Inventor cultivates no-mow, easy-grow grass

FOXNEWS ^ | 09/08/12 | Lina Zeldovich

[Doogle]

The grass is always greener on Jackson Madnick’s lawn in Wayland, Mass.: green in a drought and green when it emerges from under the snow. Yet, he barely waters and mows it, and he never uses chemical pesticides or fertilizers.

It sounds too good to be true, but Madnick may have grown a better lawn.

After more than ten years of experimenting with thousands of seeds, he cultivated Pearl’s Premium -- a specific mix of red fescue, tall fescue, sheep fescue and other grasses. When combined in special proportions adjusted for sun, shade and sunny-shade, his blends produce deep green, thin-blade ground cover that's hardy yet soft to the touch.

“I almost didn't water it this year,” Phyllis Kominz from Massachusetts told FoxNews.com. Kominz has been using Pearl’s Premium for about three years and describes it as an “elegant” grass. “I mow it once a month, and my daughter never mows it because they’re too busy.”

[Doogle]

interesting.......

[Doogle]

ping

[Qwackertoo]

I want some of this grass. We have a combo of red & tall right now and it looks awful unless it rains.

Wonder when it will be available for commercial sale?

[Vigilanteman]

I've got something similar to this growing in my lawn.

It is called clover.

[a fool in paradise]

Comes it self-applicating fertilizer.

[Girlene]

Sounds awesome.....especially the not mowing part!

[tomkat]

It is called clover.

It's quite popular .. I grow it too !

[Kimmers]

According to article you can buy it online at Lowes.....

[mrsmith]

Look up Buffalograss (buchloe dactyloides). I wanted to use it on the slopes on my property but the price is horrific.

Used to cover the plains, might not take a lot of traffic.

[knarf]

unless you have no lawn now, it's literally .. kill what you have, apply their seed, water twice a day for a month, use their fert and some etcetera's.

A lot like work and money (IMO) that really ... does it matter that your lawn looks like shit when everyone else's does too ?

[Inyo-Mono]

Wonder when it will be available for commercial sale?

Like a cure for cancer and the common cold, probably too late for me. I have been mowing lawns every weekend for 50 years, and I'm tired.

[oblomov]

Clover actually used to be included in commercial grass seeds, due to its coverage and nitrogen-fixing properties.

[Chode]

i'd give it a try...

[tomkat]

It worked .. lol !

[Inyo-Mono]

I remember when clover was common in lawns (still is in many cases).

[FamiliarFace]

I read Home Depot, not Lowe’s.

[FamiliarFace]

Jackson Madnick didn’t “build” this new grass seed. Obama & the government did.

[fso301]

Dwarf mondo grass is great! You don’t have to mow it. It thrives in sun or dense shade. It’s drought, heat, cold and disease tolerant. It also tends to choke out other weeds.

[SunkenCiv]

Pearl’s Premium, thanks Doogle.

[tang-soo]

From Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine:

Chapter 12 (The Lawns of Summer) — Another interception of Leo's story which re-focuses on the Spaulding family; Douglas' grandfather begins the day, happily reveling in the sound of the lawn mower running on their lawn, an indicator to him that summer has truly begun. Grandma, however, tells him that Bill Forrester, the man cutting their grass, is planning to plant new grass on their lawn that will only grow to a certain height, thus eliminating the need for lawn mowers. (Note: no such grass actually exists yet in the real world) Horrified at this, Grandpa gives Bill a firm lecture on how little things can matter more than the big ones, especially to experienced people like him. Bill attempts to change his mind, but only convinces Grandpa further of his position when he learns that the new grass will kill off the dandelions.

Grandpa finally pays Bill the cost of the grass flats in return for him not installing the flats in his lawn. He takes a nap and wakes up in the afternoon to find Bill cutting the lawn again, having learned to appreciate the "little things," thanks to Grandpa.