Venice, FL
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Fertilizers are great for giving plants a boost, but too much of a good thing can be bad. Are you using fertilizer properly?
How is Fertilizer Bad?
Too much fertilizer can cause many problems that can spread much farther than your backyard. Overfertilization causes excess nutrients to be washed down our storm drains and enter the nearby water bodies. Just like your plants on your lawn use fertilizers to grow, so does algae and other phytoplankton. This can lead to harmful algal blooms (HABs) like red tide and eutrophication.
Watch this video to learn about eutrophication.
How Can I Prevent Eutrophication and HABs?
The City of Venice has adopted Sarasota County’s fertilizer ordinance to help prevent eutrophication and harmful algal blooms.
Summer: June 1 – September 30
No to N: Fertilizers containing Nitrogen and Phosphorous are prohibited in the Summer
Pump Iron: Use products containing iron and micronutrients to stay green in the summer.
Keep Clippings: Only rain down the drain, keep those grass clippings on the lawn.
Create Compost: Use your clippings and veggie waste to give your garden a boost.
Floridify your yard: Florida plants require little care, fertilizer and water. They were made for paradise!
Mow high for less stress: Mowing short stresses grass and makes it vulnerable to disease, pests and drought.
Winter: October 1 – May 31
Watch the Weather: Don’t fertilize before a storm it won’t help your plants… it’ll go down the drain.
Grow with Slow: Use at least 50% slow release Nitrogen. It releases nutrients when the plants need it so you don’t waste it.
Keep the Water Blue: Keep fertilizer 10 feet away from lakes, ponds, rivers and canals.
Skip the P: Phosphorous is already naturally found in our soil, no need to add more.
Keep on the Grass: Spread the fertilizer on the grass with a deflector shield or edge guard. You don’t want to help the weeds grow on the sidewalk. Do you?
Test your Turf: Fertilizer won’t help your lawn if it has a disease, pest invasion or pH imbalance
Now you know how to use fertilizers properly. Go the extra mile and learn how to…
Pick the correct fertilizer for your yard and make your own weed killer