glue for fertilizer cake / crumble

[SWfloirda]

No fertilizer containing nitrogen and/or phosphorus may be applied to turf or landscape plants: Between June 1 and September 30. Or if a Flood Watch or Warning, Tropical Storm Watch or Warning, or Hurricane Watch or Warning is in effect

Above is Cape Coral's fertilizer restrictions. The ordinance doesn't say anything about trees in pots and no one is checking backyards but I don't use any during that time period because it just washes away and it's the right thing to do. I've been using Osmocote or MIracle grow in October, February and May and my trees stay healthy. It is amazing how many people just ignore the ordinance with no regard for anything but keeping their grass green.

 

[Betula1]

No fertilizer containing nitrogen and/or phosphorus may be applied to turf or landscape plants: Between June 1 and September 30. Or if a Flood Watch or Warning, Tropical Storm Watch or Warning, or Hurricane Watch or Warning is in effect

Above is Cape Coral's fertilizer restrictions. The ordinance doesn't say anything about trees in pots and no one is checking backyards but I don't use any during that time period because it just washes away and it's the right thing to do. I've been using Osmocote or MIracle grow in October, February and May and my trees stay healthy. It is amazing how many people just ignore the ordinance with no regard for anything but keeping their grass green.

What about restriction on agriculture and sewage treatment discharges which are the major sources of pollution?

 

[ShadyStump]

I personally think the real solution is to kill your lawn and replace it with native plants adapted to your local ecosystem that don't require additional water or fertilizer supplements, but I understand that's culturally not where most of the country is

Easier said than done, or more places would've tried it by now.
There's a patch in my backyard that I've been trying to grow decent grass in for years just so the kids have a nice place to play. Last year I got it going decently, but then much of it died off over winter, so this year I reseeded with very expensive native grasses that would be hardier and require less water.
It didn't go well. The native grass doesn't stand up to the traffic and abuse at all. The whole spot is pretty bare now, so I'm pretty much starting from scratch. Maybe if I could keep kids and dogs away for a solid year for it to establish, but that's not really an option.
Similar issues apply everywhere. The grasses that work best for lawns of any size or sort are the ones we've been using. And there's a damned big variety too, you just have to doe your research to find the best stuff for your situation. I'm going to dig around and see about finding a creeping fescue maybe. Damn sturdy stuff, but messy if it dries out a bit. My kids will track in the dried crap all the time and I'll have to sweep and vacuum more.

My issue with a ban like OP is talking about is that it's not even Florida causing the worst of the problem. It's literally every other State on or whose waters empty into the Gulf of Mexico. But some upstart politician gets to say they helped the environment, and has some random nit noid thing they might be able to use against opposition at some point.

 

[SWfloirda]

What about restriction on agriculture and sewage treatment discharges which are the major sources of pollution?

I don't work in agriculture or a sewage plant, I have no idea. Here in Cape Coral the water we use for irrigation is reclaimed water from the sewage plant. From what I understand US Sugar has bribed their way into the back pockets of most South Florida politicians but that's above my pay grade. Personally I think the releases from Lake Okeechobee do more damage than lawn fertilizer but I'm not trying to fight the Army Corp of Engineers.

 

[Paradox]

What about restriction on agriculture and sewage treatment discharges which are the major sources of pollution?

If you can figure out a way to stop people from peeing and crapping, let us know.

 

[nuttiest]

Our golf courses are exempt from the law

 

[ShadyStump]

Is that really a surprise at all?

 

[Dav4]

If you can figure out a way to stop people from peeing and crapping, let us know.

 

[Deleted member 47471]

I used to make cakes but now just use tea bags to hold the powdered fertilizer .

I use tea bags. Mine seem to fall apart after a few months. Wondering if one brand is stronger than another

 

[nuttiest]

No one has answered logically whether teabag placed day before ban constitutes breaking the law. Seems like something you would be urged to collect back up next day if it is there during the ban, as it is a delivery method intended to apply fertilizer, but then a double or quadruple application of slow release fertilizer is the same, right?
Way over thinking...

