Borst Provides Tips on Organic Lawn Care and Benefits of ‘Rain Gardens’

Borst Award-Winning Firm’s Presentation at Harrington Park Garden Club Stresses “Green” Approach for Backyard Gardeners

For Borst Landscape and Design of Allendale, N.J., the health and sustainability of the environment are at the heart of all decisions with regard to gardens and landscaping. It was this environmental sensibility that representatives of the firm brought to bear in their presentations at a recent meeting of the Harrington Park Garden Club.
“Organic gardening and lawn care is about eliminating the use of synthetic pesticides whenever possible, and building healthy soil so that grass plants are healthier, better rooted and better able to protect themselves,” said Mike Cioffi, who heads Borst’s Lawn Maintenance services and its Organics division.

Many gardeners seem to think that their lawns cannot survive without chemical fertilizers and pesticides. But as Cioffi explained, there is another way. “Organic lawn care stresses natural aeration, root stimulation, natural thatch control and the use of secondary micronutrients to improve overall soil condition,” he said. Borst’s tree and shrub program employs customized blends of organic nutrients and soil conditioners to promote optimum plant vigor, improve disease resistance, increase stress tolerance and maintain healthy growing conditions.



“Overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is a concern to everyone,” Cioffi noted. “Our program greatly reduces the use of pesticides – not 100 percent, but close to it. Some more serious infestations still require treatment with non-organic materials, but we believe in applying those treatments only to the affected area and only as needed.”



In speaking to the Garden Club, Cioffi emphasized the need to use organic pesticide alternatives, planting a variety of grasses and shrubs so that they will not all be wiped out by the same disease organism, and applying the proper seeding, watering, irrigation and aeration techniques. He also noted that healthy soil is the basis for a healthy lawn, and that soil testing is the key to building quality soil. “Our goal is to enhance natural fungi, bacteria, nematodes and earth worms — a combination that helps in providing nutrients and increasing aeration — while at the same time repressing disease,” he said.



Rain Gardens Enhance Ecological Health

Terry McMahon, a landscape designer at Borst, described the concept of rain gardens as another way of enhancing ecological health. A rain garden is a shallow depression into which rain and snowmelt is allowed to collect and seep naturally into the ground.



“Normally, rain washes pollutants such as pesticides and fertilizers from the lawns and into the storm drains, which means that those pollutants enter the local water system. But a rain garden allows the captured water to soak slowly back into the ground, a process that filters out pollutants and brings the remaining nutrients back to the plants.”



Rain gardens can be established near downspouts to catch roof runoff, or along driveways and sidewalks, depending on the topography of the lawn, McMahon explained. These rain gardens also can be landscaped to add to the overall appearance of the property.



“Our members have been asking for more information about organic gardening, and the presentations by Mike and Terry gave us many ideas,” said Gery Gibney, president of the Harrington Park Garden Club. “They are very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their work. They brought the subject of organic landscaping to life and made it useful for backyard gardeners. This was a good way to kick-off our year.”



The Harrington Park Garden Club is involved in town beautification and special projects, and provides activities which include guest lecturers, demonstrations, plant exchanges, monthly floral competitions and a town-wide holiday decorating contest.



Borst Landscape and Design has been offering organic lawn care products to its customer base for more than a decade, and has its own proprietary “Borst Organics” program featuring an enhanced product line. The firm is also a member of the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program, a voluntary group run by the EPA that is committed to sharing information about achieving superior horticultural results using environmentally friendly methods.



As part of its community outreach, Borst recently participated in the Arbor Day/Earth Day celebration in Ridgewood and several of the company’s projects were included in Women Gardeners of Ridgewood’s “Secret Garden 2008 Tour.” Borst representatives are frequent speakers at schools, gardening clubs and community groups throughout the area on subjects related to gardening and environmental protection. The company’s web site, www.Borstlandscape.com, also includes a variety of useful gardening and landscaping tips.