Monthly Tip: May

A smart look forward to summer gardening

For many people, May is the true beginning of summer gardening. And while achieving a lush green lawn, beautiful flowers, and hearty summer vegetables are understandable gardening goals, some gardening and lawn care practices can have detrimental effects on our local water resources. In keeping with your town’s efforts to reduce the effects of stormwater pollution, there are a few gardening tips that will minimize the impact on your local waters:

• Fertilize sparingly. If you must fertilizer, September is the best month. And be sure to use slow-release fertilizer.
• If you must fertilize more than once, don’t fertilize in the spring until you have mowed the lawn three times.
• Check the weather forecast before fertilizer or pesticide applications, and don’t apply lawn chemicals when there is rain predicted. It increases the chances of those chemicals washing right into local waters.
• If any lawn chemicals or yard debris get on the sidewalk or driveway, sweep them back onto the lawn to prevent them from washing into storm drains. Even grass clippings and excess leaves don’t belong in our streams and rivers.