Going Green, Tallahassee requires effort and thought. We need to look at our own "carbon Footprint", and determine how we can minimize our negative impact on the environment. We've listed some suggestions for you to consider.
1. Get a rainbarrell and collect the waters coming off your roof, or from your gutter. You can make one yourself using old trash containers, or visit the city or county waste disposal locations and purchase one.They will keep stormwater runoff away from the streets, and hopefully the storm sewers. They provide a good source for watering your plants and lawn. The water will be "soft" water, with no chlorine, calcium carbonate, salts or other minerals in water that has been filtered. And, folks, it's free. A great resource for information is the TAPP brochure RainBarrels: A Homeowner's Guide. You can download it at www.TAPPwater.org
2. Compost, compost, compost. You can purchase excellent composters from the city/county waste management divisions, or create an area in your yard for composting. By using your leaves that fall constantly, you can create a mulched bed. Mulch is basically organic material you put on the top of your soils which protects from stormwater run-off, helps keep the soil moist, almost gets rid of weeds, and reduces erosion. As the mulch breaks down, it enriches the soil. This newly created soil is lighter, and more porous. It soaks up extra water easily. And, mulch requires no maintenance--just add new mulch to the bed as needed. If you're going to be using a composter, try to layer your leaves with your vegetable/fruit waste. It helps break down the leaves, and the soil you'll get from the bottom of the composter beats any potting soil you can buy! Word to the wise: don't use dairy products, meats, or bones in your composting efforts. They attract rodents, weird bugs, and really don't break down. The only exception would be egg shells .If you need some more leaves for your mulch beds, look for bags of leaves along the roadside. You could also, in a pinch, buy some pine bark mulch or pine straw. However, free mulch is available from the Leon County landfill on US Hwy. 27, (Apalachee Parkway). 850-606-1800. Take your bags, bins, or containers. The mulch has some larger pieces of wood, and lots of small pieces. You could also talk to some of our local tree surgeons, who might be willing to bring you some of the mulch they've shredded. And, if you do buy mulch, please don't purchase Cypress mulch. We love our Cypress trees, and don't want them cut down. The pine bark mulch and chips will work well.
3. Minimize erosion. If your yard has a slope, or you're on a hill, you'll need to terrace to minimize erosion of your soil. Terracing is an old-timey way of controlling water flow. It is a method used around the world to convert steep slopes into farmland. Simply change the slope into a series of two or more stepped terraces. You can purchase yard bricks, retaining wall type blocks of cement, or you can scoure construction sites for broken up pieces of concrete, and other waste objects that will help stem the flow. You could create a raised earth area by adding soil, or rearranging it, to make a kind of hill that will direct the water from around the house to areas that will need the water. Plant this area with some good ground cover, and it'll work forever. There are a lot of ground covers that really work well in shaded areas. Consult one of the nurseries in town for advice. If you have a real low spot, why not plant a rain garden. Again, our local nurseries carry many such plants, and will offer good advice.
4. Minimize Fertilizer. Before you fertilize your grass, make sure you know exactly what type grass you have. Once you know that, and you decide you need to fertilize, make sure that at least half of the nitrogen in the fertilizer you purchase is slow-release or water insoluble nitrogen. They are less likely to wash away in a runoff. Make sure that what you use is very low in phlsphorus. It causes serious problems in our environment. Our local nurseries carry the fertilizer that our local branch of the Dep't. of Agriculture Extension Services recommends for this area. It is a specific blend that is mixed at the factory to enhance our soils. It really is okay not to fertilize. Most lawns get the nutrients they need from when you cut the grass and leave the clippings. Bagging these clippings and throwing them away is not only excessive work, but really is lousy for your lawn. Leave the clippings where they fall and ditch the fertilizer! Most of your plants, trees, and shrubs won't need fertilizer if you keep them mulched. Make the mulch beds a couple of inches deep, but leave open space around the trunks of the trees and shrubs.
5. Pesticides :Please remember that pesticides are poisons and you need to use them very carefully. Make sure you know what bugs, insects you're wanting to eliminate. You certainly don't want to harm the good guys. Use the least-toxic pesticide available. There are insecticidal soaps, horticultural oil, and Neem oil available. Some folks swear by plain old dish water detergent, mixing it with some water and spraying only the area with the infestation. Consult one of our local nurseries for advice.
6. Plant Native plants. Consult authorities such as the Extension Service, nurseries, and take their advice for plants native to the area. Such plants don't require much pest control, while all the pretty ones we really like take lots of work and add chemicals to our world.
7. Clean up after your pet. Just like when we venture out into the woods, parks, and forests we follow the mantra "pack it in--Pack it out". The same applies for our delightful four legged animals. Pet's can be a big part of water polllution. The waste can contribute bacteria that would shut down swimming, shell fishing and other water type activities. There are at a minimum 43,000 dogs in our fair city. WHen pet waste is left on the ground, runoff from rain storms washes it into the storm sewers, and on to our lakes. When we own a pet, we are responsible. And, if you've a cute little kitty, start using torn up newspaper for the litter box. It doesn't cake, or track through out the house, and you can take it to your garbage can with out worrying about harm to our environment. You could even bury it in the yard. Newspaper makes a great mulch and/or weed preventor. You can flush animal waste, minus the bag, of course.
8. Eliminate all plastic bags! They are so harmful to our world, but we have become addicted to them. Carry your own bags to the store, which gets rid of some of them. They can not go in the landfill. Some of our local groceries will take them for recycling. Did you know there are now smaller bags that you can use to hold your fruits and vegetables as oposed to the plastic bags you find in the produce section. If you sew, you could even make your own. Back in the 70's, we exported oil, gas, fossil fuels. And, then all of our plastic items were developed and up for purchase. Since you do know that they are all made from fossil fuels, you can understand why we now have to import oil for our consumption. Try to eliminate some of the plastics from your life. Look at some of the packaging that is tamper-proof, but most of us can't open without injuring ourselves or saying some bad words. Single use containers are among the most heavily dumped plastic into our nations landfills. And, plastic does not decompose. Not in our life time, nor our grandchildren's.
Further food for thought, recycling a one-gallon plastic milk jug will save enough energy to keep a 100-watt bulb burning for 11 hours. Recycling a one-foot high stack of newspapers saves enough electricity to heat a home for 17 hours. To learn more visit www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/recyclinggoal75 also check out www.floridadepartmentofenvironmentalprotection
