Ways to ‘Green’ Your Lawn, Garden and Home

The decisions you make about lawn,  garden and home care can affect the fresh water in ponds, wetlands and rivers – all the way to the ocean. Our is especially at stake here on Long Island because it comes from  groundwater which lies directly beneath our feet.

One way water becomes polluted is through excess nutrients – fertilizers, running off farm fields and suburban lawns, and new studies show the number .

Every living thing needs nutrients, but overloading our lands and waters with nutrients can be problematic to the health of both people and nature. Too many nutrients cause algae to grow in unnaturally high quantities, leading to brown tide, fish kills, drinking water pollution and “dead zones” in places like the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. Right here on Long Island, excess nutrients have led to brown and red tides which leads to the death of seagrass and shellfish. Globally, agricultural chemicals are a primary source of these nutrients, but the way people manage their lawns, gardens and septic tanks has a real effect on the streams, lakes and bays, our drinking water and our own health right here on the East End.

What can you do to make your lawn truly "green," and not just lush by stopping pollution of our waters before it starts? How can you "green" your home?

Five Ways to ‘Green’ Your Lawn, Garden and Home

Use Less Fertilizer
Excess fertilizer flows off your lawn and garden and ends up in our waters, making its way to our bays and oceans.  Get a soil test before you fertilize! Find out what your lawn needs.  Use only what you need and only use it when the lawn is growing. Fertilizer, whether it is organic or chemical, can be over-used.

Slow Your Runoff
Think about replacing grass with native plants that will bind the soil and slow down the water. Or maybe create a water garden, which is both functional—it holds and slows down stormwater—and attractive. Or buy a rain barrel which can be used to water your gardens and lower your water bill.  Since pollution mostly enters our waterways from septics, make sure yours is maintained regularly. Have it pumped out on a regular basis before it becomes a problem.

Create Less Waste
Often, mulching your grass clippings can help reduce the need for fertilizer. Cutting your lawn high (3-4 inches) also increases its vigor, shades out unwanted weeds, and requires less water.

Use Native Plants
In general, using more native plants that are right for your part of the world reduces the need for fertilizers, pesticides and watering.  Replace some of your lawn with wildflower gardens, for example.

Buy Sustainable
Although home lawn care can play a significant role in keeping fresh water clean, you can also help promote healthy land and water with your food choices: what you buy, when you buy it, and the producers you support with your purchases. You can support the kind of farmers who work to minimize water pollution. Organic farms, for example, don’t use chemical fertilizers and are required to demonstrate that they are protecting their watershed.

 For more information, check out Green Choices for Lawn and Garden, by visiting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWey6JtlTEY

 Read more about protecting fresh water resources at www.nature.org/freshwater