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Lawn Care - Keeping it Environmentally Friendly
Picture a healthy green lawn: perfect for lounging, great for ball games and cookouts, a real asset to your home. But did you know that your lawn - and how you take care of it - can also help the environment? This means creating conditions for grass to thrive and resist damage from weeds, disease, and insect pests. It means setting realistic goals for your lawn, whether you or a professional lawn care service will be doing the work. And if you choose to use herbicides or pesticides, it means using them with care so as to get the most benefit and reduce any risks. Caring for your lawn in an environmentally sensible way can have a bigger impact than you might think. Your lawn care activities, along with everyone else's, can make a difference to the environment... and that's why taking care of the environment begins in our own backyards.
Picture a healthy green lawn: perfect for lounging, great for ball games and cookouts, a real asset to your home. But did you know that your lawn - and how you take care of it - can also help the environment? This means creating conditions for grass to thrive and resist damage from weeds, disease, and insect pests. It means setting realistic goals for your lawn, whether you or a professional lawn care service will be doing the work. And if you choose to use herbicides or pesticides, it means using them with care so as to get the most benefit and reduce any risks. Caring for your lawn in an environmentally sensible way can have a bigger impact than you might think. Your lawn care activities, along with everyone else's, can make a difference to the environment... and that's why taking care of the environment begins in our own backyards.
6 Steps To Take For A Healthy Lawn
1. TEST YOUR SOIL!! - The most important step to a healthy lawn is healthy soil. Obtain soil samples from your lawn (procedures for doing this can be found at the Clermont or Hamilton Co. SWCD Websites) and send the sample to a lab for analysis. Your county SWCD provides soil testing for a nominal fee, or find a lab online such as ww.spectrumanlytic.com .
2. KNOW WHAT YOUR LAWN NEEDS - Over-application of fertilizers is costly and unnecessary. Once your soil test results are back, only add the fertilizer your lawn needs. You will save money, and the over-application of phosphorus can have a huge effect on the environment. Excess phosphorus washes into storm drains and waterways when it rains or if the lawn is overwatered. The excess phosphorus stimulates algae growth in streams, ponds and lakes, which is unsightly at best. At worse, the algae growth depletes oxygen from the water, causing harm or death to aquatic life. If you use a lawn care company, discuss your soil needs and ask for low or no phosphorus fertilizer.
3. USE INSECTICIDE AND HERBICIDES SPARINGLY OR NOT AT ALL - Once your soil is in balance nutrient-wise, your lawn should flourish. Learn to live with the few weeds that pop up, or spot spray. Applying herbicides over your entire lawn is unnecessary, expensive and harms the environment. The same is true of pesticides - if you see a pest problem, spot treat it. Spraying the entire yard will kill beneficial insects as well as harmful ones.
4. MOW HIGHER - By mowing your grass at 21/2 - 31/2 inches, your lawn gets a chance to send down deep roots, helping the plants survive dry weather with less watering. In addition, the longer grass makes it difficult for weed seed to germinate... less herbicides!
5. WATER DEEPLY LESS OFTEN- By watering slowly and deeply, grass roots will grow down deep into the soil. Frequent, shallow watering encourages the roots to stay near the surface causing problems during dry spells.
6. SET REALISTIC GOALS - Did you know that a lawn with 15% weeds looks practically weed-free to the average observer? Having a few weeds or insect pests living in your yard means you also have beneficial insects and other organisms that help keep soil healthy and pests under control.
Grass just doesn’t do well in certain spots. How about planting a shade loving ground cover under that tree? Got a wet spot or drainage area? Consider putting in a rain garden with native plants that thrive under these special conditions. Many books are written on this subject, or contact your Soil & Water Conservation District or Stormwater Department for more information.
Healthy Yards Mean A Healthy Environment
1. TEST YOUR SOIL!! - The most important step to a healthy lawn is healthy soil. Obtain soil samples from your lawn (procedures for doing this can be found at the Clermont or Hamilton Co. SWCD Websites) and send the sample to a lab for analysis. Your county SWCD provides soil testing for a nominal fee, or find a lab online such as ww.spectrumanlytic.com .
