You can stop dreaming about a green lawn, because with these tips, you can make it happen.  A lot of lawns aren’t very “green” — at least, not for the environment. Residential lawns can use a lot of toxic chemicals — up to 10 pounds of pesticides per acre. The poisons don’t end at your front door. When it rains, pesticides may be flushed into local streams, rivers, and lakes, harming fish and plants along the way. Here are some tips to make sure your grass looks great — and is safe for pets, children, and other living things.

Use natural fertilizers, which release nutrients slowly throughout the year, won’t leach away, and support the variety of soil organisms that improve fertility and combat diseases.

Water deeply but infrequently. Grasses do best when the whole root zone is wetted, and then dries out between waterings. Avoid frequent shallow watering that causes poor root development. Overwatering also promotes lawn disease.

Aerate in the spring and fall. Use a rented power-aerator, or insert a garden fork six inches deep every four inches and lever back and forth to loosen the soil.

Remove weeds using pincer-type weed pullers, which work great in moist soil and can be used standing up. Or, if you must, spot-spray problem weeds.

Crowd out weeds by growing a dense lawn. Mow higher, leave the clippings, fertilize properly, and improve thin areas with aeration, overseeding, and top dressing.

Create healthy soil. Earthworms and other soil organisms keep the soil healthy. By moving through the soil, they allow water and air to penetrate, and they recycle thatch back into nutrients that the grass can use.