Improve your bottom line by practicing the 4 Rs. Use the right source at the right rate, at the right time, with the right placement. Consult the Tri-state Fertilizer Recommendations and your 4R Certified Crop Advisor before applying nutrients. Check the map below to find your nearest 4R Certified Facility. Get more info to share!
Soil tests take the guesswork out of buying fertilizers, chemicals, and other soil amendments. Getting a soil test is easy and provides you with useful information about your soil such as; pH, organic matter, available phosphorus, and much more. Fertilizer recommendations for specific plants can be made based on nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and magnesium levels. If you want more information on how obtain a soil test, reach out to your local Soil and Water Conservation District.
How to take a soil sample:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_U9Z3fy0Ig
More info on soil tests
https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/hyg-1132
Do you have a concern about soil or water on your property? Come talk to your local soil and water conservation district for free tools and advice about how to get back on track..
Cover Your Assets
Simply planting cover crops on inactive fields can have enormous benefits to your bottom line, field soil health, and water quality. By reducing erosion, weeds, and adding organic material to the topsoil; cover crops can have a positive impact on your yields.
Protect The Edge
Whether its grasses, native wildflowers, or trees, buffer strips will help shield streams, ponds, and lakes from receiving excess nutrients. Buffer strips absorb some surface runoff and act as a natural filter of fertilizers, chemicals, and sediment before they enter into the waterway.
Keep Storm Drains Clean
Only Rain Down the Drain and Ditches
The storm drain in your street carries rain water and snow melt as well as trash, grass clippings, fertilizer, oil and other wastes directly to our streams. Pick up or soak up all spills from vehicles or household activities off of your sidewalk and driveway. Fertilizer pellets and grass clippings should be swept back on to your lawn. Do not wash or dump any yardwaste or spills out into the roadway and down into our storm drains. Keeping storm drains free of trash and debris also prevents flooding. .
Leaf It On Your Lawn
You can save time and provide nutrients for your lawn by mulching leaves in the fall. Shredded leaf material blocks weeds and breaks down fast into free fertilizer! This means less time and money you have to spend on your lawn. Do your part by keeping leaves and grass out of your street where they can clog storm drains and feed algae.
Pick Up Poop
Animal waste can pollute our water supply! Storm sewers drain directly into rivers and carry disease-causing pathogens and extra nutrients from dog waste.
Don't Drip and Drive
Concerned that your car might be leaking? Did you know that even a single drop on your driveway can mean a shorter lifespan for your car? It’s also having a huge impact on the health of our local waters. Fix that leak! A single drop of motor oil can contaminate a million drops of water. Keeping your vehicle maintained saves you money, improves fuel efficiency, and ensures our waters are safe for people, pets, and wildlife.
Infiltrate Stormwater
Rain Is Your Resource: Soak It In
Heavy rain events are increasing along with flooding and drainage concerns. Do your part and use rain barrels, rain gardens, native plants and healthy lawns to soak in the rain on your property. .
A Barrel Of Savings
Harvest roof water by installing a rain barrel. Use the water collected to water your flower pots. Your plants love soft, mineral-free rainwater that you’ll capture and store for when you need it.
Plant Native Plants, Remove Invasive Plants
Add a pop of color to your yard! Going native can save money and time over non-native plants while also providing needed nutrients for butterflies and insects to feed baby birds. Even better deep roots of native plants break clay soil to soak up more rain and protect streams by preventing erosion. Non-native invasive plants displace or crowd native plants. Invasive plants impact wildlife, which rely on native plants for food, shelter, and habitat. Not all non-native plants are invasive. About 900 non-native species grow in Ohio and fewer than 100 of them are considered invasive. Consult with your local SWCD or OSU Extension office for more information on removing invasive plants from your land.
Garden For Clean Water
Install a rain garden to collect and absorb runoff from rooftops and driveways. Rain gardens typically absorb 30 percent more water than the same size lawn and you are beautifying your yard at the same time. Rain gardens are the perfect spot for native plants. .
Donate A Kidney to Nature
Filtering water is a major role of wetlands, as such they act as nature’s kidneys. They trap pollutants, break down organic material, and turn dissolved nitrogen into nitrogen gas. Wetlands also provide vital habitat for many birds, fish, amphibians, and invertebrates..
Manage Your Home Sewage Treatment System
Pump It Out
Septic tanks and aeration tanks fill up. To keep your home sewage treatment system and your family healthy, your tank should be pumped every three to five years. Find out how much water you use and ideas for conserving by visiting www.home-water-works.org/calculator.