MIDSHORE RIVERKEEPER CONSERVANCY (MRC) – How to Fertilize Responsibly
Everyone can do their part to help keep our rivers clean. One crucial and effective way is to fertilize lawns responsibly. The Maryland Lawn Care Act of 2011 helps prevent excess nutrients from non-agricultural sources from entering our local rivers.

The first step to fertilizing responsibly is waiting until fall to fertilize. During these months, lawns are actively growing and can take up nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. In early spring, lawns are still dormant and over-fertilizing can cause excess nutrients to runoff into our rivers, creating harmful algal blooms. Another consequence is a buildup of salt in the soil causing lawns to dry out and turn brown.
A great way to fertilize responsibly is to consider alternatives for lawns, such as groundcovers. They provide a unique and colorful alternative to a standard green lawn. Some known ground covers include herbal lawns, clover, native grass, and sedges. Some native Maryland ground covers include creeping phlox, juniper, and moss phlox. Additional alternatives to lawns include planting native trees and shrubs or native plant gardens.
If you must fertilize, it is important to understand the best practices for lawn care. It all starts with performing a soil test on your lawn every three years to identify the type and amount of nutrients your lawn requires. These tests are simple and free. Other practices include setting your mower height at 3 inches and not bagging your grass clippings, instead leaving them to break down on the lawn. Decomposed clippings contribute about 25% of a lawn’s nitrogen needs for the year—for free.
If you hire lawn care professionals, make sure they are certified with the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) and that they are aware of any streams, gullies, or other environmental sensitive areas. Also, inspect the property after a lawn care application is finished to ensure that fertilizer has not been applied to sidewalks, driveways, or other impervious surfaces. Lastly, be aware of annual fertilizer blackout dates from November 15 until March 1.
At Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy (MRC), we are dedicated to educating our community about lawn fertilizer use in an effort to reduce and eliminate lawn fertilizer. Last April, MRC launched our first-ever Lawn Fertilizer Awareness Week Campaign, April 1-8, 2016. The goal of this campaign is to partner with other environmental organizations and spread the word about lawn fertilizer use to our followers on social media including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For more information on how you can reduce lawn fertilizer use, visit our website: http://www.midshoreriverkeeper.org/how-can-i-reduce-or-eliminate-lawn- fertilizer/ or contact Tasha at keitasha@midshoreriverkeeper.org
Matthew J. Pluta Choptank Riverkeeper