04-05-10
UF University of Florida
Horticulture News
http://stjohns.ifas.ufl.edu
10 Ways To Be “Florida - Friendly”
1. Use a rain gauge to calculate the amount of rainfall your landscape receives. Take this into consideration as to whether your sprinkler system needs to come on or not. In the warm months lawn needs 1 inch of water per week and 1 ½ inch in the cool season. In Florida, we average 50 inches of rainfall per year.
2. Operate your sprinkler system manually. Apply water only when you determine it is needed. The landscape will use less water when days are cloudy, cool or wet.
3. Use only slow release or controlled released fertilizers in the landscape. In Florida, any fertilizer that is labeled as such must contain 15% or more slow release nitrogen.
4. Provide for wildlife by putting out a bird, bat or toad house. Keep an open source of fresh water out for critters to bathe and drink.
5. Opt to use only mulches that are by-products. Leaves, pine straw, pine bark, melaleuca and tree trimmings would all qualify.
6. Maintain a ‘no treat zone’ of 10 feet around water bodies. Apply no fertilizer or pesticides within 10 feet of water’s edge.
7. Insect your irrigation systems rain cut-off controller. These have a cork in them that usually needs replacing annually. Many people never check to see if the cork is still functional.
8. Keep impervious surfaces like drives and walkways cleared of leaves, fertilizer or spilled liquids. These surfaces funnel water directly into storm drains which in turn lead into water bodies. Prevent water pollution by keeping hard surfaces clean.
9. Mow your lawn at the suggested heights. Mowing too short creates a shallow root system and a lawn dependent on supplemental irrigation. Just because you have a lawn service, that does not mean they are mowing at accepted heights. Check for yourself.
10. When treating a pest problem use the least toxic control or select a pest specific bio- control. Soap and oil sprays are considered to be environmentally friendly. There are biological controls available for pests like mole crickets, grasshoppers, caterpillars and beetles….
