Helpful tips for homeowners to protect local waterways
and Chesapeake Bay
ANNAPOLIS, MD – As spring weather approaches, the Maryland Department of Agriculture reminds homeowners and lawn care professionals to follow Maryland’s lawn fertilizer law when treating their lawn. The law is designed to protect local streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay; and requires that all turfgrass professionals be licensed and certified by the department.
“Caring for a lawn is no different than caring for a crop in the field,” said Secretary Joe Bartenfelder. “Farmers practice sound nutrient management by applying fertilizer and other nutrient sources only when the crop is actively growing and by using best management practices to protect nearby waterways from potential runoff. Homeowners and lawn care professionals can do the same when caring for lawns.”
Nutrients—including nitrogen and phosphorus—are key ingredients in lawn fertilizer. When it rains, fertilizer that has been applied to lawns can wash into nearby storm drains and streams that empty into the Chesapeake Bay. Once in our waterways, fertilizer contributes to the growth of algae blooms that block sunlight from reaching Bay grasses, rob the water of oxygen, and threaten underwater life. Maryland’s lawn fertilizer law helps protect the Chesapeake Bay from excess nutrients entering its waters from urban sources, including golf courses, parks, recreation areas, businesses and hundreds of thousands of lawns.
The licensure and certification process ensures that lawn care professionals understand the science behind turf management and the environmental practices they need to follow to protect waterways from fertilizer runoff. The department encourages homeowners to verify that their lawn care provider is certified by checking the department’s website for a list of Certified Lawn Care Professionals.
Do-it-yourselfers can make a difference for local creeks, streams and the Chesapeake Bay this spring by following these best management practices:
- Skip the spring fertilizer. Fertilizing lawns in the spring promotes excessive top growth at the expense of root health.
- Sharpen lawnmower blades. A dull blade rips the grass, opening it up to disease. Removing the blade takes minutes and many local hardware stores or garden shops can sharpen your blade for you.
- Raise the cutting height of the mower. Taller grass shades out weeds and needs less water. A three inch cut length is ideal for most lawns.
- Leave grass clippings on the lawn to decompose naturally. “Grasscycling” provides free fertilizer all season long.
If you fertilize:
- Follow the directions on the fertilizer bag.
- Learn about soil testing. Click here for seasonal and yearly fertilizer recommendations.
- Do not apply phosphorus to lawns unless a soil test indicates that it is needed. Phosphorus is indicated by the middle number on a fertilizer bag.
- Clean up fertilizer that lands on sidewalks or other impervious surfaces.
- Keep fertilizer applications 10 to 15 feet from waterways.
- Do not apply fertilizer if heavy rain is predicted.
For more information, visit mda.maryland.gov/fertilizer.
21 comments:
Really? Md is going to tell me how to take care of my lawn property. WTF? It is my property, my grass and choice of what I do with it.
Amen!
And you two nutcases probably couldn't calibrate a spreader or calculate how much nutrient you're applying. Hire a professional and stop contributing to nutrient pollution.
I followed their recommendations for the last 2 years! No more!!! I had it tested, followed "Maryland recommendations", and guess what? My lawn has never looked this bad. In fact, for the first time ever, I started having soil run off during heavy rains.
It completely defeats the purpose and goes against logic.
I'm not a tree hugger but do care about protecting the bay. This is not gong to work for me.
Back to the way my dad taught me. I bet these 'scientists ' never owned property with a lawn! Like a priest giving marital advice.
4 easy steps to a crappy lawn
So, this article tells us that the farmers do everything right and are the best at being good stewards of the land, yet every other article of the year they are the worst and biggest contributors of nutrient runoff in the Bay, LOL!
So, which is it, Oh Maryland Dept. of Agriculture On Most High?
No this article just feeds into the hysteria that is the Chesapeake bay foundation, that harasses honest farmers, that seeks to tell you what you can and can't do. 7:05 go away and worry about your own lawn and by the way get a job not working for some non profit or the government
Who did the "test"? What were the results & recommendation?
Soooo.... when the City of Salisbury pukes millions of gallons of raw sewage into the bay after a heavy rain, there is no fine because municipalities are exempt from the Clean Water Act. The same goes for all municipalities on the bay and it's tributaries. It is all BS!!!
But all the fertilizer and chemicals sitting in Walmart and big box stores parking lots running into the storm drains when it rains doesn't matter to these morons!
Not if the chemical that you put on your lawn runs off of your lawn which is OFF your property and into a waterway that you DON'T OWN. Have some respect!
Last, but not least, buy your fertilizer in Delaware. You will have a much healthier and greener lawn!
The CBF has to keep the bay in "crises" so they keep getting funded. I'm sure the bay will never be clean again by their standards.
Just like voting, I fertilize early and often! (sarcasm of course)
Important to the point, I spread manure twice a year and BAM - lush green grass that I paid to do! No visits by LawnGreen or TurfFace who quickly hose liquid chems on the lawn.
Leave me and my grass alone!
You think fertilizer purchased in DE works better than the same stuff in MD? No wonder we need so much regulation. You sir, are an idiot.
"You think fertilizer purchased in DE works better than the same stuff in MD? No wonder we need so much regulation. You sir, are an idiot."
No, he/she is *NOT* an idiot. Fertilizer sold in De and VA contains nitrogen, the element that makes grass grow. Maryland forbids sale of nitrogen fertilizers to homeowners. Phosphoric acid and potash, yes, nitrogen, no.
Lol @ no nitrogen fertilizer. Another uneducated idiot. The MDA regulates total amounts of nitrogen (and phosphorus). Not potassium. And phosphorus occurs naturally in our area. If you correct your soil pH you won't need any. Ever.
Educate yourself. No wonder the bay is polluted.
True manure is a good source of N (that's nitrogen for you shore-billy idiots). And the MDA encourages use of this and other types of slow-release fertilizer.
Gonna break in here.... all fertilizer will have N but not all have Phosphorous, which is a leading contributor to algae blooms. That's why detergents are now phosphorous free.
But, it is needed for new seeding or over seeding. That's why good outlets like Johnson's should ask if you are seeding or not. They're not supposed to sell you fertilizer with phosphorous above a certain level if you're NOT seeding.
But, I like to use 10-10-10 in early spring to bring in good growth and deeper roots and again in the fall, especially if I over-seed. I try not to over apply, but just enough to keep the lawn healthy.
But, MD wants to ban the sale of phosphorous, if the CBF had it's way.
The third number stands for potassium (pot ash) and helps plants in tandem with N and P. The last nutrient, often sold separately, is IRON (FE). Iron will help green your yard very quickly. some fertilizer will have N and Fe, with little P or K.
The last piece that many homeowners forget is lime. It helps regulate pH but also helps your plants absorb N better. It's much cheaper than fertilizer and will allow you to put less N and P on your lawn.
Hope this helps with all the arguing.
Or just use chicken shit and piss off all your neighbors!
Oh I see. You are going to enforce a fertilizer law on Americans here in Maryland and let illegals come here and not worry about breaking the laws????????
Anonymous said...
You think fertilizer purchased in DE works better than the same stuff in MD? No wonder we need so much regulation. You sir, are an idiot.
April 5, 2017 at 1:24 PM
Fertilizer bought in Delaware is not regulated by Maryland laws, YOU idiot. Do I have to explain it to you? It has the necessary ingredients for a healthy lawn.
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