To help the Chesapeake, start with your lawn
Now that spring has arrived, our focus turns to beautifying our lawns and grounds. And whether as individual homeowners, condo or apartment dwellers, shopping center managers or public building operators, church or school, all are seeking one of America’s ideals: the well-manicured lawn.
Lawn care/landscaping firms are busy as bees assuring lawns are as green and well maintained as possible and free of persnickety insects. About 1.2 million acres of this turfgrass grow in Maryland, about 19% of the state’s landmass. One million of those acres are lawns around single-family homes.
This is more than any single agricultural crop. A large area of turf is owned by county governments, who care for an estimated 80,000 acres of turfgrass. A 2009 study showed 36% of Anne Arundel County is covered by lawns/turf grass.
Unfortunately, this pursuit of the greenest, best-looking lawn comes at a great environmental cost. About 215 million pounds of Chesapeake Bay-choking nitrogen fertilizer are applied to grass each year on the 3.8 million acres of bay-wide turf.
What is not absorbed by the soil or taken up by plants eventually reaches our creeks and streams and eventually the bay through stormwater runoff. Either by sheet flow or runoff into the nearest storm drain, nitrogen is the major Chesapeake pollutant causing dead zones, loss of bay grasses, and declines in our aquatic critters.
Maryland landowners apply some 86 million pounds of nitrogen fertilizer to lawns every year. In one suburban Baltimore watershed, researchers found 56% of the
nutrients in a local stream came from lawn fertilizer.
This nitrogen can also seep into and contaminate groundwater and present a problem for folks on well water. Lawn owners are estimated to use 10 times more fertilizer on lawns per acre than farmers use on food crops.
In Anne Arundel County, there are 33,383 storm drain inlets funneling untreated polluted runoff to 5,215 storm drain outfalls. This untreated stormwater runoff in our county is the major source of bacteriological and algal-borne toxins that infect humans, dogs, and fish. Stormwater contributes about 40% of the nitrogen, 58% of the phosphorus, and 80% of the sediment in our county waterways.
Of course, much of these stormwater pollutants come from sources other than lawns, but lawns are a big part of the problem in our area.
About 19 million pounds of pesticides are used on Chesapeake Bay watershed lawns to kill crabgrass, other weeds, and insects. These toxic chemicals also reach our waters through stormwater runoff and affect the health of plants, animals, and people. Residues of DDT are still found in the bay nearly 50 years after it was banned.
A rigorous scientific review found that insect species have declined radically, including 53% of butterfly and 46% of bee species — critical pollinators affected by pesticides. Alarmingly, fewer than 10% of landowners use technical information to assure the proper use of fertilizer and pesticides.
There also are significant air emissions from gas-powered lawn equipment. The EPA found that gas lawn mowers emit eight times more nitrogen oxides, 3,300 times more hydrocarbons, 5,000 times more carbon monoxide, and more than twice the CO2 per hour of operation than electric lawnmowers.
The best solution to these serious ecological problems would be to convert lawns/turf to natural landscaping and plant trees and shrubs in their place. Next best: eliminate fertilizer and pesticide use.
My good friend Steve Barry has done this on his large lot in Davidsonville’s Harbor Hills.
Steve was the county schools’ coordinator of Environmental Education and founder of the Watershed Stewards Academy. He ran Arlington Echo Education Center.
Now retired, he has converted his lawn back into the natural habitat that once covered the bay watershed with native trees, shrubs, and a small pond with fish.
See what can be done to restore nature, improve water quality, increase pollinators and other critters, and eliminate erosion in his six-minute video: youtu.be/ Vldvv3YolPw. The video also illustrates how he and a neighbor worked together to eliminate flooding from stormwater eroding their front yards.
Realizing that not everyone who has a lawn or turf will convert to natural landscaping with increased bioretention, there are many other things you can do, some of them to comply with a 2011 state lawn care law — and remember, less is best:
If you cannot eliminate fertilizers and pesticides, minimize their use and never use phosphorus unless for a new lawn or bald spots — it’s the law.
Use slow-release organic nitrogen and never apply it at greater than 0.9 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet and never apply fertilizer from Nov. 16 to March 1 or allow it to stand on sidewalks or other impervious surfaces or within 15 feet of waterways or if heavy rain is predicted or the ground is frozen — these strictures are the law.
Have a soil test done to see if you need to apply nitrogen fertilizer and if so, how much, and always follow the recommendations for amounts to use — more is not better.
Only apply fertilizer in the fall except for zoysia grass.
Mow high, never lower than 3.5 inches, and leave lawn clippings to shade out weeds and conserve moisture.
Sharpen your lawnmower blade in spring and never apply fertilizer by hand—use a spreader to apply fertilizer evenly.
If you must water, do so in the early morning using a sprinkler and avoid water run-off.
Never retain a lawn care company unless you are certain they will fully comply with state law, perform a soil test, use only the minimal amount of organic slow-release nitrogen necessary, and keep from using pesticides unless absolutely necessary and then under an Integrated Pest Management program.
Install rain barrels to capture the first flush of a rainstorm and allow its slow release — as a result of writing this article, I am installing two to stem erosion and reduce stormwater in our yard.
Use natural pest and weed controls and IPM and physical removal of weeds.
Plant native trees and shrubs that are highly water-absorbent to beautify your lawn, attract pollinators and birds, and to improve water and air quality.
Fertilizer products are labeled with three numbers representing the percent by weight of nitrogen phosphorus, and potassium. A bag of 10-0-10 contains 10% N; 0% P (as required by Maryland law for lawns), and 10% potassium.
If you really want to make a difference, become a Watershed Steward through the county Watershed Stewards Academy. It offers the course from fall to spring each year.
Each Steward must complete a community project to improve water quality and agree to serve as a mentor to others. The program has certified 280 Watershed Stewards since 2005. You can learn about this program at: aawsa.org/ bay-friendly-landscaping as well as find much more information on ecological green lawn care.
You also can become a master gardener through the University of Maryland Extension Service where you learn safe, effective and sustainable horticultural practices that assure healthy gardens, landscapes, and communities. Contact: Nancy Allred at: nallred@umd.edu or 410-222-3906. See the website to learn more: extension.umd.edu
You can have your home or business landscape certified as Bay-Wise through a master gardener and post it with a commendatory sign. This site will show you how and also offers advice on making your lawn Bay-Wise: extension.umd.edu/baywise/program-certification.
With so much forest loss, can join Replant Anne Arundel planting 5,000 native trees in 2021. aawsa.org/replantannearundel
What led to America’s lawn obsession? A medieval practice that originated in Europe, growing lawns began as protection for aristocratic estate owners, giving guards a treeless view of oncoming attacks. Colonists eventually brought the practice to the Americas.
Centuries later, with the invention of the mower, the popularity of lawns grew so that now, huge amounts of our land are blanketed in turfgrass — a status symbol for some and a mark of pride for others.
A growing number of people concerned with water and air quality, toxic chemicals, wildlife, pollinators, and costs are making the changes to break the lawn habit and switching to natural landscapes. Will an educated public be able to turn the tide to counter a tripling in the amount of turfgrass in the watershed in the last three decades?