Certified Sustainable for the Chesapeake Bay
Healthy Waterways Start at Home
This week, more water quality alerts were issued in Montgomery County. Popular water recreation areas were flooded with cyanobacteria, a nasty bacterium that looks like blue-green algae, but isn’t. Cyanobacteria is toxic to mammals—including humans—in a multitude of ways.
I saw a comment declaring, “The government should be responsible for keeping our waters clean!” Well, the local government is trying, but this problem is squarely on homeowners and farmers. Blooms of algae and cyanobacteria are caused by nutrient runoff from our lawns and fields—excess nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilization and other common lawncare practices. No amount of self-regulation from the public works department can fix the issues caused by private property owners.
Even worse, this is the exact issue that causes Dead Zones in the Chesapeake Bay, as the water runs through our streams, down the rivers, and out to the bay. Of course it doesn’t stop there—these nutrients wash out to sea, creating massive Dead Zones in oceans around the world.
A “Dead Zone” refers to an area with such low oxygen concentration that marine life cannot survive. Nutrient runoff stimulates the overgrowth of algae, leading to a decrease in oxygen levels in the water. As a result, fish and other marine creatures either die or are forced to move to other areas, creating a “dead” zone devoid of life. These areas vary significantly in size, ranging from small pools like in the Montgomery County rivers, to expansive regions covering thousands of square kilometers.
A Vital Solution: Better Water Quality Through Smarter Gardening
The University of Maryland Extension (UME) Bay-Wise Program, led by trained and certified Maryland Master Gardeners, educates homeowners in various counties about sustainable landscaping practices. Given that most Maryland residents live within half a mile of a storm drain, stream, or river, the program emphasizes the impact of our landscape maintenance on local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay.
By adopting a few simple changes, families can contribute to healthier communities and a cleaner environment. The Bay-Wise Program addresses various environmental aspects of landscape management, aimed at improving fresh water quality and accessibility in Maryland.
Our Journey to Certification
I can be pretty conceited, and like people to know when I’m doing good things. Not the best character trait, but one that can be positively exploited when awareness needs to be spread. I was thrilled to get the Montgomery County Organic Lawncare and National Wildlife Federation Wildlife Habitat certifications, but it’s not likely that anyone will check to make sure I’m telling the truth about our qualifications.
Not so with the Bay-Wise Certification! There are four basic steps to a Bay-Wise certification:
Download the Bay-Wise “Yardstick” document and use it to measure your sustainable practices. Each listed action awards or removes “inches” from your yardstick.
Add or adjust your landscape practices as needed to reach at least 36” on the yardstick. We applied with 38”, but were awarded over 45” after the walkthrough!
Submit the completed Yardstick and Bay-Wise application to your county’s Master Gardener Program
Schedule a walkthrough of your property with two trained Master Gardeners, who verify the Yardstick and award the certification.
Bay-Wise Objective One: Control Stormwater Runoff
As urban areas took off, stormwater runoff was managed as “keep it out of the ground and funnel it to the nearest waterway as quickly as possible.” This approach often led to increased flooding, erosion, and pollution in local streams and rivers. Today, we recognize the importance of controlling stormwater runoff by implementing sustainable practices to slow down, capture, and naturally filter the runoff, reducing its negative impact on our waterways.
Direct downspouts and gutters to drain onto the lawn, plant beds, or rain gardens where rain will soak into the soil rather than run off on driveways or impervious areas. However, make sure to direct this water at least 10 feet away from the house to avoid wet basement and foundation problems. Credit: 1 inch
Plant groundcovers on thinly vegetated areas, under trees, or on slopes to decrease erosion. Credit: 1 inch
Core aerate and amend compacted soil with compost to restore and enhance infiltration. Credit: 1 inch
Keep grass clippings, fallen leaves, pet waste, and other yard waste out of storm drains, waterways, and drainage areas. Credit: 1 inch
Plant mulched beds containing trees, shrubs, native grasses, or groundcovers along the low edges of your property to catch runoff. Credit: 1 inch
Install a properly designed rain garden where it will catch runoff from roofs or other impervious surfaces. This will also help slow and soak up stormwater instead of allowing it to run off your property. Credit: 3 inches
Install rain barrels to collect and store water from downspouts. This reduces runoff and conserves water. Credit: 1 inch
Pick up and dispose of pet waste, every day. Dispose of this waste in garbage that goes to landfill. Do not put in compost pile. Credit: 1 inch
Bay-Wise Objective Two: Encourage Wildlife
Over 80% of US land east of the Mississippi is privately-owned. In Maryland alone, that number jumps to 94% and includes 60% of Maryland’s forested areas. To put it bluntly: we are living in necessary wildlife habitat. That’s not a bad thing! In fact, I’d love for people to learn how they are a part of nature, not above it. But it does create a lot of conflict, up to species extinction, when humans expect their property to cater to only themselves.
