Our mission is to protect, manage and improve the water resources of the Capitol Region Watershed District.
INSIDE
2 Trout Brook engineering wonder 3 Wilder study 3 CCLRT grant BACK CRWD grants to residents Capitol Region Watershed District Spring 2010
Less Green, More Blue by Elizabeth Beckman
M
innesotans love the outdoors, even if it’s just the backyard. But the perfect lawn takes a lot of work, a lot of chemicals and a lot of energy. When spring comes, remember you can have a decent looking lawn and still protect lakes and the Mississippi River:
If you’re starting from seed, choose hard fescue – Chewings fescue and creeping red fescue. Minnesota lawns are typically planted with Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, and both varieties require a lot of nitrogen fertilizer and water to stay green. They also don’t grow well in shade. Test first. You may not need a fertilizer. Minnesota soils are naturally rich in phosphorus, and it is illegal to use fertilizer with phosphorus unless the soil has been tested. This law is meant to protect Minnesota’s lakes and rivers. University of Minnesota soil test information can be found at http:// soiltest.cfans.umn.edu or 612-6253101. In spring, your lawn is still “digesting” a fall fertilization, so you can probably save time and money by omitting a
spring application. Plus, invariably when you fertilize, some fertilizer will run off the surface of the soil and get into our lakes and the Mississippi River. So less fertilizer can mean less water pollution. Also, mow often and long (2 ½ to 3 inches), and leave the nutrient rich clippings to further reduce the need for fertilizer. Water wisely. Watering a little bit every day every day doesn’t help the lawn. When there’s no rain during the growing season, water once or twice a week to 1”. And water early in the morning to conserve water since up to 50% of sprinkler waterings done midday evaporate before they reach the lawn.
dies back, but the roots stay lively underground. A sprinkler uses about 240 gallons of water per hour, and it takes lots of water to keep grass green all summer. This is water we are treating at great expense for drinking. Remove weeds naturally. If you don’t want to use chemical weed killers, use corn gluten meal early in the spring (about the time the daffodils come up) to cut back lawn weeds. Or get some exercise and remove broadleaf lawn weeds like dandelions and plantain the old-fashioned way – by hand. And remember a little clover in your lawn is good – it converts nitrogen from the air and puts it into the soil. A perfectly green, weedfree lawn can create water pollution. So Dig early and often this growing season, go for a little less green to make way for more blue. More information is available in “A Year Round Guide to Yard Care” at capitolregionwd.org, or call us at 651-644-8888.
My grass isn’t dead, it’s sleeping. Most lawn grasses naturally go dormant in summer when the top of the grass
Capitol Region Watershed District 1410 Energy Park Drive, Suite 4 • St. Paul, MN 55108 • 651-644-8888 • www.capitolregionwd.org