{"id":4847,"date":"2025-12-06T22:07:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T22:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/library\/d-magazine-tips-from-the-dirt-doctor\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T22:07:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T22:07:48","slug":"d-magazine-tips-from-the-dirt-doctor","status":"publish","type":"library","link":"https:\/\/sandonspaldingstaging.com\/DirtDr\/library\/d-magazine-tips-from-the-dirt-doctor\/","title":{"rendered":"D Magazine Tips from the Dirt Doctor"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n\n

\nIssue Date Special Report: D Magazine <\/span>Posted On 12\/14\/2007 <\/font>
by Dawn McMullan<\/font><\/strong><\/font><\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

Tips from the Dirt Doctor<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n
\n\"Image<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\nphotography by Hal Samples<\/i><\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\t\tHoward Garrett, aka The Dirt Doctor, is Dallas\u2019 original green guy. He\u2019s certainly its most well known, although he started on the fringe, like most good ideas. A landscape architect by training, Garrett has taken organic mainstream. He has a national radio show, a monthly magazine, a weekly column in the Dallas Morning News<\/i>, and he\u2019s written numerous books on the subject. He also had a hand greening Frito-Lay\u2019s national headquarters in Plano. Here are his two cents on how you can change the world, starting with your yard:<\/p>\n

\nPlant a Tree<\/b><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tAn average tree can absorb up to 48 pounds of carbon dioxide each year. Some of the best to plant for this area are the bald cypress, bigtooth maple, Mexican plum, red oak, and scarlet buckeye. For a complete list of recommended trees, visit <\/p>\n

www.dirtdoctor.com<\/font><\/a><\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
Plant Buffalo Grass<\/b>
\n\t\t\t\t\tIt requires less water and fertilizer for growing than any other grass. No-brainer.<\/p>\n

\nPlant a Garden With Your Kids<\/b>
\n\t\t\t\t\tWhat better way to connect kids to the earth than by teaching them about pollination, beneficial insects, and creating a habitat in which something can grow? Makes dinnertime more fun, too.<\/p>\n

\nGo Organic Outside<\/b>
\n\t\t\t\t\tStop using all synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals that harm living organisms. Organic solutions are often more long-term and less expensive. And do you really want your kids or dogs playing in the pesticides?<\/p>\n

\n
Go Native<\/b>
\n\t\t\t\t\tNative plants are accustomed to the Texas heat or they wouldn\u2019t be native, now would they? Why spend the earth\u2019s resources continually watering a begonia when you could have lovely lantana?<\/p>\n

\nKeep and Use Your Grass Clippings<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tMulch your clippings into the lawn, returning all those good nutrients and organic matter to the soil. You can also add these clippings to the compost pile sometimes, too, but never leave them just lying around.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t—————————————<\/p>\n

Read More: <\/strong>D Magazine 65 Things You Can Do Right Now<\/strong><\/font><\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tD Magazine <\/p>\n

contributing editor Dawn McMullan refuses to eat fast-food beef in an effort to save the rainforest<\/i><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/div>\n

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