Provide and properly maintain a water source, such as a birdbath or small pond, for wildlife. Change birdbath water every other day to provide a fresh, clean drink and discourage mosquitoes. Credit: 1 inch
Provide and properly maintain wildlife shelters such as a toad house, birdhouse, a dead tree (snag), or woodpile. Keep woodpile away from house to deter unwanted insects. Credit: 1 inch
Incorporate native trees into your landscape. Native oaks, sugar maple, river birch, and American hickory have a high wildlife value. Credit: 1 inch
Plant native shrubs and perennials that provide cover, nesting areas, or produce berries/seeds to encourage birds. Dogwood, black or red chokeberry, serviceberry, early, tall or three-lobed coneflower, Indian grass and switchgrass are examples. Native honeysuckle, native beebalm and native lobelias, (such as cardinal flower) encourage visits from hummingbirds. Credit: 1 inch
Encourage pollinators to visit your yard by including nectar-rich plants such as Joe-pye weed, native asters, blazing star, and goldenrod. Credit: 1 inch
Incorporate butterfly larva host plants such as white turtlehead (for the Baltimore checkerspot), spicebush (for the spicebush swallowtail), pawpaw tree (for the zebra swallowtail), and milkweed (for the monarch butterfly) into your landscape. Credit: 1 inch
Bay-Wise Objective Three: Protect the Waterfront
As I mentioned, most Maryland residents live within half a mile of a waterway. Waterfront property includes those properties that border even the smallest streams, storm drains, and water retention ponds.
Establish a border of low-maintenance or no-mow vegetation buffer adjacent to all bodies of water including streams, storm drains, and water retention ponds to absorb nutrients, slow runoff, and provide wildlife habitat. Credit: 3 inches
Use native grasses with deep root systems, such as Switchgrass, Little Bluestem, or Indiangrass, to prevent erosion on hillsides along waterways. Credit: 2 inches
Do not fertilize within 15 feet of any waterway or your well. Credit: 1 inch
SUBTRACT 5 inches if fertilizer is applied within 15 feet of waterway.
Keep grass clippings, other yard waste, and animal waste away from stream banks, waterways, or the river’s edge. Credit: 1 inch
Bay-Wise Objective Four: Mow Properly and Water Efficiently
As I’ve touched on previously, proper mowing techniques can remove most need for herbicides, fertilizer, and irrigation. Keep the grass at least 4” high, core aerate and overseed in fall, never trim more than a third of the grass height at once; there are many small changes that make a big impact. And limiting watering is key to reducing runoff and maintaining healthy waterways.
Mow cool season grasses high (3–4 inches) to encourage a deeper, more droughtand pest-tolerant root system. A higher cut also shades out weeds. Remove no more than a third of the grass blade when you mow. Credit: 2 inches
Use a reel (push) mower that mows 3–4 inches high. Credit: 1 inch
Maintain lawn equipment in good condition. Well-tuned engines are more efficient and emit less pollution. Credit: 1 inch
Lawn Irrigation:
Allow cool season grasses to go dormant during summer months. Credit: 2 inches
If you choose to irrigate your lawn, do so only when it begins to wilt. Be sure to follow local water ordinances. Apply ½ to 1 inch of water per application (to a depth of 6 inches), but never more than the soil will absorb. Never allow water to run off of your yard. Long, slow, soaking applications are good; avoid short, frequent, shallow applications, which can actually do more harm than good. Credit: 1 inch
Water early in the morning to conserve water; watering during the heat of the day causes higher losses to evaporation. Morning watering also reduces potential disease problems (evening watering encourages diseases). Credit: 1 inch
Landscape Irrigation:
Direct water spray at the base of the landscape plant. Excess water on the leaves increases the potential for foliar diseases. Credit: 1 inch
During hot dry weather, occasional overhead watering can temporarily help to cool plants and provide moisture for beneficial insects & spiders. Water overhead in the morning only. This allows time for the leaves to dry before disease can set in. Credit: 1 inch
Design and maintain a landscape that, once established, will survive on natural rainfall amounts by planting trees, shrubs, and perennials that are native/adapted to your area. Credit: 2 inches
Use drip- or micro-irrigation to conserve water in plant and flower beds. Credit: 1 inch
For landscapes that use an in-ground irrigation system:
Give your irrigation system a check-up. Replace broken and mismatched sprinkler heads. Redirect sprinkler heads so that water falls only on lawn and garden areas, not on paved surfaces. Credit: 1 inch
Install a rain shut-off device on your automatic sprinkler system. The shut-off device will override your system’s timer when an adequate amount of rain has fallen. Credit: 1 inch
Design or modify your irrigation system to water lawn areas separately from plant beds, which have different water requirements. Calibrate your irrigation/sprinkler system to apply no more than 1 inch of water per application. Credit: 1 inch
Bay-Wise Objective Five: Manage Yard Pests with Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Integrated Pest Management doesn’t mean eschewing all pesticides, but it does mean taking management steps that make judicious use of pesticides a last resort. The steps of IPM include: regularly monitor for signs of plant problems and insect pests; prevent pest problems before they occur; once identified, consider cultural or mechanical means of control; encourage beneficial organisms; and as a last resort, if deciding to use a pesticide, try bio-rational materials like insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, neem, B.t. (for caterpillar pests) first. Recognize and understand that some damage is okay and even necessary in establishing a healthy ecosystem.
