Here
are a few guidelines to help keep your lawn and garden
environmentally-friendly!
Rules of thumb for watering your lawn or garden:
First,
measure the
amount of water that your lawn receives by placing an empty tuna
fish- or cat food-can
on the lawn. Stop watering when the can is full,
or if you notice water running off the lawn. It's also useful to keep a rain gauge on your lawn.
Let
your lawn go dormant in the summer - e.g. skip
watering the grass. However, if you feel you must water your lawn,
use absolutely no more than 1" of water per week, including
natural rainfall.
One
deep watering one day per week is more effective at maintaining your lawn's
health than watering lightly several times per week. Watering to a depth of 4-6 inches encourages deeper, healthier
root development, and allows longer periods between watering.
Water
your lawn in the early morning or in the evening -- avoid
watering between 9 AM and 6 PM. In this way, you'll reduce water
waste through evaporation.
And,
to further reduce the water needs of your lawn and improve its
overall hardiness - annually
overseed your lawn with drought-tolerant grass species such as
fine fescues. It's best to overseed from late August through early September.
For
more information about reducing your lawn's water needs, view
the website of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst:
www.umassdroughtinfo.org/home_and_garden.html.
If you live near a stream, leave a buffer
strip:
Instead of mowing right up to the
stream bank, leave a non-mowed area ("buffer
strip") along the stream, as wide
as possible (the wider the better).
A buffer strip slows-down any water that drains from your lawn,
allowing it to filter into the ground rather than enter directly
into the stream.
Water draining from your lawn may
carry fertilizer,
herbicide, pesticide, or pet waste. If these materials enter a
stream, they can disrupt the stream's natural cycles. For example,
pet waste and fertilizer can cause excessive plant growth on the
surface of the water. Eventually, this plant growth can produce a
massive plant die-off, a flourishing of bacteria and shortage of
oxygen in the water, and a fish kill.
Also, water that enters a stream at high speed can erode the
banks of the waterway. Eventually this dirt will be deposited by the
water at the bottom of the stream. But first, the dirty, cloudy
water will make hunting for food very difficult for aquatic animals.
It will also make it difficult for aquatic animals to breathe or to
hatch from eggs at the bottom of the stream.
A buffer strip also provides habitat for small wildlife like birds and
butterflies. And, if it's wide enough and not adjacent to a large
swathe of mowed lawn, the buffer strip dissuades Canada geese from
spending time by the waterway.
Care for your
yard organically:
Use a mulching mower. Processed
by your lawn-mower, cut grass and fallen leaves become a "green
fertilizer" and nourish your lawn.
Chemical
fertilizers, on the other hand, often deliver too much phosphorous
to your lawn. It's best to get your soil tested before
choosing a fertilizer.
Also,
be careful with any fertilizer or chemical application in your yard.
Chemicals used on your lawn, sidewalks and/or driveway don't
necessarily
stay there. With a rain storm, they can drain into nearby streams, ponds and
wetlands. They can also enter the groundwater and local wells. See
#2
above, for the effects of chemicals in waterbodies.
Learn
how to care for your lawn via videos
from Safelawns.org!
Search on-line
for all-natural lawn-care methods (try http://www.gardensalive.com
or www.care2.com).
Install a rain
barrel:
Rain barrels collect rain water
for use in watering your lawn and garden.
Replace your lawn with
native plant species:
Growing a
yard of native plants will save you
money and time; the continual watering, mowing and treatments for cut-grass lawns ("turf") won't be necessary. And,
you won't help spread exotic,
invasive species infestations throughout the watershed.
Native
plants are hardy; they've had thousands of years to adapt to local
conditions. Likewise, local wildlife have
adapted to the presence of these plants. In fact, wildlife have come
to depend on them for food and
shelter. In this sense, exotic, ornamental plants really
provide no substitute for a landscape of diverse, native species.
You can select the native plants
that you'd like to
have in your yard based on which wildlife species you'd like to
attract; each plant attracts different animals. Many books and
webpages have been written about which plant species attract which butterflies and
songbirds. Here's a very helpful do-it-yourself
webpage. The National Wildlife Federation actually has a
backyard wildlife habitat certification program! Check
it out.
If
you live on a lake, you might also consider the following: a yard
full of diverse native plants of a variety of heights - rather
than mowed grass - will discourage Canada geese from calling your
property home!
For
information about New England's native plants, view the New England
Wild Flower Society's website: www.newfs.org.
Start a
rain garden.
Learn
more about green landscaping with
the
EPA.
Learn
more about ecological landscaping.
Learn
more about producing the most benefits for local plants and animals,
on your property. Check-out these Maintaining
Your Yard links on NepRWA's Links webpage!
More
Info.!
Start
to Greenscape!
EPA
& NepRWA
Make
a Rain
Garden
(NepRWA)
Help
Your Dog Protect the Environment
Be
a Good Wildlife Neighbor
(Mass Audubon)
Make
Your Property More Ecologically Valuable
(NRCS)
Create
Backyard Wildlife Habitat (Milton
Outdoor Classrooms)
Take
Ecological
Landscaping Classes (Ecological Landscaping Association)
Planting
Native vs. Exotic Plants: So What?
(EPA)
From a Duck's Perspective
(Ducks Unlimited)
In a Gardener's Eyes
(The Helpful Gardener)
How
to Garden
with Native Plants (National
Wildlife Federation)
Buy
Native Plants, Participate in Workshops, etc.
(N.E. Wildflower Society)
Get
Your Native Plant Questions Answered (GardenWeb)
Plants
to Avoid (MA
Dept. of Agricultural Resources)
How
to Identify & Remove Exotic, Invasive Plants
(The Nature
Conservancy)
