This year Pinellas county in Florida banned the use and sale of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers for lawns between June 1 and September 30. Is that a good idea? On the surface it seems like a great idea because it should reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus which reach streams, lakes, ponds and rivers and cause algal bloom and destruction of water habitats. On the other hand a PROPERLY fertilized lawn is less likely to have nutrient rich runoff (because of a more expansive root system.) If this ban inadvertently stops people from properly fertilizing there is the possibility that the problem could be made worse.
I’m no fan of heavy fertilizer use by homeowners — I loath the practices of many lawn care companies which includes pesticide and fertilizer applications as many as 5 times a year — but the truth of the matter is that grass actually does a good job of grabbing nutrients that are applied to it because it has such a dense root system. Crops like corn and wheat, on the other hand, don’t have such a dense root system. I recently read a paper stating that, worldwide, only about 33% of the nitrogen applied to crops is actually used by those crops (this is referred to as NUE or Nutrient Use Efficiency). A recent graduate student of mine found that the NUE for Hazelnuts is actually well below that.
My personal preference for lawns is that we start to do what was once common back in the ’50s and before — plant clover with your grass. Believe it or not you can get an amazingly dense lawn that way. The clover will provide much of the nutrition that the grass needs — and it’s not, as of yet, considered a noxious weed. I also like the idea of planting leguminous trees, like black locust (I know some of you see this as a weed — it can be a nice tree too) in turf plots, reason being abscized black locust leaves have high concentrations of nitrogen — over two percent — unlike the leaves of things like maples and oaks. Of course it’s also possible for the nutrients from clover or the leaves from black locust to end up where they shouldn’t, but because of their slow decomposition we hope that nutrients running off from these sources would be less of a problem.
Anyway, my final thought — Why couldn’t we legislate that all grass seed include some clover or that a certain number of leguminous trees be planted near turf plots rather than trying to control the use of fertilizers?
Apparently Canada is banning fertilizer-herbicide combinations like weed-n-feed, which would be a good first step in encouraging grass-clover lawns. I’ve heard that the rise of 2,4-D herbicides are the reason clover got rebranded as a weed in the first place.
That’s a great point Joseph (I can tell you read gardenrant!) Wish I’d thought of it before I posted!
I agree with you about the clover – excellent lawn plant, and I’ve found it be especially useful at filling in the gaps and rejuvenating lawns and pastures with poor soil quality.
As for the black locusts — umm, no, not in a residential area, not anywhere the thorns could present a risk to people or animals . . . or tires. The thorns grow long, are strong enough to puncture a truck tire, can poke through the sole of ordinary shoes and lodge a half inch into the foot AND the residue from the bark that remains in the wound conti
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nues to irritate and fester for a week or two. Trust me, I have experience with all of the above.
While I wholeheartedly embrace the concept of using leguminous plants to complement the usual turf types, one should choose carefully and avoid those that create as many problems as they solve.
I did some research on clover lawns because I wanted to overseed the lawn that is left (not much) with it and found that one way to discourage clover growth is to fertilize with a typical nitrogen-rich lawn food. Apparently, where clover grows naturally, it’s a sign that the soil is nitrogen poor (according to at least one lawn guru).
One of the “downsides” often mentioned about clover is it flowers (gasp!) and attracts bees (the horror!) so people who want to walk barefoot on the lawn might get stung.
No word, though, on how people feel about walking barefoot through a patch of turf loaded with chemicals!
I agree with you about the clover – excellent lawn plant, and I’ve found it be especially useful at filling in the gaps and rejuvenating lawns and pastures with poor soil quality.
As for the black locusts — umm, no, not in a residential area, not anywhere the thorns could present a risk to people or animals . . .
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or tires. The thorns grow long, are strong enough to puncture a truck tire, can poke through the sole of ordinary shoes and lodge a half inch into the foot AND the residue from the bark that remains in the wound continues to irritate and fester for a week or two. Trust me, I have experience with all of the above.
