Despite living in the forest, yard care at Lake Marcel can be challenging. Summer droughts can be rough on plants and typically last from July to October. Use of fertilizers can pollute the watershed and lake, so gardeners need to be careful. Don’t worry, a beautiful yard is still within your reach!
Here are a few tips for ensuring your yard thrives.
Add Native Plants
Native plants help filter pollutants in storm water and act as a shoreline buffer. Add native plants to your yard to help the environment and blend in with the surrounding forest. Learn more about native plants from King County: http://green.kingcounty.gov/GoNative/Index.aspx.
Check out Oxbow Farm for nearby purchasing options.
Reduce the size of your lawn
Reduce the size of your lawn to the area you actually use frequently and replace the turf with native plants that provide habitat for wildlife and make landscape pictures for you to enjoy year-round from the house, as well as the street.
Water Once a Week
If you water, do it thoroughly and only once a week. Place tuna cans here and there in the sprinkler range and continue watering until an inch of water has collected in the cans. This will also let you know if your sprinkler is applying the water evenly over the lawn area; you can make adjustments if it is spotty and places are being missed.
Aerate and Overseed
Improve lawns with aeration and overseeding in the fall or spring.
Aeration gets needed oxygen to the roots of the grass and increases water penetration. Thick turf behaves like an impervious surface and can actually prevent water from percolating downward. Aerating will help compensate for this and will encourage healthy root growth, which will make grass less dependent on summer watering.
Overseeding will reduce bare patches and replace older grasses that have stopped growing well. Doing this during seasons when there is more rain and mild temperatures will encourage new grasses to sprout and grow.
Add Pavers
Make your garden look designer-perfect by installing paver steps and grasscrete instead of solid concrete or asphalt driveways and walks.
Flower beds edged with cobble or untreated wood paired with fences of natural materials can finish the look and fit in with the charm of our rural neighborhood.
Install a Rain Garden
Install a rain garden. If you have a low spot on your property, consider installing a rain garden—an area that is designed and planted with rain collection and percolation in mind. The soils are modified to increase rain penetration and plants are chosen with occasional standing water in mind. You can direct runoff to the spot and reduce the amount of rain that leaves your property and runs directly into the lake by creating free-flow, ditches or pipes. Information on rain gardens in the northwest can be found at http://www.pierce.wsu.edu/Lid/index.html.
Choose the Right Fertilizer
Use low or no phosphorus fertilizer on your lawn. Most soils in the Pacific Northwest have sufficient phosphorus already present and do not need any more applied. Excess phosphorus will run off the lawn with watering and will drain into Lake Marcel. Nitrogen is the nutrient most needed by grass in our area for a good green color and healthy growth, and luckily, it is usually available in excess in fresh water bodies here, so more added to the lake will not have such major impact. You can always get your soil tested to determine if you need phosphorus.
Apply Fertilizer Sparingly
If a soil test determines you need to fertilize, apply it moderately in September and May and use natural organic or slow release fertilizers – these will provide small steady doses of nutrients as grasses need them, during the periods for best growth.
Sweep up any fertilizer that has spilled on hard surfaces such as walks and driveways. Otherwise, the nutrients (especially the phosphorus) will be carried by water directly to the lake and give the algae a meal.
Use Pesticides and Herbicides as a Last Resort
Read labels carefully; most will specify use restrictions for waterfront areas because of their potential harm to nearby fish and wildlife. Use the least toxic and most readily degradable pesticide – those with “caution” on the label are considered least toxic whereas the word “warning” indicates moderate toxicity. Purchase only what you need to control the problem for the current season; it’s not good to store pesticides long term and accidents can happen.
Do not apply pesticides when it is windy to avoid the possibility of it drifting off your target and landing where it can cause harm.
Dispose of pesticides properly – make sure to take them to a household hazardous waste drop-off site, like the Wastemobile or the nearest King County hazardous waste collection location.