Remember that if you prevent all “pests” in your yard, you’re also preventing food sources for the animals you might want to see, like birds.
Avoid routine applications of herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides. Spot treat only affected plants or lawn areas rather than spraying your entire lawn and landscape. (Ask your lawn and landscape maintenance company to follow these strategies if they maintain your landscape). Credit: 1 inch
Learn to identify three beneficial insects that provide natural control of harmful pests. List them. ___________________________________________ Note: praying mantids are not necessarily beneficial — they will eat beneficial insects as well as pests; but they do indicate an environment where few harsh pesticides are used. Credit: 1 inch
Many plants that attract & feed beneficial insects are edible. Plant at least one or two in the garden to do double duty. Examples include anise, basil, carrot, coriander, dill, fennel, mints, anise hyssop, kale, Asian greens, parsley, sage, and thyme. Credit: 1 inch
Use non-pesticide tools such as attractants (e.g., slug traps) and barriers (e.g., floating row cover), and hand-pick insects to control pests in preference to pesticides. Avoid using Japanese beetle traps — they will actually attract beetles to your landscape. Credit: 1 inch
Hand-pull weeds frequently where possible. It requires less effort to remove weeds when they are young and tender. This is a non-toxic way to control weeds. Credit: 1 inch
Remove plant debris and diseased plants to prevent the spread of disease from one season to the next. Dispose of in garbage to reduce further spread — do not compost. Credit: 1 inch
Choose resistant varieties of plants to reduce potential need for pesticides. Credit: 1 inch
If deer, groundhogs, raccoons, or rabbits are a problem in your garden, use fencing or repellents to deter or repel them. Credit: 1 inch
Attract beneficial insects to your garden by planting beds with a variety of native plants. These plants and other herbs help diminish pest invasions, provide habitat, and produce small flowers that serve as nectar and pollen sources for beneficial insects. Credit: 1 inch
Bay-Wise Objective Six: Mulch Appropriately and Recycle Yard Waste
Mulch in moderation can be a valuable ally in landscape maintenance. It’s far more beneficial than weed fabric—or worse, plastic sheets. We use uncolored pine mulch, and the animals love it! I had never seen a chipmunk take an adorable “dirt” bath until we added pine mulch to suppress weeds around our native plantings.
Maintain no more than a 2- to 3-inch layer of organic mulch over the roots of trees, shrubs, and in planting beds. Deeper mulch may prevent water from filtering down to the plant roots. Prevent wood mulch from coming in contact with tree or shrub bark. The same microorganisms that break down the mulch will damage and destroy woody plants. Leave at least 1 inch of space between the base of the tree or shrub and the mulch. Credit: 1 inch
Create self-mulching areas under trees and shrubs where non-diseased leaves and pine needles can remain where they fall. Credit: 1 inch
Use by-product mulches such as shredded hardwood, pine bark, or pine bark nuggets. These may be available from your community or check your local garden center. (Caution! Excessive use of hardwood mulch can cause manganese toxicity in acid-loving plants, like azaleas.) Credit: 1 inch
Use compost, fallen leaves, dried grass clippings, and pine needles found in your yard as mulch under trees, shrubs, and in flower beds, rather than bagging and discarding them. Pine needles are great in beds of acid-loving plants like azaleas, Japanese pieris and rhododendron. They make attractive natural mulch and they’re free. Credit: 1 inch
Create and maintain a compost pile with collected clippings, leaves, and kitchen scraps (no animal products, please; crushed eggshells are okay). Check your local city/county ordinances to see if kitchen scraps can be used. Credit: 2 inches
We received credit for this because we are part of a local compost co-op.
Vermicompost indoors if you cannot compost outdoors. Credit: 1 inch
Bay-Wise Objective Seven: Fertilize Wisely
Fertilizer doesn’t just cause problems in stormwater runoff. Improper use of fertilizer can build up salts in the soil, scorching your plants from the bottom up. They can also affect winter hardiness, exaggerate pest problems, and make plants grow excessively (which can mean more mowing too!).
