Title: YardScaping
1YardScaping Green yards that keep our
waters blue
Gary Fish, CoordinatorMaine YardScaping
Partnership (207) 287-2731gary.fish_at_maine.gov
2The Partnership is very diverse!
3YardScaping
- A new paradigm?
- Some call it Sustainable Landscaping or
Ecological Landscaping - We want to keep it simple
Back Cove Demonstration Site
Back Cove Demonstration Site
4YardScaping Mission
- To inspire Maine people to
- create and maintain healthy landscapes
- through ecologically based practices that
- minimize reliance on water, fertilizer and
pesticides
5Why worry?
6Maine yard care fertilizer and pesticide use more
common than perceived
7An almost 8 fold increase in home pesticide use
in 12 years!
8Urban water sampling
- Friends Of Casco Bay did some detective work in
2001 - 2008 - Sampled runoff water from intensive lawn care
areas in Cumberland, S Portland, Westbrook,
Falmouth, Yarmouth, Brunswick, Freeport, Portland
and Cape Elizabeth Back Cove area - Sampled sediments for pyrethroid insecticides in
Falmouth and Portland in 2008
9Friends of Casco Bay sampling
- Pesticide residues detected in surface water
- Diazinon up to (2.6 ppb)
- 2,4-D up to (36.4 ppb)
- Dicamba up to (4.1 ppb)
- MCPP up to (26 ppb)
- MCPA up to (0.45 ppb)
- Clopyralid up to (0.91 ppb)
- Propiconazole up to (0.075 ppb)
- Chlorothalonil up to (0.22 ppb)
- Found Excess Nitrogen Phosphorous in most
samples - Pesticide residues detected in sediments
- Bifenthrin up to (16.6 ppb) 100 of samples
Values in red exceed
Aquatic Life Criteria
10USGS National Water Quality Assessment 2006
Report
- Sampled urban streams
- Insecticides occurred more frequently in urban
streams than they did in agricultural area
streams - Herbicides detected in 99 of Urban stream
samples - Phosphorous found at same levels as in
agricultural streams - 70 of those samples exceeded the EPA level for
causing excessive algal growth
11What can gardeners do?
- Be a YardScaper
- Improve the soil
- Reduce the need for irrigation
- Slow the flow
- Reduce the need for weed and insect control
- Apply fertilizers and pesticides properly
sparingly - Avoid invasive plants
Back Cove Demonstration Site
12Improve the soil
- Know your soil - Soil test
- Separate samples
- Lawn
- Perennials
- Shrubs
- Veggies
- Basic or advanced
- Basic University of Maine
- Advanced Solvita Woods End Lab, Mt. Vernon
The Soil Food Web
13Improve the soil
- Add low nutrient composts
- Avoid nutrient banking
- Apply compost tea
- Avoid products with animal manures
- Keep off edible portions of plants
14Improve the soil
- Aerate lawns
- Return lawn clippings
- Keep clippings off impervious surfaces
15Reduce irrigation needs
- Right plant right place
- Hardiness zone
- Sun exposure
- Soil type
- Use drought tolerant plants
- Fescues instead of KBG
Tall Fescue
16Reduce irrigation needs
- Mulch properly
- Organic mulches conserve water
- Not too deep (2 4inches)
- Dont use impervious weed barriers
- No volcano mulching
- Shred your leaves and use as mulch under trees
and shrubs or as winter cover for bulbs - Mow high
- 3 4 inches is best
- Taller has deeper roots
17Reduce irrigation needs
- Reduce lawn area
- Water properly
My own wildflower field
18Slow the flow
- Capture runoff
- Rain barrel
- Rain Gardens
- Pervious walks driveways
- Resist the neatnik inside you
19Slow the flow
- Curves are good
- Reduce lawn area
- Create buffers
20Reduce the need for weed and insect control
- Plant resistant varieties
- Right plant right place
Bunchberry shady and moist site
21Reduce the need for weed and insect control
- Mow high and sharp
- Sharp blades reduce disease stress
- Feed the need
- Healthy plants resist problems
- Seed, seed, seed
- Seeds are the best weed control
22Reduce the need for weed and insect control
- Keep air circulating
- Prune plants properly
- Encourage beneficials
- Provide continuous blooms
- Apply beneficials
23Apply fertilizers and pesticides properly
sparingly
- Test the soil
- Use slow release (No P)
- Spoon feed
- Apply ½ rate
- Apply once or twice only
- No weed feed
24Select slow release fertilizers
- GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
- Total Nitrogen (N)......................8.00
1.0 Water Soluble Nitrogen 7.5
Water Insoluble NitrogenAvailable Phosphate
(P205)...........1.0 Soluble Potash
(K20)....................1.0 Derived from corn
gluten, steamed bone meal sulfate of potash - NON PLANT FOOD INGREDIENTS Bacillus subtilis,
Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus pumulis,
Bacillus megaterium, Paenibacillus polymyxa,
Paenibacillus durum each _at_ 275,000 CFU per gram
of finished product
Look for Water Insoluble Nitrogen (WIN)
25Apply fertilizers and pesticides properly
sparingly
- Practice IPM
- ID pests
- Think first Spray last
- Choose least toxic but effective products
- Apply properly
- Keep off hard surfaces
- Measure areas
- Calibrate equipment
26Proper application
- Base applications on soil test results
- Never apply when there is standing water
- Never apply to saturated soils
- Never apply to frozen ground
27Proper application
- Never apply until soil warms to 50 - 55F at 3
soil depth - Never apply between December 1 and April 1
- Do not apply pesticides if rain or irrigation is
imminent, unless specified by label - Do not apply if moderate or heavy rain is
imminent regardless of label statements - Never apply to impervious surfaces
28Proper application
- Never apply near areas prone to runoff, i.e.,
culverts, drains, drainageways or wells - Never apply to bare ground unless establishing
seed - Cover seed to prevent erosion
- Clean up spills immediately
- Lightly water-in fertilizers
- When the label directs, assure that pesticides
are watered in as directed
29Avoid invasive plants
- Some can ruin lakes
- Others change wetlands
- Native plants not a panacea
30Avoid invasive plants
- Control can degrade water quality
- Erosion causes siltation
- Must replace with new plants
- Nature always fills open spots
Garlic mustard
31Where to learn more
http//www.yardscaping.org
32Where to learn more
http//www.gotpests.org/
33Where to learn more
http//131.128.91.217/maynard_susplants/html_spl20
00/index.htm
34Where to learn more
http//orb.at.ufl.edu/TREES/index.html
35Other resources
http//www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/b2c/catalog/products.
do
http//dspace.library.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/3
574/2/LawnCarewithoutPesticides.pdf
36YardScaping Protecting the beauty of Maine