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IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT GRASS
FERTILIZERS
Each Spring, the Lake Committee gets a
lot of questions about what types of fertilizers home owners should be
using. Certain types can have devastating affects on our lakes.
Below, you'll find some information that we hope will be helpful.
For more information, please contact Joe
Shea on the Lake Committee.
Click Here
Reminder About Fertilizers Used at
the Lakes:
We need to spread the word regarding proper
fertilizer use. Any landscapers or contractors placing fertilizer need
to be aware of this too.
No one at the lakes should be using
starter fertilizer on their grass. People will tell you that it helps
get better roots going, which may be true, but what they will not tell
you is that it will destroy lakes. The numbers used to identify
fertilizers represent Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. If you use a
fertilizer with high Nitrogen, like a 31-2-6, the excess nitrogen will
only last a short time.
The scary thing is that Phosphorus will enter a lake and it stays around
basically forever. There is no way to get rid of it and it will not
disappear over time. Anyone fertilizing around a lake should keep the
second number as low as possible. Most fertilizers that are sold as
starter fertilizers have a high middle number, with a mixture like
Scott's Starter of 20-27-5. This can have a devastating effect on
lakes,since the Phosphorus is what causes algae growth in lakes. We need
to do whatever we can to end it's use. This is likely what has led to
the algae growth around the shore and on posts.
We have asked people to only use slow release, but having almost no
phosphorus is way more important. We've talked with with a Botanist from
the Department of Natural Resources who works with hundreds of lake
Associations in America. They almost seemed panicked when we spoke of
the starter fertilizers around lakes.
Also be careful with Weed & Feed Fertilizer that contains Atrizine. It
is fast moving chemical that can get into well water.
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