2. KNOW WHAT YOUR LAWN NEEDS - Over-application of fertilizers is costly and unnecessary. Once your soil test results are back, only add the fertilizer your lawn needs. You will save money, and the over-application of phosphorus can have a huge effect on the environment. Excess phosphorus washes into storm drains and waterways when it rains or if the lawn is overwatered. The excess phosphorus stimulates algae growth in streams, ponds and lakes, which is unsightly at best. At worse, the algae growth depletes oxygen from the water, causing harm or death to aquatic life. If you use a lawn care company, discuss your soil needs and ask for low or no phosphorus fertilizer.
3. USE INSECTICIDE AND HERBICIDES SPARINGLY OR NOT AT ALL - Once your soil is in balance nutrient-wise, your lawn should flourish. Learn to live with the few weeds that pop up, or spot spray. Applying herbicides over your entire lawn is unnecessary, expensive and harms the environment. The same is true of pesticides - if you see a pest problem, spot treat it. Spraying the entire yard will kill beneficial insects as well as harmful ones.
4. MOW HIGHER - By mowing your grass at 21/2 - 31/2 inches, your lawn gets a chance to send down deep roots, helping the plants survive dry weather with less watering. In addition, the longer grass makes it difficult for weed seed to germinate... less herbicides!
5. WATER DEEPLY LESS OFTEN- By watering slowly and deeply, grass roots will grow down deep into the soil. Frequent, shallow watering encourages the roots to stay near the surface causing problems during dry spells.
6. SET REALISTIC GOALS - Did you know that a lawn with 15% weeds looks practically weed-free to the average observer? Having a few weeds or insect pests living in your yard means you also have beneficial insects and other organisms that help keep soil healthy and pests under control.
Grass just doesn’t do well in certain spots. How about planting a shade loving ground cover under that tree? Got a wet spot or drainage area? Consider putting in a rain garden with native plants that thrive under these special conditions. Many books are written on this subject, or contact your Soil & Water Conservation District or Stormwater Department for more information.
Healthy Yards Mean A Healthy Environment
- Healthy grass provides feeding ground for birds, who find it a rich source of insects, worms, and other food.
- Thick grass prevents soil erosion, filters contami- nants from rainwater, and absorbs many types of airborne pollutants, like dust and soot.
- Grass is highly efficient at converting carbon dioxide to oxygen, a process that helps clean the air. Caring for your lawn properly can both enhance its appearance and contribute to it’s environmental benefits.
- A healthy lawn will out-compete most weeds, survive insect attacks and fend off most diseases.
Why All The Concern?
Nearly 40% of the streams in Ohio and across the U.S. are not meeting the "fishable, swimmable" goals of the Clean Water Act. Fertilizers and pesticides carried by stormwater runoff are a significant source of pollution impacting the health of our rivers, lakes and streams.
Plant A Rain Garden
Help keep Clermont County streams clean by planting a rain garden. Rain gardens look like any other flower garden, but they are built in a shallow depression that is designed to collect rain water and slowly filter it into the ground over a period of a day or two. They help keep our streams clean by filtering “storm water runoff” before it enters local water- ways. Rain gardens also help reduce problems associated with localized flood- ing by encouraging water to soak into the ground. Just as important, rain gardens add beauty to our community. Anyone can build a rain garden on their
own. Creating one requires nothing more high tech than a shovel. Visit the Clermont Rain Garden Central web site: www.clermontstorm.net/raingarden.aspx or download the Rain Gardens Guidelines for Southwest Ohio for helpful rain garden hints.
Nearly 40% of the streams in Ohio and across the U.S. are not meeting the "fishable, swimmable" goals of the Clean Water Act. Fertilizers and pesticides carried by stormwater runoff are a significant source of pollution impacting the health of our rivers, lakes and streams.
Plant A Rain Garden
Help keep Clermont County streams clean by planting a rain garden. Rain gardens look like any other flower garden, but they are built in a shallow depression that is designed to collect rain water and slowly filter it into the ground over a period of a day or two. They help keep our streams clean by filtering “storm water runoff” before it enters local water- ways. Rain gardens also help reduce problems associated with localized flood- ing by encouraging water to soak into the ground. Just as important, rain gardens add beauty to our community. Anyone can build a rain garden on their
own. Creating one requires nothing more high tech than a shovel. Visit the Clermont Rain Garden Central web site: www.clermontstorm.net/raingarden.aspx or download the Rain Gardens Guidelines for Southwest Ohio for helpful rain garden hints.