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From: gene@batman.UUCP (Gene Mutschler)
Newsgroups: net.garden,net.consumers
Subject: Re: Grass
Message-ID: <135@batman.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 14-Jul-85 22:09:37 EDT
Article-I.D.: batman.135
Posted: Sun Jul 14 22:09:37 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 17-Jul-85 06:27:48 EDT
References: <11461@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Distribution: net
Organization: Burroughs Austin Research Center, TX
Lines: 39
Xref: watmath net.garden:608 net.consumers:2626

> Grass is *terrible* stuff, unless you can eat it. It needs mowing,
> watering, de-weeding, etc., or it turns into a real mess. So why on
> earth does every house have a front lawn and a back yard that are full
> of *grass*? Why haven't we long ago realized that grass is the wrong
> stuff to put around our houses, and chosen instead some nice
> low-growing, no-maintenance ground cover that will force out weeds on
> its own and let people enjoy their little plots of land instead of
> having to slave over them to keep them looking "nice", by an arbitrary
> social standard?
> 
> Comments, anyone?
> Will Martin
> USENET: seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin     or   ARPA/MILNET: wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA

I agree and am fortunate enough to live in (what has been until recently)
a semi-rural area.  When my house was built, they just cleared enough land
for the house and septic tank; and they didn't set up for a lawn.  Having
just moved from California, where my water bill was $25 for a tiny lot,
to a 3/4 acre lot, I was concerned about the ultimate viability of a
large grass lot, with respect to water.  Not to mention I don't much
like the idea of mowing 3/4 acre lots.  So, I left it pretty much the
way it was: I did get a Weed Eater(TM) so that I could encourage the plants
I liked (the justly famous Texas wildflowers) and cut down the ones
I didn't like (the equally (in)famous Johnson grass and wild carrot).

My water bill is 6.36 per month, which is the minimum where I live.
My neighbor just put in a huge lawn, complete with sprinkler system; not
only is the sprinkler system going most of the time, so is the mower.
Fortunately for him so far this year we had a lot of rain, unlike last
year, when watering restrictions would have prevented him from running
his sprinklers 4 days out of 5.

Now, they even have a name for this form of dry-land lawn raising:
Xeriscape.  The Austin Nature Center (or somebody here in town) even
teaches courses in it.  The folks in California who are about to lose
most of the Colorado River water ought to check it out.

Gene Mutschler			Burroughs Corp, Austin Research Center
{ihnp4, etc.}ut-sally!oakhill!cyb-eng!batman!gene