Why reduce or eliminate your use of pesticides and fertilizers?
Pesticides are products designed to kill “unwanted” plants, insects, or fungi (herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, respectively). However, they tend to also negatively impact desired plants and insects, like important pollinator plants and insects. Pesticides can also easily be picked up by stormwater and carried to our local waterways where they continue to kill aquatic plants and wildlife.
Fertilizers tend to be overapplied and at times when they aren’t beneficial to the plants they’re trying to feed. Stormwater can easily pick up the added high amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus from the fertilizer and carry it to local waterways where algae quickly starts to grow into an unsightly algal bloom. If enough algae grows, it can start a chain event called eutrophication.
Lawn Care Products and Practices
Quick Tips
Test your soil. Check your soil’s ability to drain water with a percolation test and check its chemistry (pH, organic matter, heavy metal levels, and nutrient amounts) with a University of Maine soil test.
Make a site design. Plan your landscaping based on use, infrastructure, sun exposure, soil drainage, and soil chemistry. Consider adding improvements for pollinators and other wildlife too!
Build your soil. Based on your soil chemistry results, add any needed organic matter and nutrients through materials like compost and leaf mulch.
Water wisely. Use a rain gauge to determine if you need to provide additional water to your gardens and lawn. Most plants like about an inch of water a week. Water deeply and infrequently to help your plants grow wide and deep roots.
Creates a low-maintenance yard that saves you money, time, and effort.
Makes your yard more functional for how you want to use it.
Makes your yard more resistant to pests and prepared for drought.
Puts native and native-friendly plants where they want to grow.
Attracts more birds, butterflies, and other wildlife.
Uses less water.
Builds up organic matter in your soil to retain nutrients and moisture.
Prevents erosion and drainage issues.
Protects our water! Yard care products like fertilizers and pesticides can be carried by stormwater runoff to our local streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, and bays and make them unsafe to drink, fish, and swim in.
