Organic lawn care goes mainstream

DSN Retailing Today, May 3, 2004

Environmentally friendly approaches to lawn and garden care are gaining steam, with usage of organic fertilizers and pesticides, compost, and natural mulches rising. Bans in recent years on some lawn chemicals may be part of the reason for this trend.

The Scotts Company this past year tested a line of organic garden soil, joining companies such as Schultz and Woodstream that have expanded into pesticide-free insect and weed killers.

In March, Scotts announced it would evaluate all of its ingredients, step up promotion of environmentally safe gardening, and expand in natural and organic products. An example of this is its Roundup FastAct Foam trigger-prayer. The foam enables users to see where the insecticide was sprayed, reducing the chance of overapplication.

As for retailers, the big boxes are finally taking an interest in organic lawn and garden solutions after noting the success of specialty garden retailers. Lowe's, The Home Depot and Wal-Mart all either currently carry or are testing some natural products.