How the Pinellas County Fertilizer Ban Effects Lawns and Lawn Sparying

Before the fertilizer bans, it was known that the amount of excess nutrients added to local waters from lawn fertilization was a miniscule amount – insignificant – almost zero! But we have a fertilizer ban that cost lots of money to pass and implement. Even Pinellas County never refers to the fertilizer ban as significant or important or even good - they refer to it as a way to reduce. Reduce what? Reducing insignificant is still insignificant!

Unintended Consequences of the Fertilizer Ban

Pre fertilizer ban, I had 12 months of the year to apply fertilizer – now I have 8 months ((Nitrogen fertilizer is banned for 4 months in the summer). So instead of adding small amounts every month or so to sustain the turf, now I have to “load up” the soil for 8 months and hope to sustain a healthy lawn during rapid growth of the summer months. Not a good way to fertilize lawns.

As a pro, the fertilizer bans are a nuisance, but for thousands of homeowners, the fertilizer bans were complicated and discouraging. Most homeowners abandoned their efforts to keep the lawn thriving and allowed it to turn into a “sandbur garden”.

Healthy Thriving Lawns are Better Than Fertilizer Bans

Unlike a “sandbur garden”, a healthy thriving lawn is a biological filter and helps protect local waters. Dust, pollen, pollution and even nitrogen from other sources such as Thunderstorms and organic matter are naturally composted (recycled) into plant nutrients by the lawn. Fertilizer bans reduce the health of lawns which directly impacts the lawns ability to filter and protect our local waters.

I am a Conservationist - Keeping Your Lawn Healthy is Important to Me (Sorry Your Neighbor Isn’t)

I am sorry that your neighbor has abandoned their efforts to maintain a healthy lawn because of the fertilizer ban. As an agronomist, the fertilizer ban is a mere nuisance. I will continue to keep your lawn healthy, thriving, filtering and composting (recycling). Unlike the fertilizer ban and your neighbor down the street with the “sandbur garden”, your healthy lawn WILL make a significant and important contribution to the reduction of excess nutrients in our local waters.