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Using the right nutrients can keep grass attractive, protect the environment

BY MICHAEL DAIGLE
DAILY RECORD

Getting the phosphorous out of the lawn does not mean giving up that perfect green surface. But it does mean paying more attention to what is put on the lawn, local experts said.

An issue that fuels the desire for a perfect green lawn, they said, is competition. In wealthy Morris County, no homeowner wants to be known for having a bad lawn. "Phosphorus is food for plants, along with nitrogen. They need it to grow, but too much runs off," said Louise Jensen, a landscape architect who also is the facilitator for the Whippany River Watershed Action Committee.

If homeowners use a lawn care service, Jensen said, they should make sure that the proper amount of fertilizer is being applied. Using the right amount can save money.

"The problem is that most commercial fertilizer is premixed, and homeowners don't read the labels," she said.

The cure for poor water quality, in part, is better education and getting local officials to enforce local ordinances that control the types of fertilizer allowed, the disposal of leaves, pet waste, land uses in steep slopes and in buffer zones around water bodies, and implementation of proper storm water management practices, Jensen said.

Before applying any fertilizer, Jensen said, homeowners should take a soil test to determine which nutrients are needed. Peter Nitzsche, an agent with the Morris County office of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension, said his office can conduct soil tests. Lawns need different levels of nutrients at different states of growth and times of the year, he said. More nutrients are needed when starting a lawn, but as it grows and the roots expand, the lawn would need less fertilizer.

The height of the grass after it is mowed also affects how much fertilizer a lawn needs, Nitzsche said.

Fertilizer that is not absorbed by the plants generally stays in the soil, but it can be washed out through erosion, Nitzsche said.

Peter Finkel, owner of Environmental Approach, a 6-year-old lawn care company in Chatham, said organic fertilizers are an alternative to chemicals and are just as effective --and less toxic -- to the lawn and water. Finkel said he uses a kelp-based fertilizer that is very effective.

He said he has low-phosphorous fertilizers available, but in Chatham, where he does most of his work, there has been little demand to date.

He also recommended a soil test as the first step to a healthy and green lawn. An issue in a wealthy county such as Morris, Finkel said, is that in some towns no one wants to be seen as the homeowner whose lawn is less perfect or green than others in the neighborhood. The result at times is excess fertilizer use.

Nitzsche said that a less than perfect-looking lawn could be perceived as a sign that the home is worth less than those in the neighborhood, a factor that could affect the selling price.