If you suspect a nutrient deficiency in your vegetable garden or landscaping, submit a soil sample for testing. A pest or disease could be responsible, and supplying additional fertilizer would be a waste of time. When preparing a vegetable garden for planting or sowing, spread a layer of aged compost or manure 3 to 4 inches deep over the patch, and dig it lightly into the surface of the soil.
Apply fertilizer over the root zones of the vegetables after planting, and water it into the soil. Next, spread mulch 2 or 3 inches deep over the root zones and between your vegetable plants to conserve soil moisture and prevent fertilizer from being washed away in heavy rain.
Certain plants grown in vegetable gardens require additional fertilizer as the growing season progresses. Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum is one example. An application of a fertilizer at a rate of 1 to 2 pounds per square feet is sufficient to meet the nutrient needs of tomatoes and other vegetables that require a second fertilizer application during the growing season. A graduate of Leeds University, Jenny Green completed Master of Arts in English literature in and has been writing about gardening and homes since Green's work appears in SFGate, Mom.
What Are the Causes of Fertilizer Runoff? Home Guides Garden Garden Care. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue.
See Subscription Options. Go Paperless with Digital. Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter. Sign Up. What are some of the causes of this runoff? Overapplication: Using too much fertilizer almost inevitably leads to runoff. Poor timing: Fertilizer applied to frozen or partially thawed ground cannot penetrate the soil as easily as it would otherwise. Instead, it is likely to run over the hard ground until it reaches a more hospitable environment, like a stream, lake, or warmer soil.
And if you fertilize while grass and other plants are dormant, their roots will be unable to absorb the fertilizer, and it will wash away in the rain much more easily. Many states have regulations that prohibit fertilizer application between about November 15 and March 1. Excessive irrigation: Excessive irrigation or yard watering can also lead to fertilizer runoff. If agricultural land or garden soil becomes saturated with water, that water will run off to drier land that can absorb more moisture.
Like excessive irrigation, heavy rainfall can sweep fertilizer away and contaminate the groundwater and soil with chemicals. Improper yard waste disposal: Clippings from your lawn often contain fertilizer residues.
If you dump them carelessly — say into a nearby empty lot— those residues become vulnerable to runoff. The next heavy rain could carry them away and cause soil and water contamination elsewhere. If they end up in drains, they could leach fertilizer chemicals into the water supply. How Water Is Used on a Farm Unlike pollution from point sources, such as sewage and industrial treatment plants, nonpoint source NPS pollution comes from many sources.
Pollutants resulting from ranching and farming include: Pesticides Sediments Metals Pathogens Salts Implementing management practices adapted to local conditions can reduce agricultural activities that have an impact on ground and surface water.
Types of Agriculture Pollution Several different types of agricultural pollution exist today, including: 1. Sedimentation Water can become clouded with too much sediment, reducing the amount of sunlight aquatic plants receive. Nutrients Farmers apply nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus in the form of manure, chemical fertilizers, and sludge.
Pesticides Farmers use herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides to kill agricultural pests. Irrigation Inefficient irrigation can lead to problems with water quality. Excessive irrigation may affect the quality of water by: Transporting pesticides, nutrients, and heavy metals Causing erosion Decreasing the amount of water naturally flowing in rivers and streams Excessive irrigation can also cause selenium buildup. Animal Feeding Operations Farmers confine animals in small lots or areas to efficiently maintain and feed livestock.
Runoff from poorly-managed facilities can carry pathogens like: Viruses Bacteria Oxygen-demanding organics and solids Nutrients These can all contaminate fishing areas and create problems with water quality.
Livestock Grazing Overgrazing by livestock can cause many problems including: Increasing erosion Exposing soils Encouraging undesirable plant invasion Destroying fish habitat Destroying floodplain vegetation and stream banks necessary for natural water filtration Farmers can decrease the impact of grazing on water quality in several ways.