While I wholeheartedly embrace the concept of using leguminous plants to complement the usual turf types, one should choose carefully and avoid those that create as many problems as they solve.
If you don’t like Black locusts, how about Laburnums or Redbuds? Alders are also nitrogen fixers.
Why not use compost on lawns and mow as high as the mower allows to have beautiful lawns.
If it wasn’t for white clover, we wouldn’t have a lawn!I love it, as do our honey bees (gives them lots of nectar after the blueberries are done blooming), the hens, and the marauding bunnies which are hopefully filling up on it before attacking my chard.
There isnothing new about using clover in lawns. It has been around for a hundred years. But __ in our area we have dandelions, oxalis, a real bummer called bur clover (try walking barfoot over those babies!)and a dozen other broadleaf weeds that invade our lawns. If we use any broadleaf weed killers we kill the white clover too. A good slow release fertilizer like Scott’s Turfbuildler doesn’t over fertilize and is the best of both worlds.
Interesting. We live in an old farmhouse with many mature locusts throughout the lawn. In spring (May to June in particular) the lawn is exceptionally dense under those trees, which I always thought was odd, given it was shaded and presumably had to compete with the tree roots for moisture. (see the dead circle around the nearby silver maple for an example of that phenomenon). I never considered the leguminous nature of the tree.
Where can I find clover seed? I’ve been looking for clover seed for five years. So far I’ve only been able to find it in small 100 seed packages.
Cynthia – I’ve always been able to buy Dutch white clover seed at farm supply stores. If they don’t have it, they can usually order it. I use other clovers in the pastures, too, but Dutch white is my preference for lawns. Someone else might know if there are newer cultivars that might be better – it’s been a good while since I’ve needed to seed a lawn.
I also think that government regulation of lawncare will be hard to enforce. Florida has a new law that homeowners associations cannot force homeowners to maintain weed-free lawns. I think this is much more important.
The Lawn Reform Coalition has lots of ideas and resources on their website: http://www.lawnreform.org
Jeff, I notice that the restrictions in Pinellas come with time limits… do we really need to fertilize (again) from June through the end of August? I think the best practices for that area and time period would recommend an iron supplement, if anything. (And I am going off a ten year memory here… don’t hold me to that.)
Also maybe a nice, thick stand of St. Augustine has a sufficient root system to ‘grab’ the nutrients, but many people who over-fertilize are trying to compensate for a thin, patchy stand of grass for which more fertilizer is not the answer. They should be looking instead at sun/shade patterns, lawn pests, poor cultivation (mowing too low), etc.
Lastly, how many people pushing a cart load of weed and feed through the local big box store understand what it means to calibrate a spreader? One in fifty? Maybe? So if they even bother to read the label and try to apply correctly, they will be lucky if they are using a spreader which corresponds to the label instructions. I applaud you, Pinellas County, for taking this first step to controlling the madness of overfertilization!
The use of clover in lawns, otoh: very, very good!
Good Point thistle and thorn. My major point is: Why legislate against a problem when we can legislate for a solution? (Does that make sense????)
Those that do not like black locust thorns: there are thornless varieties, like the ‘Chicago Blues’ black locust. I planted just a few last year in my town to see how they will do on our streets, and I know that nearby Chicago has many of them planted in parks and in the Pilsen neighborhood, which is a good indicator of hardiness.
Weed-free lawns, on the other hand, are a terrible idea. As a former turf manager, I can understand the urge to have a beautiful lawn, or golf course, or whatever, but the cost, the time involved, and the possible env. impact make it all seem rather silly to me now.
Oh, and on the topic of legislating plantings vs. appllications: it is much more palatable for a homeowner to not apply chemicals due to a negative env. impact (whether perceived or real), than it is to be told they have to plant something on their private property. As a homeowner, if my city told me that I had to have at least one black locust on my property I would tell them to shove it. Not that I don’t like black locust, I just don’t like heavy-handed government. I can rally however on the side of less chemicals being applied.