BOSTON -- A green, lush lawn is the envy of most neighborhoods, but many of us want to be environmentally friendly in growing our grass.

WCBV-TV in Boston reported that you can have a field of green combining organics and a few simple steps.

Don Bishop has been an organic landscaper for a decade. He treats his lawns and gardens without harmful pesticides using nutrients found in the soil.

He tends to each blade organically all under the watchful eye of UMass Extension's Mary Owen. In the world of environmentally friendly lawns, Owen is known as the Queen of the Turf.

"We look at the lawn, and we see grass but the big part is underneath. The really important part is underneath that root system. So you've got to make sure the soil is at the right level where it should be," Owen said.

Owen said that gardeners should test their soil and know the PH level. The second thing to do is select the proper seed for the soil and the sunlight.

"For a grass seen mix for low maintenance, you want to have a very high percentage of fine fescues. So chewing fescues, creeping red fescue, hard fescue," Owen said.

"One of the big things for in organics is seeding. We do a lot of over-seeding -- pretty aggressive in overseeding. And we select our grass seeds very specifically for the site," said Bishop.

The one mistake that most people make is that they cut their grass too short. Let it grow out to 4 inches and cut it back to 3 inches.

After you cut, leave the clippings on the grass so that the nutrients are returned to the soil. Water wisely -- once a week is enough making sure the water gets to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. If you fertilize in late August or early September your lawn will remain healthy. Also, don't stress the weeds.

"That's part of the environmental friendless -- to having that level of tolerance for not having the picture perfect lawn," Owen said.