Home and Yard Pollutants

Water pollution can arise from a variety of sources. Soil, grass clippings, fertilizer, pesticides, paint thinners, and motor oil can pollute water if picked up by stormwater runoff. These pollutants can harm lakes, rivers and streams in many ways. Read on for more information on how our water supply can be polluted and how to do your part to keep it clean while maintaining your landscape.

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Melting Snow is Stormwater Run Off

When we think of stormwater runoff we often think of rain. Snow melt during winter can also become stormwater runoff and carry pollutants to surface water. During winter the ground is usually frozen and melting snow cannot infiltrate into soil as a light rainfall will do. Depending on the amount of snow, this can lead to increased runoff during winter.

Monday, October 10, 2022

Safe Winter Pesticide Storage

Store liquid and dry pesticides formulations correctly during winter.

As the growing season draws to an end and we put away our gardening equipment, it’s also important to store any remaining pesticide products properly to prevent contamination and maintain product effectiveness for next year. But even more important, being careless with pesticide storage is an open invitation to disaster, in the form of a pesticide poisoning or spill which could contamination ground or surface water.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Lawns, Water Quality and Phosphorus Fertilizer

Phosphorous is an essential plant nutrient. Phosphorous can also lead to impaired water quality in surface water like lakes and ponds. Applying phosphorous responsibly is important to turfgrass growth and to water ecosystems.

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Nitrogen Fertilizer for the Lawn, Not the Street

Fertilizer spilled on concrete. Photo by Brad Jakubowski, Penn State University

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Insect and Disease Control for Organic Vegetable Gardeners

Adult bean leaf beetle, Ward Upham, Kansas State University, Bugwood.org

Minimizing pesticide usage in the home garden is a great way to protect yourself from chemical exposure, while also protecting the environment and surface water resources. But pest control - insects, diseases and weeds - are challenging for the home organic vegetable gardener. Today we’ll focus on techniques for insect and disease control. Gardeners using organic techniques may have to adjust their expectations at the outset and begin to accept a higher level of insect and disease damage in the garden.