By Jessica Stahl
Unlike most folks, though, they achieve a picture-perfect yard without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.
Fifteen years ago, the couple hired an organic landscaper -- one who uses only natural materials to feed and care for their yard. The landscaper happened to be a customer at Betty's former natural-food store in Baldwin Harbor. For the Tuckers, the switch from chemical to organic gardening was natural. The couple have eaten only organically grown, or macrobiotic, foods for the past 25 years.
"We decided to make everything as clean and chemical-free as we could at this house," Mrs. Tucker said. "And it works."
The Tuckers believe their yard is evidence that chemicals aren't needed to create a beautiful landscape. Moreover, in sticking with an organic gardening regimen, the couple are protecting not only their own health, but also that of Nassau County's bays.
In recent weeks, the Herald's series on South Shore waterways has explored the devastating effects that treated sewage and stormwater runoff can have on marine life. Both sewage effluent and runoff are released into local bays by the millions, even billions of gallons annually.
There is a growing movement to have the Bay Park sewage treatment plant's outflow pipe extended from Reynolds Channel into the Atlantic Ocean. The plan, which could cost $100 million to $200 million, is likely years off, if it ever happens, according to officials.
Residents like the Tuckers, though, are doing their part now to help clean up the bays, which are reported to be dying a slow, miserable death.
Both treated sewage and fertilizer-laden stormwater contain heavy levels of nitrogen, which accelerates seaweed growth in the bays. As seaweed blooms to levels far beyond normal, it breaks into pieces and rots. The process of decay robs fish and other marine life of dissolved oxygen, killing them.
Studies commissioned by Operation SPLASH (Stop Polluting Littering and Save Harbors), a Freeport-based, grassroots environmental group, have shown that Long Island bays contain detectable levels of many synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, including some that were outlawed more than 20 years ago.
Synthetic fertilizers contain high amounts of water-soluble, fast-acting nutrients, especially nitrogen. When the nutrients enter the bays, they feed the seaweed, known as Ulva lactuca.
These fertilizers usually contain urea and ammonium nitrate as their primary nitrogen sources. Because they're water-soluble, they quickly enter the environment when they get wet. They're also easily washed away by rain.
Organic fertilizers, however, are far less likely to be washed into the bays than synthetic products. The nitrogen in organic fertilizers is water-insoluble. That means it doesn't immediately become available to plants in a yard, but must be converted by microbes in the soil to a form that plants can pick up and use. Since nutrients in organic fertilizers do not seep into water as quickly as synthetics, they are not washed away as easily.
Organic gardening in its infancy
Organic-gardening programs are only beginning to gain recognition and momentum here in suburbia. Joseph Mercurio, manager of Atlantic Nursery in Freeport, said that 20 years ago, organic-gardening products were hardly heard of, but now many people regularly use them. Atlantic Nursery carries products ranging from completely synthetic to half-synthetic to completely organic, as do most well-stocked garden centers.
Tony DiDominica, of Dees Nursery in Oceanside, said organic products now make up 15 to 20 percent of the nursery's sales. He said there are organic products comparable to any chemical lawn fertilizer, and about three-quarters of chemical pesticides have organic counterparts.
Hans Neuwirth, a former chef, began gardening organically 18 years ago and recently started White Clover Landscaping to bring his expertise to others who may be interested in the organic approach. When Neuwirth bought his first house with a nice garden, he didn't know much about gardening, and like most novices, he "went to the nursery, got a spray and sprayed," he recalled.
After receiving a mailing soon afterward about organic gardening, he switched to organics. According to Neuwirth, organic gardening is about "bringing the natural balance back to the environment." He works with the soil to take care of it and feed it properly. He is also cognizant of the microbes that nurture and aerate the soil, and the plants and insects that benefit the natural environment.
When Neuwirth began gardening, few organic products were commercially available. He made his own fertilizers with ashes from his fireplace and coffee grounds from his restaurant. Today, balanced fertilizers like bonemeal, bloodmeal and rock dust are available at most gardening supply stores.
Neuwirth still makes his own compost from garden and kitchen waste, and he recommends leaving grass clippings and leaves on the lawn to mulch in place. He doesn't consider himself an environmentalist, but said that he knows the organic approach works and sees that his plants are healthier because of it.
The drawbacks
There are drawbacks to organic gardening, however. Chemical sprays are quick, inexpensive solutions to weed and pest problems, while organic products are more expensive and work more slowly than their synthetic equivalents.
Organic gardening also requires more effort. Instead of simply spraying chemicals according to a set schedule, you have to constantly scout your yard to determine what gardening measures are necessary at what time. You also have to think about what to grow, using native plants and placing them in optimal locations where they'll receive the proper amount of sunlight.
For many, the biggest drawback to adopting an organic program is the result. Neuwirth cautions his customers, "If you want an organic lawn, don't expect a putting green in front of your house."
An organic lawn welcomes clover, which brings nitrogen from the air into the soil so plants can use it. An organic lawn is also cut much higher than the typical chemical lawn, allowing the grass to develop stronger roots and preventing water evaporation. It thus may look ragged compared with the perfectly groomed lawns for which most homeowners aim.
Education needed
Margie Fraser, of Long Beach, has successfully -- and happily -- made the switch to an organic program. She first learned about organic gardening remedies from her eye doctor, who routinely picked up cigarette butts and soaked them in water, using the tobacco-steeped water as a natural pesticide. She keeps her gardening costs down by using many such home remedies instead of store-bought products.
Fraser admits that she probably doesn't get as good results as many of her neighbors who use synthetics, but she doesn't like to put chemicals on her lawn because, she said, "you have to walk on it." She plants many herbs. She also replaced her lawn with an English garden and proudly proclaims that it's famous around town.
Despite the growing popularity of organic products, many homeowners are still reluctant to make the switch, and on any weekday, South Shore streets are filled with landscapers dousing lawns and gardens with chemicals. Rich Staudt, of Total Landscape Care, an organic landscaping company, believes the reticence stems from a lack of education. He said landscapers are reluctant to try anything beside a chemical-based program because they're only taught to use synthetics.
When Staudt's company switched from a synthetic to organic regimen, he lost several customers. Staudt said the toughest part about running an organic landscaping company is educating people, because, he said, "It is time-consuming to try to explain the benefits of enhancing the soil, a part of the landscape they aren't aware of."
But awareness of the environment, Staudt said, is what organic gardening is all about.
