Maintaining Your Naturescape

NatureScapes are designed to be low-maintenance so that you can spend more time enjoying your yard with your family and friends, and less time, money and natural resources taking care of it. Putting the right plant in the right place, using less space for lawn, and irrigating efficiently all determine the level of maintenance needed as time goes on. As you learned in Steps to Create a NatureScape the methods you choose to care for your NatureScape are opportunities to keep phosphorus, nitrogen, and other pollutants from entering our water resources. Consider these maintenance strategies as ongoing contributions to protecting our water quality.

Fertilizing

Our sandy South Florida soils allow nutrients to drain away from root systems quickly, so fertilizing can be a routine part of lawn care. It's important to know when and how often to fertilize, and what type of fertilizer to use.

Remember that fertilizing is a choice, not a necessity. See the composting section below to learn how to improve soil fertility without fertilizer.

Most lawns require a low-maintenance fertilizer schedule. Two applications per year of a complete slow release fertilizer, such as 15-0-15 with micronutrients, are recommended in March and September.

Soil in Broward County is naturally high in phosphorus, so the middle number of a fertilizer analysis (which represents the percentage of phosphorus) should be a 2 or less. Apply fertilizer at a rate of no more than one pound per thousand square feet. Follow the links on this page to learn more about fertilizers and recommended rates of application.

For high-maintenance lawns - like those with high traffic - four applications per year are recommended. A suggested fertilization schedule is March, June, September and December.

Excessive fertilization runs off our yards and into nearby canals, coastal areas and the Everglades. This nutrient rich runoff can lead to uncontrolled growth of aquatic weeds, algae, and invasive plants. Aquatic weed control is of high concern to Water Control and Drainage Districts because it is their single greatest expense - costs that get passed on to us, the taxpayers.

Even if fertilizer is applied at proper rates, too much water following fertilizing can result in leaching or runoff -- fertilizer can be irrigated into the lawn with just ¼ inch of water. And remember, avoid fertilizing just before or during a heavy rainfall.

For more information on fertilizing appropriately, click here (page 52).

Proper Mowing

You mow and mow and mow - especially in the summer. Did you know that mowing grass too short and removing clippings can cause your lawn to be unhealthy? The higher lawn grass is cut, the deeper its roots grow because leaf blades actually make the food that stimulates root growth. Deeper roots make grass stronger and more drought-tolerant. Strong, healthy grass will out-compete weeds, so you will need to use less chemicals.

Here are some guidelines for turf areas that require mowing:

Recycle Yard Waste -- Create Mulch and Compost

Recycling reduces the amount of yard waste being taken to landfills, and turns the waste into material to help your NatureScape yard. Leaving trimmings on the lawn after mowing is a simple way to return nutrients to the soil. You can make your own organic mulches from bark, straw, leaves, grass clippings and twigs. These mulches improve the soil by adding nutrients as they decompose, encouraging earthworm activity.

Mulch should be spread around trees, shrubs, planted beds and as ground covering. Mulch can provide many benefits for your yard:

• Improve soil structure, texture and aeration.
• Increase the water holding capacity of soil.
• Help loosen compacted soil.
• Create a favorable environment for microorganisms, earthworms and insects that are nature's "soil builders"