Going Organic in Riverside, CT
Worry-Free Status of Yard Pleases
Organic-Savvy Homeowner
By
Kathy Litchfield
Twenty years ago, Clara Park was in
graduate school in California, eating organic eggs and vegetables. She and her
husband were studying English and wanted to live what she called
“environmentally responsible” lives.
“We wanted to be environmentally
conscious and didn’t even want a house for a long time. We lived in the city
without a car and we thought that was a good thing to do,” said Park, an east
coast native who lived in Texas, Washington D.C. and New York City before
moving to Connecticut. “When we moved here, we thought if we were going to have
a house, we wanted to choose responsible methods of caring for it.”
While her husband began law school
at Yale, the first thing she did was to seek out an organic community-supported
agriculture (CSA) farm share.
She
then read lots of articles and researched organic lawn care methods. She and
her husband wanted to leave grass clippings on the lawn, leave autumn leaves
where they fell and take care of stormwater runoff.
“I talked to the lawn care man who worked
here for the previous owner and asked if he could leave the grass clippings but
he said their machines weren’t built to do that,” said Park. “I wanted the
grass to grow longer and be cut less often as it was better for the soil. So I
started looking online.”
Park found Mike Papa of Artscape
Organic-Care, LLC on a google search. She was impressed with his seven-year NOFA
accreditation status and appreciated his can-do attitude and commitment to
organics from their very first meeting.
“Mr. Papa is really amazing. He’ll
talk to you about anything and has lots of logical things to say,” said Park.
The
20-year previous owner of Park’s property was an avid gardener and perennials
flourished and looked perfect , she said. In addition the lawn was green and
well-groomed by a conventional lawn care company.
“It
looked really great but there wasn’t enough organic matter in the lawn. Some of
the plants were too crowded together and diseases could spread. Mr. Papa had a
lot of observations that were really helpful,” she said. “He told us it was all about the health of
the soil and how we could improve that.”
Papa
said that a state of the art soil testing program as well as testing of the
plant tissue was key, as was selecting appropriate grass seeds for Park’s lawn.
“Clara’s
property has many plants and we did lot
of trimming to allow appropriate habitats for turf and ornamentals, following
her budget,” said Papa. “I always tell my clients we use some calcium nitrate
(in our natural blends) strategically, to provide extra slow release nitrogen
in spring to promote growth. Stewardship skills are key to avoiding the use of
pesticides.”
Six
years later, Park said the lawn grows lushly in spring and holds its own while
the summer sun beats down upon it.
While
hot temperatures in August and September challenged the sprinkler system this
year, she said Mike and his crew returned as often as necessary to help them
work with the sprinkler company to adjust the watering.
“Also
they’ve been taking out crabgrass and re-seeding the subsequent bare patches.
We have a lot of clover in the back that we don’t mind, but are trying to keep
the front clear for the neighbors – though we haven’t weeded much this year!,”
she said. “The back was a disaster after Hurricane Sandy, blew over a huge oak
that knocked down two others, but my husband dug a pond and Mr. Papa landscaped
it for us.”
The
Park’s backyard features a beautiful 30-foot-long pond where goldfish – some
five years old and reproducing – swim in the midst of grasses and flowers.
Clara’s husband enjoys walking out to the pond at night and feeding the
goldfish, and her 10-year-old daughter loves to walk their pet cat, Delphine,
on a leash around the backyard.
A
cat on a leash? One reason this is important to Clara is that she loves
watching and listening to the numerous birds inhabiting their one-third of an
acre.
Robins,
jays, cardinals, doves, blackbirds and hummingbirds frequent her yard more
regularly since she started organic land care and installed the pond, and that
makes for a beautiful landscape to gaze at from the windows of her home.
“I
just like Mr. Papa so much. I like how he thinks about the yard. I don’t worry
about how it looks. I have total faith in him and he just takes care of
everything,” she said.
Papa
said he enjoys the peace of mind he is able to bring to clients like Park.
“The
customer likes me so much from the simple fact that we care, are honest, and there
is peace of mind (in knowing) that we work in a pesticide free zone,” he said. “My
goal is to always work toward a balance in all we do, in addition to our
observations and intuitions.”
Park
said her yard “doesn’t have to look perfect, because it is healthy.”
“When
we moved here I expected more people would be into organic lawn care, but a lot
of people just want the service and don’t think about the methods. I know our
yard looks great most of the time, and that it stays healthier longer. I’m
confident that everything is ok and I don’t have to worry about it. Mr. Papa
looks out for the health of everything!”
