USGS Water Cycle: Water Cycle is Closed and Pertual (Nothing Gained/Nothing Lost)

Disclaimer: I do not promote the wasting of any of God's great gifts He has given us and we should be good stewards of irrigation water (do not waste). And if you are using potable water to irrigate your lawn, please stop – that is a waste of good drinking water.

The Pinellas County fertilizer ordinance set to take effect in 2011 is intended to reduce “nonpoint source pollution”. “Nonpoint source pollution” is a clever word construct that begins with nonsense and ends with “pollution” giving the term a very negative connotation. By definition, nonpoint source pollution is pollution that has no specific point of entry into the environment.

Turf is Good for the EnvironmentThe best way to reduce pollution is to cover the land you own with air purifying, dust and pollen reducing, cooling, soil and  water conserving organic filter that uses no energy. That would be turf!

Lawn Spraying is not PollutingCritics of lawn spraying claim that lawn spraying is bad for you, your pets and the environment. The critic’s claims are not science or even observable – it merely is the critics “perception” or  their “opinion” of a spray truck full of “chemicals” being sprayed onto a lawn. “That must be bad” the critics will claim. The critics are passionate and genuinely sincere but they are wrong.

Lawn Spraying - Environmentally SafeThe spray I use is a blend of plant nutrients (fertilizer), herbicides (weed killer), insecticide and a “sticker” . The sticker is an organic product that bonds the mixture to the grass leaf. The sticker is an important part of the spray because the sticker allows the leaf to become an organic carrier for the mixture.

Safe Insecticide?

Marigolds contain a Natural InsecticideMarigolds contain pyrethrin -a plant “juice” that is deadly to bugs – a natural insecticide. Pyrethrins have been a natural part of our environment since creation and to date have been found to have no ill effect on humans or the environment. It would be  a perfect “natural organic” insecticide to use for just about everything from fleas to lawn spraying. But, if I was to juice a marigold in my  ”Jack LaLanne Power Juicer”, I would get one very expensive drop of juice for all my troubles.

St Pete Fertilizer OrdinanceFirst as a professional and an earth scientist with a deep conservation streak in me, I have always strived to provide services that produce sustainable turf grass systems – in other words I use the least amount of fertilizers and pesticides to produce the maximum effect. I have for decades used slow release fertilizers and no phosphorus - which are the high value targets of this fertilizer ordinance.

Water-In ApplicationsIt is allowable to “water-in” after an application “during otherwise restricted times” according to the guidelines published at Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD ), Pinellas County (