 

[ShadyStump]

No one has answered logically whether teabag placed day before ban constitutes breaking the law. Seems like something you would be urged to collect back up next day if it is there during the ban, as it is a delivery method intended to apply fertilizer, but then a double or quadruple application of slow release fertilizer is the same, right?
Way over thinking...

Technically you could argue the fertilizer was applied before the ban period, just like time release on the landscape plants. Do they really expect you to go and pick up all the little grains?
And like mentioned before, if it doesn't specify otherwise, potted plants likely don't count.

Just look it up, see what you can find online.

 

[Dav4]

I use tea bags. Mine seem to fall apart after a few months. Wondering if one brand is stronger than another

I couldn’t tell you the brand… ordered off Amazon and I suspect it was either Japanese or Chinese. Mine last a few years.

 

[nuttiest]

Just look it up, see what you can find online.

Why would you ask me to do THAT!? You know I can't handle it Really it was unclear, but the good news is food gardeners are exempt too, you can rip up your yard and grow veg and go ahead and fertilize!

 

[nuttiest]

It's probably for water quality reasons.
Florida has had really bad algal blooms the last few years that are driven by too many nutrients getting into the water from too many houses wanting their ultra green lawns, and just too much development in some areas in general

this is debatable whether it is true, we had red tide and lake algae all the time in the 70s it just wasn't paired with the term global warming while being pitched as a great idea to commissioners.

 

[Betula1]

If you can figure out a way to stop people from peeing and crapping, let us know.

Here in Britain all the major privatised water companies are currently being investigated and prosecuted because every time it rains heavily they have 'accidently' been dumping raw sewage into watercourses ,claiming their sewage treatment infrastructure is old and needs upgrading and cant cope with modern demands.
Meanwhile for years they've been paying out massive dividends to their fatcat shareholders.
I wonder if the same is happening in USA?

 

[ShadyStump]

I wonder if the same is happening in USA?

Of course it is. Where do you think you guys learned it from.

 

[Paradox]

this is debatable whether it is true, we had red tide and lake algae all the time in the 70s it just wasn't paired with the term global warming while being pitched as a great idea to commissioners.

Those who have been monitoring for decades and even life long residents down there are saying what has been happening the last 4-6 years has been unusual.

Im not even talking about climate change, this is about excess nutrients going into our water ways from fertilizer and increased development along our coastlines.

The 70s, after people wanted out of the cities and started buying homes along the water or near the coast in the 50s and 60s. They wanted those nice green lawns and started dumping fertilizer on those lawns by the ton. There were no sewage treatment plants so those coastal homes have cess pools, many of which the water within rises and falls with the tides. Add more pavement and bulkheadimg of creeks, eliminating salt marshes that act as filters diverting more nutrient laden runoff into our waterways.

By the 80s people began to realize the problem and started to try to reduce the amount of fertilizer and use more native plants that don't need so much fertilizer and water.

Same thing happened here on Long Island and other areas of the coast but we haven't had quite the same issue with algal blooms...yet, but I think our cooler weather overall may have helped with that.

We have reduced nutrient input to many of our waterways along the coast but some areas continue to build and put in those lush green lawns right up to the bulkhead.

Been studying the marine and coastal environment for 30 years, these phenomena are pretty well established and known at this point.

 

[nuttiest]

The 70s, after people wanted out of the cities and started buying homes along the water or near the coast in the 50s and 60s. They wanted those nice green lawns and started dumping fertilizer on those lawns by the ton.

Oh. Well you are right the town I live in is mostly homes built in the 1950s and 1960s. I wouldn't know about people fertilizing a lot then, but now on my street, a good 3/4 don't fertilize or water grass. It's always brown until serious rain and humidity season except for a handful that take care of their yard. And they should be able, it is their pride. They are doing more for the biome than us brown lawn people I think. Completely different in an HOA where they can force you to water and even replace sod.

