfl owers, lichens, and mosses that support bees, butterfl ies, and wildlife of all kinds. Find a fi eld full of fi refl ies and you know youre in the right place. Try replicating that environment in your own yard. Step 12 - Become an Advocate for the Cape Cod Lawn How will you know when you and your lawn have completely recovered? You will be spreading the word and not the poison. Share the good news with dream-lawn addicts, landscapers who use lawn chemicals, or the stores that sell them. If you play golf, fi nd out what chemicals are being used on your greens; alert the groundskeepers to their increased risk of cancer. Help monitor what goes into the lawns of local parks, businesses, schools, and municipal greens. We can all help keep the Cape environment healthy and beautiful, our water drinkable, and our shellfi sh beds thriving. Page 51bluepages.indd 51 8/26/2009 1:52:40 PM'