If you choose to plant native plants, you should not fertilize them at all! They evolved to grow in your local ecosystem, even if soil health is poor when you start. Fertilized native plants tend to grow fast and weak, flopping over when the stem no longer supports itself.
Test your soil every 3 to 5 years. Results will indicate nutrient/lime needs. Follow recommendations as specified. Call your county Extension office or the Home and Garden Information Center, HGIC, at 1-800-342-2507, for information on getting your soil tested. Credit: 2 inches
Use a fertilizer with the proper balance of nutrients for landscape plants. Generally, trees and shrubs need a ratio of 3:1:1 of Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium (N-P-K); flowering plants need a higher amount of P than N and K while established lawns need a fertilizer high in N, no P and moderate in K. Use appropriate fertilizer on turf. The N should be higher than the K. Appropriate formulations might be: 28-0-4 or 35-0-6. Credit: 1 inch
Fertilize cool season grasses (fescues, bluegrass and ryegrass) only in the fall (September through early November). Warm season grasses such as Zoysia and Bermudagrass should only be fertilized from mid-May to early June. Credit: 1 inch
Grass-cycle. Minimize the need for synthetic lawn fertilizers by using a mulching blade on your mower and leaving grass clippings on the lawn to decompose. This is called grass-cycling and can fertilize your lawn for free. Credit: 1 inch
Use compost, slow release, or natural organic fertilizers. Buy fertilizers that contain at least 20% of the nitrogen in slow release forms. Look for words such as water insoluble nitrogen (WIN), controlled release nitrogen, sulfur coated urea (SCU), IBDU, ureaformaldehyde (UF) or resin-coated urea to indicate slow release forms. Credit: 1 inch
Avoid spilling/leaving granular fertilizer on paved surfaces. Sweep it back onto the lawn or collect it for use later. Credit: 1 inch
During the fall, mow when lawn is lightly covered with fallen leaves. Leave finely shredded leaves on lawn to decompose and release nutrients to the soil. Mulching mowers are great for this task. This action adds ‘free’ nutrients to the lawn which reduces the amount of recommended fertilizer by 25–30%. Credit: 3 inches
Check here if you never fertilize your landscape plants. Credit: 5 inches
Check here if you never fertilize or don’t have a lawn. Credit: 5 inches
Bay-Wise Objective Eight: Plant Wisely
Plants suited to not only your ecosystem but also your landscape microclimates require far less maintenance and intervention. Native landscapers love to say “Right Plant, Right Place”, and they’re right. Even in a yard as small as ours, there are ideal microclimates for different plants. Our full-sun plants have only about 8 square feet to grow in, while another area benefits plants that love shade and wet feet.
Incorporate a variety of native plants into your landscape. Give yourself credit if you have at least 4 different species. List them. Credit: 1 inch
If you choose to have a lawn, plant drought-tolerant turfgrass species such as turf-type tall fescue, fine fescue, or zoysia grass instead of higher-maintenance species like Kentucky bluegrass. In areas with no foot traffic, consider planting native grasses, ground covers, or shrubs. Credit: 1 inch
US-native Prairie Pussytoes make a fantastic turf alternative in areas of mild foot traffic, and require no mowing. Here they are bordered with Prairie Dropseed, Purple Prairie Clover, and Liatris. Photo by Nona Cummings and Prairie Moon Nursery Convert lawn to a conservation landscape. Determine how much grass you want for children, pets, recreation, or ornamental purposes. Grass requires extensive maintenance to grow well, potentially resulting in greater air and water pollution. Where possible, replace unneeded lawn areas with beds of low or no maintenance native ground covers, grasses, perennials, shrubs, or trees. Credit: 2 inches
Save energy by using trees and shrubs to shade the southern and western walls of your home and your air conditioner compressor. Credit: 1 inch
Use deciduous trees on southern exposures to allow the sun to passively heat your home in winter, and/or use evergreen trees and shrubs on northwestern exposures to protect your home from cold winter winds. Credit: 1 inch
Educate yourself about what is invasive in our area and avoid planting these plants. Help stop the spread of invasive, exotic plants such as English ivy, Bamboo, Purple loosestrife, Japanese honeysuckle, Norway maple, ‘Bradford’ callery pear, Russian olive, Chinese bittersweet, Multi-flora rose, Kudzu, and Tree of heaven by removing them from your landscape. Credit: 1 inch
SUBTRACT 3 inches if landscape contains any above-mentioned plants.
In Summary, at last
The Bay-Wise program supplies a thorough framework for sustainable landscaping. It’s become my go-to checklist when deciding landscape changes, even after certification. Our visit with the Master Gardeners was delightful, and they continue to support our efforts post-certification with resources and mentoring.
I only wish I’d begun our application sooner, so I had their insights before we qualified!