Organic gardener out to change the face of lawn care (Maine)

[jpak]

http://www.bangordailynews.com/news/t/lifestyle.aspx?articleid=149461&zoneid=14

Among gardeners in the Northeast, Paul Tukey’s face is a familiar one, whether from the pages of the magazine he founded, People Places and Plants, or the HGTV show of the same name. In person, he looks exactly as you’d expect — tall, longish blond hair, casually dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans.

Don’t let his carefree appearance fool you, though. When it comes to organic lawn care, Tukey is as laid-back as a pit bull at an all-you-can-eat steak buffet. He’s relentless. Persuasive. And he speaks with the fervor of the converted — with good reason.

"I’m a lawn-care missionary right now, or an evangelist, or whatever," he said. "My goal is to whip people into a frenzy."

In the preface to his recently published book "The Organic Lawn Care Manual" (Storey, $19.95), Tukey shares the story of his transformation from weed-killing landscaper to organic crusader. The year was 1993, and Tukey was earning a pretty penny as a lawn care professional in the Falmouth area. He also was suffering nosebleeds and shortness of breath.

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[DawnIsis]

1. Great post! It seems so hypocritical of our officials to ban smoking for bar & restaurant workers

but handling deadly chemicals everyday is A-OK!

[msongs]

2. more information at www.safelawns.org nt

[emmadoggy]

3. Cool! Lots of great info!

I just spent a bunch of time watching several of the short videos on the safelawns.org website and I've added his book to my Amazon wishlist. I'm very excited to give some of these methods a try.

Thanks!