Here are a few of the adverse ecological impacts fertilizer runoff can have: 1. Eutrophication One of the primary effects of fertilizer runoff is eutrophication — excessive nutrient richness in a body of water such as a lake, pond, spring, stream, or estuary. Algae Blooms One immediate consequence of eutrophication is the proliferation of algal blooms.
Seaweed Growth The nutrients in fertilizer can also promote seaweed growth. Oxygen Depletion When fertilizer pollution in water leads to an abundance of nutrients and promotes algal overgrowth, one frequent result is oxygen depletion. Biodiversity Loss As time goes by, an algal bloom in a lake or stream begins to choke out other species. Nitrate Poisoning If fertilizer nutrients like nitrates make it into the drinking water supply, they can have particularly severe adverse health impacts on infants.
How to Prevent Fertilizer Runoff At this point, you may be wondering how to prevent fertilizer runoff from your lawn or garden.
To reduce the effects of fertilizer runoff, try applying some of these tips: 1. Leave Lawn Clippings When you mow your lawn, consider leaving the lawn clippings there as nourishment. Use Slow-Release Fertilizer Instead of dumping huge volumes of chemicals into your plants all at once, slow-release fertilizer controls the nutrient release so that it remains low and constant throughout the growing season.
Set Your Mower Blades High Setting your lawnmower blades to 3 inches or higher can help you reduce runoff in your yard. Keep Fertilizer Away From Water When you apply fertilizer to your grounds, be sure to keep it at least 20 feet away from water sources. Use the Correct Type of Fertilizer Because of the harmful effects of eutrophication, some states started banning the use of the mineral phosphorus in fertilizer.
Use the Right Amount of Fertilizer A good rule of thumb for fertilizing a lawn or garden is to apply half a pound to a pound of nitrogen for every 1, square feet. Agriculture affects water quality through surface water and groundwater. Surface Water Surface water covers around 70 percent of the earth and fills our lakes, oceans, rivers, and other bodies of water. Groundwater When rain falls and seeps into the ground, filling the crevices, cracks, and porous areas of underground aquifers, it becomes groundwater.
Here are some of the contaminants and their effects: 1. Sedimentation Higher levels of turbidity, or cloudiness, are frequently linked with higher levels of microorganisms causing disease like parasites, viruses, and some bacteria. These microorganisms can cause symptoms in humans such as: Cramps Headaches Diarrhea Nausea 2.
Nutrients Too much phosphorus and nitrogen in the water cause a faster growth rate of algae than ecosystems can handle. Pesticides The type of pesticide, route, and duration of exposure and health status of the individual determines the potential health outcome.
Chemical pesticides have been linked with numerous negative health effects that are: Gastrointestinal Dermatological Respiratory Carcinogenic Reproductive Neurological Endocrine 4. Irrigation In the agricultural sector, wastewater is increasingly being used to cope with the freshwater source depletion as well as water stress associated with changing climate conditions.
Animal Feeding Operations Public health concerns linked with concentrated animal feeding operations include an increase in the risk of pathogens passed from animals to humans, food-borne disease, the emergence of antimicrobial and antibiotic-resistant microbes largely due to widespread antimicrobial use for nontherapeutic reasons, and worker health concerns. Livestock Grazing When cattle have uncontrolled access to bodies of water, grazing areas, or intensively managed domestic pastures, they can contaminate them with sediment from damaged streambanks and manure.
For instance: Do you live near a factory or industrial site? Do you use water from a well? Do you have pets? Do your neighbors use pesticides and fertilizers on their yards? These all put you at risk in many ways. To reduce your contributions to contaminated drinking water: Choose phosphate-free soaps, detergents, and household cleaners.
Reduce your use of pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides. Inspect your septic system yearly. Harms, Sherri L. Johnson, Jeremy B. Jones, John S. Kominoski, William H. McDowell, Amy D. Rosemond, Matt T. Experimental nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment stimulates multiple trophic levels of algal and detrital-based food webs: a global meta-analysis from streams and rivers. Biological Reviews , DOI: ScienceDaily, 17 December North Carolina State University.
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