On July 21, 2003, Falmouth Selectmen approved a voluntary program to reward organizations and individuals who agree to limit their use of fertilizer nitrogen. Volunteers will be recognized with a Seal of Approval Certificate that allows the volunteer to use the Preserve Falmouth Bays & Ponds logo and the Falmouth Friendly Lawn brand in their publicity and other promotional materials. Curbing fertilizer use is critical to reducing the nitrogen pollution that is destroying our coastal ponds [the article below explains why nitrogen pollution is such a major concern].
A. To qualify, a volunteer agrees not to exceed certain established ranges of annual application of nitrogen fertilizer; the ranges reflect how the lawn or turf is actually used. How the lawn or turf is used determines how much extra nourishment it needs to stay healthy and resist weeds and disease.
Q. What are
the established ranges and who decides which range applies to a particular
lawn?
A. There are three ranges, as summarized below;
the volunteer makes the use designation:
Light Duty 0 to 1 lb N/1000 sq ft/yr Example: most home, business lawns
Medium Duty 1 to 2 lbs N/1000 sq ft/yr Example: lawn areas with heavy foot
traffic
Heavy Duty 2 to 3 lbs N/1000 sq ft/yr Example: golf fairways, 3-season
playing fields
Q.
Why characterize fertilizer as “extra nourishment”? What else supplies nourishment?
A. Recycled grass clippings and atmospheric deposition are natural sources of nourishment. Recycling grass clippings [left on the lawn] provides 1 lb N/1000 sq ft/yr. Atmospheric deposition [mostly rain] provides ¼ to ½ lb N/1000 sq ft, depending on how run-off is distributed on the lot. Many established lawns stay healthy from natural nourishment, alone --- they don’t need any fertilizer “extra nourishment” at all.
Q. What do the
references to “1000 sq ft” mean?
A. That’s the usual
measure of fertilizer usage. Fertilizer typically is packaged for 5000 sq ft of
lawn [or multiples thereof]; the bag weighs about 15 lbs and contains about 30%
nitrogen --- about I lb N/1000 sq ft.
Q. To obtain a Certificate, do I have to follow all of
the FFL-recommended lawn care practices?
A. Your formal undertaking is just the nitrogen limit based on the degree of use you designate. Still, we hope you will use all the FFL-recommended practices [recycle clippings, use slow-release nitrogen, limit any single fertilizing to 1 lb or less N 1000/sq ft, use mulching mowers set at 21/2 to 3” cutting heights, test soils and top dress for greater organic content of soils] to the maximum extent practical for your lawn because they make up an integrated program to help you minimize any “extra nourishment” needed.
Q. I support
Falmouth Friendly Lawns; how do I obtain a Seal of Approval Certificate?
A. You can
download the 1-page Application Form (see below) or pick it up at the Town Hall
reception desk. Mail the Application to
the address shown on the Form and you will be contacted promptly by FFL.
Q. Who should apply for a Certificate?
A. For the next several months, the FFL
campaign will be contacting owners of sizeable and/or highly-visible lawns; if
you own such a lawn and have not heard from FFL by mid-October, please download
or pick up an Application and mail it to the address shown on the Form. Individual homeowners may mail in the Form
at any time to qualify for a FFL bumper/window sticker. Over the winter, FFL
intends to work with lawn service firms to help them fashion a Seal of Approval
program that they can offer their customers.
Q. How long is the Certificate good
for?
A. The normal term is 1 year, but volunteers
who join in 2003 will be issued Certificates good from the date of issuance
through December 31, 2004.
Applications to renew Certificates for calendar 2005 will be available
in the fall of 2004. Renewal requests
will need to include a report of actual fertilizer use in 2004.
Water
quality in Falmouth coastal ponds is being destroyed by nitrogen
overloading. Research on Great, Green
and Bournes Ponds in East Falmouth shows the extent of the problem. Except for areas immediately adjacent to
Vineyard Sound, nitrogen concentrations range from 0.50 parts per million [ppm]
to 1+ ppm at the Route 28 culverts.
Salt ponds begin to die when nitrogen exceeds 0.50 ppm, which is why
MASS DEP recommends a target of 0.37-0.38 ppm for the 89 coastal bays and ponds
that make up the Embayment Project that comes to Falmouth this fall.
A. Nitrogen is a
nutrient; it causes algae growth, which uses up oxygen in the water, blocks
sunlight and kills off eelgrass, which adds to the nitrogen load and accelerates
more algae growth --- a vicious
descending spiral that eventually leads to fish kills and huge blankets of
algae scum.
A. There are
three main sources and they account for the following percentages of N-loading:
(1) septic systems, 50%; (2) fertilizers, 20%; and (3)
atmospheric deposition [mostly rain], 28%.
Q. Why not put
in sewers for the homes around the ponds; won’t that solve the problem?
A. Every home in the
watershed, and that area reaches north to Route 151 and beyond, leaches
nitrogen into groundwater from septic systems and lawn fertilizer; it just
takes longer to reach the coastal ponds.
There are about 7500 homes in the 3-pond watersheds, many, many times
the number bordering the coastal ponds, and it would cost hundreds of $
Millions to sewer them all.
Q. If the Town
could afford to sewer all those homes, would that solve the problem?
A. Unfortunately,
no. Even without any septic system
impact, nitrogen concentrations at buildout still would greatly exceed the DEP
target in most areas north of a band next to Vineyard Sound.
Q. How much of the fertilizer N-load comes from
properties like golf courses? Homes?
A. Collectively, home lawns cover a lot more
area than golf courses. Based on
research studies, home lawns contribute about 15% of the N-load compared with
about 5% for golf courses.
Q. How much fertilizer is used on the average home
lawn compared with a golf course?
A. On average, the fertilizer rate for a typical home lawn
is 2.5 lbs nitrogen per 1000 sq ft/year; 25% of that nitrogen reaches
groundwater and flows into the coastal ponds.
For golf courses, the average rates are 3.2 lbs N/1000 sq ft/yr and 20%
leaching [slower-release & smaller doses].
Q. If everyone signs up for the Seal of Approval, how
much nitrogen would be saved?
A. If golf courses trim or eliminate use of fertilizer outside of fairways, tees and greens, the overall average would be cut to about 1.5 to 2 lbs N 1000 sq ft/yr. In the case of home lawns, surveys tell us that about half of Falmouth homeowners use 0 to 1 lb N 1000/sq ft/yr, while the other half use 2 to 4+ lbs N 1000 sq ft/ yr. If all homeowners adhered to a 0 to 1 lb N standard, nitrogen pollution from home lawns would virtually disappear.
Q. Why greater percentage savings for home lawns
compared with golf courses?
A. Fertilizer is expensive and golf courses already target fertilizer usage to a considerable extent on the type of use their turf must support. Home lawns usually see light duty use, so there’s much more room to shrink fertilizer use on home lawns to the minimum necessary to promote healthy grass --- instead of “farming” grass like a cash crop with forced feeding and watering.
Q. What N rates do you expect for Town, business,
institution and church lawns?
A. For the most
part, those lawns see light duty use and we expect to see rates of 0 to 1 lb N;
exceptions would be sports fields or limited sections of some lawns that see
heavier uses.