Fertilizers and Pesticides

Use these tips to minimize and regulate your fertilizer and pesticide use. 

• Fertilizer Use

  To grow properly, plants need nutrients (nitrogen, potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium, iron, manganese) which normally can be found in the soil. Sometimes fertilizers are needed to achieve a desired plant growth, but they are not always used properly. Here's how you can fertilize responsibly:

  Apply compost
  When added to the soil, compost creates a balanced medium for sustained plant health.

  Apply a specific mineral
  Talk to your local home garden center specialist for the right one.

  Apply a packaged fertilizer
  Choose a fertilizer that contains slow-release nitrogen and other nutrients. This is the most environmentally-safe and cost-effective method, and requires fewer applications. Look for a fertilizer with at least 30 percent slow-release nitrogen. You can determine this figure by looking at the percent of water insoluble nitrogen, which indicates the percent of slow-release nitrogen. In addition, and for most applications, only about two percent phosphorus is needed.

  Reading a fertilizer label

  • For example, 10-2-10 means 10 percent of the bag is Nitrogen, two percent is phosphorus, and 10 percent is Potassium
  • Read labels closely to see if other nutrients are included
  • As a general rule, the first and third number should be the same
  • The middle number should be no more than half the total value of the other included nutrients

  Try to reduce the use of fertilizer
  When over-applied, fertilizers can increase insect and disease problems. Rapidly growing plants are weak and without an adequate root system. The excess also increases run-off from yards and can contaminate waterways.

• Pesticide Use

  The use of pesticides has become the most common approach to pest control. This has resulted in pest resistance to pesticides, and the destruction of beneficial organisms.

  Pesticides and other chemicals are often seen as essential tools to maintaining a beautiful yard. However, pesticides used in urban landscaping contain chemicals, such as diazinon (which is no longer available for purchase) and chlorpyifos, which can migrate through the ground and be toxic to a number or organisms, including fish and invertebrates. Most pesticides do kill their target pests, but they also kill beneficial organisms living in the soil (such as pollinators and pest predators) and pose health risks to wildlife. Using pesticides also reduces insect populations that are an important food source for birds and other wildlife.

  The best way to minimize the migration of these toxic chemicals into our natural environment is to reduce or eliminate their use.