There were no sewage treatment plants so those coastal homes have cess pools,

People with a septic tank are more careful to keep their sh*t to a minimum than those on city sewer anyday. There is a bacterial field that needs to be healthy and in working order, no toilet cleaning chemicals, etc. And unlike the municipal sewers it doesn't spill.

 

[Wood]

There's a patch in my backyard that I've been trying to grow decent grass in for years just so the kids have a nice place to play. Last year I got it going decently, but then much of it died off over winter, so this year I reseeded with very expensive native grasses that would be hardier and require less water.

Have you tried any Carex species? The Mt Cuba trial gardens found several different species that did well when mowed, but I don't know if frequent foot traffic was tested. I know they don't start from seed easily and are almost always commercially propagated by division. I think the details about mowing are in the full report PDF linked on this page:

Carex for the Mid-Atlantic Region - Mt. Cuba Center

See results from Mt. Cuba Center's trial, Carex for the Mid-Atlantic Region, which evaluated 70 different types for habit, vigor, and display.

mtcubacenter.org

I know clover species mixed in with grass can help reduce fertilizer inputs, but I don't know how much that helps with water needs.

My point about killing your lawn is more about re-evaluating the value judgement that a monoculture turf grass is the correct and good option. The default option in suburbia across the US is to fill a half-acre with turf grass and a couple of nandinas and liriope at the house's foundation. Nobody's realistically arguing that every blade of turf grass needs to come out, but the primary use of my parents' lawn is bi-weekly mowing. If everyone shrinks their turf grass a little bit and replaces it with less resource-intensive plants, that's a huge impact that adds up. Those changes are even more magnified in areas like Florida which have visible fertilizer runoff and overdevelopment issues

 

[ShadyStump]

Have you tried any Carex species? The Mt Cuba trial gardens found several different species that did well when mowed, but I don't know if frequent foot traffic was tested. I know they don't start from seed easily and are almost always commercially propagated by division. I think the details about mowing are in the full report PDF linked on this page:

Carex for the Mid-Atlantic Region - Mt. Cuba Center

See results from Mt. Cuba Center's trial, Carex for the Mid-Atlantic Region, which evaluated 70 different types for habit, vigor, and display.

mtcubacenter.org

I know clover species mixed in with grass can help reduce fertilizer inputs, but I don't know how much that helps with water needs.

My point about killing your lawn is more about re-evaluating the value judgement that a monoculture turf grass is the correct and good option. The default option in suburbia across the US is to fill a half-acre with turf grass and a couple of nandinas and liriope at the house's foundation. Nobody's realistically arguing that every blade of turf grass needs to come out, but the primary use of my parents' lawn is bi-weekly mowing. If everyone shrinks their turf grass a little bit and replaces it with less resource-intensive plants, that's a huge impact that adds up. Those changes are even more magnified in areas like Florida which have visible fertilizer runoff and overdevelopment issues

No, you're not wrong at all. I was just making the point that making systemic changes is nye on impossible in some situations.
Here they've been pushing xeriscaping for over 30 years, but now they're discovering that taking the cheap way out there - a gravel yard in stead of grass - can exacerbate the urban heat island effect, and most people don't have the resources to or otherwise lack the inclination to do better. There have also been studies showing that in hot climate regions the drier ones have children playing outside less time, and then there's a continuing correlation between that and communities that have enforced xeriscaping requirements. Simply put, kids want to play on grass, not dirt, and where there's no grass they don't play. Hence my persistence in this tiny 10' x 6' shady patch.

I have seeded clover, and it did well the first couple years. Much more drought resistant than many common grasses. Not sure what it was, but somehow the whole patch went from sufficient for needs to mostly dead over winter. It just didn't come back, and the reseeding didn't take like I'd hoped.