The Seaside Garden Club is pleased to present Chip Osborne’s Simple Steps to Organic Lawn Care program on Tuesday, April 12th at the Manchester Community Center. Doors open at 7:00 pm for social time and program begins promptly at 7:30 pm. Special for this month only – Members’ spouses/significant others are invited to attend at no charge! All are welcome. Guests $5. Light refreshments will be served.
In this presentation Chip Osborne will discuss some compelling reasons why we should consider a natural approach to lawn care. Public health, children’s health, storm-water runoff, and water quality issues are all reasons why we should begin to reduce our dependence on synthetic and chemical products to grow our lawns and gardens. His approach will be to share the mission of pesticide reduction and elimination through an “Awareness Through Education” program. Armed with sound information about these products, we can then make informed decisions about how we choose to take care of our properties. Chip will then present “Simple Steps to Organic Lawn Care”©, a detailed approach to a natural lawn care program. Basic steps will be outlined and explained in a common sense approach. The basic premise of this lawn care program is a threefold systems approach that he has developed after years of study. It is a Systems Approach to Natural Turf Management™ that includes 1) A basic understanding of soil biology, (an acknowledgement that the soil is very much alive). 2) The proper use of natural, organic products as indicated by soil testing. 3) Specific and sound cultural practices. This will be explained so that the do-it-yourself-er will be able to care for the lawn or so that the homeowner can convey their wishes to their landscape contractor. The information in this presentation is also a very good introduction to natural lawn care for the landscape contractor. The presentation will also address what we can do at the municipal level to reduce our negative impact on human health and the environment by the continued use of synthetic products to maintain our public spaces.
Charles “Chip” Osborne, Jr., founder and President of Osborne Organics, LLC, has over 10 years experience in creating safe, sustainable and healthy athletic fields and landscapes through natural turf management, and 35 years experience as a professional horticulturist. As a wholesale and retail nurseryman, he has first hand experience with the pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides routinely used in landscape and horticultural industry. Personal experience led him to believe there must be a safer way to grow plants. His personal investigation, study of conventional and organic soil science practices, and hands-on experimentation led him to become one of the country’s leading experts on growing sustainable, natural turf. Along the path to greening his own industry practices, Chip became a regular lecturer for the Northeast Organic Farming Association, a board member of Beyond Pesticides, Chairman of the Marblehead, Massachusetts’ Recreation and Parks Department, and speaker nationwide on the topic of turf management for athletic fields and landscapes. He speaks to a wide audience of sports field professionals, state and municipal agencies, and community groups. In 1998 Chip and Pat Beckett, co-founded The Living Lawn Project in Marblehead, MA, one of the country’s first natural lawn demonstration sites. It is a nationally-recognized, living example that beautiful, healthy grass can be grown without the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. He remains a dedicated environmental activist speaker for communities wanting to learn about why and how to change their town policies. Visit Osborne Organics website: http://www.osborneorganics.com/
Membership is now open for the 2016/2017 season (still on $25 for the entire season)! The Seaside Garden Club meets the 2nd Tuesday of the Month (September through June) and are always looking for new members.  Visit our blog https://seasidegardenclub.wordpress.com/
Good Morning Gloucester 