Be a Bay-Friendly Landscaper

Whether our garden is in a window box or on a large plot, many of us enjoy growing our own vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs. By using effective gardening techniques and planting the right plants, we can have a garden to be proud of, while preserving the soil, enhancing the absorption of rainfall, and protecting local storm drains and canals from sediment and chemicals.

Start by picking the right spot for planting. Choose a location with good natural drainage and plants appropriate for the light (shade, partial sun, or full sun). Avoid sloping beds; they let topsoil wash away during heavy rains.

Some plants introduced to the Island are invasive and spread quickly, choking out indigenous plants. These include garlic mustard, Japanese stilt grass, phragmites, oriental bittersweet, Japanese knotweed, knapweed, Japanese honeysuckle, bamboo, and barberry. For a complete list, visit the Native Plant Society of NJ website.

Mulch is a protective covering of compost, straw, grass clippings, or leaves placed around plants. Many LBI gardeners like to use seaweed as mulch. Mulch can add nutrients, make the soil more workable, aid rainwater penetration, help control weeds, and improve the moisture-retaining capacity of soil. Mulch also minimizes loss of nutrients and topsoil. A 2-inch layer is sufficient. Do not pile mulch against tree trunks. Leave space between the mulch and the tree.

Avoid using landscaping plastic beneath decorative rock or bark. The plastic prevents water from entering the soil. Use woven materials that accomplish the task of weed control while permitting water penetration. Another idea is to spread several layers of newspaper. Wet them thoroughly and then cover them with mulch. The newspaper will eventually decay and add organic matter to the soil.

We’re used to thinking that the perfect garden is one with weed-free bare soil surrounding our chosen plants. It’s time we rethink that picture.

19 billion catalogs are mailed annually to American consumers.

Here’s the impact: 53 million trees used

3.6 tons of paper used 38 trillion BTUs of energy used, enough to power 1.2 million homes per year

5.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions created, equal to the annual emissions of 2 million cars

53 billion gallons of waste water from this volume of paper, enough to fill 81,000 Olympicsized swimming pools

Compost is a dark, crumbly, earthy-smelling form of decomposing organic matter. Perfect for mulch, compost enriches soil and improves plant growth. Composting is a practical way to transform yard, kitchen, and garden wastes into a valuable resource.

A compost pile is really a teeming microbial farm that breaks down anything left over from your gardening and other activities. Great joy can be had from a properly working compost pile that produces a wonderful soil conditioner from garden and household waste. With little effort, compost will be ready in six months to two years. Adding red worms to compost generally improves it because red worms consume nitrogen.

Leaves, cuttings, and other yard wastes contribute approximately 10% to the average household’s garbage. It is particularly damaging to dispose of yard wastes in or near shorelines. The process of breaking down plant materials competes with marine animals for the limited oxygen dissolved in our waters. In addition, some plant materials contain chemical components that can alter the balance of the marine environment. Adding lawn and garden waste to a compost pile, which can be done at any time, saves money and protects our environment.

Consider the option of creating your own compost system. Composting is also a good way to get rid of 10% of your garbage. Do not add meat, bones, or fatty foods, however. For more information on other compost methods and where to purchase worms, see the Resources chapter.

and gray body. Mallards are endothermic. In other words, they are able to generate heat to maintain their body temperature, whatever the surrounding temperature.

Mallards inhabit most wetlands and usually feed by dabbling for invertebrates, fish,

The mallard (Anasplatyrhynchos) is probably the most recognized waterfowl in the world. The more colorful male (drake) has an iridescent green or bluish-black head, yellow bill, a white neckband, rusty chest, amphibians, and a variety of plants. Mallards can often be seen with their heads dipping or even completely upending in the water. They also graze on land, feeding on grains and plants.

Once viewed as safe and effective for insect control, chemical pesticides are now considered ecologically harmful. They poison wildlife and pets, contaminate water and soil, and harm humans, especially children. Many pesticides last a long time. According to organic landscape expert, Paul Tukey, 98% of pesticides and herbicides never hit their intended targets.

Avoid using bug zappers or black light units.

they kill more beneficial insects than insect pests!

Most pests are not life-threatening to plants. They merely cause temporary, aesthetic problems. Setting our pest tolerance too low results in unnecessary treatments and potential environmental damage. When considering a pest treatment, the goal is not to eradicate the pest, but rather to use the least toxic treatment that will drop the pest level below a tolerable threshold.

Pests like to congregate where there is an abundant food source. Biodiversity tends to take care of infestation problems. So, if you’re having a pest problem, interplant your garden with different species.

The first step is to dispose of all your old pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides on your municipality’s Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collection day. If you plan to use a professional landscaping company, hire one that uses organic options. Remember this:

• The risk of canine malignant lymphoma doubles with the use of herbicide 2,4-D on a dog owner’s land.

• So-called “inert” ingredients in landscape chemicals can amount to 95% of the product and be more toxic than the active ingredients.

The sooner you stop using toxic chemicals, the faster your soil will regain its natural health. Because past use of chemicals may have destroyed the microbiotic life that exists in healthy soil, it may take some time for your soil to recover its natural defenses. Meanwhile, there are nonpoisonous methods to treat for pests. Consult the Resources chapter.

Based on New Jersey’s rainfall, 40 rain gardens in our neighborhoods would purify 1,000,000 gallons of water per year!

Turn the page to find out how to build your own rain garden.

The Rutgers Extension Service encourages Integrated Pest Management (IPM), as a simple and logical approach to controlling pests in your landscape.

• Inspect your plants regularly—to detect pests on them.

• Remove insects by picking them off vegetables and garden plants.

• Clean up dead leaves and debris before they become a home to pests.

• Use natural predators to control pests: you can release beneficial insects and microorganisms—which feed on pest insects—into your garden.

• Control weeds by hand-pulling or hoeing.

• When hiring a landscape maintenance firm, use one that offers IPM.

A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over the course of its lifetime... as well as hold the soil and filter the water.

When you have no other choice, try to find nontoxic or low-toxic pesticides such as insecticidal soaps. Follow the directions carefully and mix only the amount you need. IPM may require more of your time and at- tention, but the benefits are clearly worth it.

like lacewings, ladybugs, praying mantises, and spiders. They eat pests.

Swamp pink (Heloniasbullata) is a perennial shaped like a bottlebrush. A rare and endangered flowering plant, most of the world’s swamp pink can be found in our estuary. This wildflower has bright pink flower clusters that bloom in spring. A member of the lily family, it can be found in wetland habitats.

This natural beauty grows in clumps in ground that is saturated with clean water. Swamp pink is in danger of becoming extinct. Erosion, toxic chemicals, and excess nutrients are making it harder for swamp pink to survive.

A rain garden is a landscaped, shallow depression that allows rain to be collected and seep naturally into the ground, rather than running quickly into a storm drain. In heavy storms, water rushes into the streets from yards, driveways, and sidewalks; it then moves from storm drains into the Bay. Carried with the rushing water are fertilizer, pesticides, and petrochemicals that may have accumulated on driveways, yards, and streets.

As water in the rain garden’s shallow depression slowly percolates, microorganisms break down pesticides, pollutants are filtered out, and the nutrients are used by the plants. In addition, a planted rain garden beautifies the landscape and provides a natural habitat for birds, butterflies, and insects.

Plankton include free-floating microscopic plants (phytoplankton) and animals (zooplankton) that range in size from tiny copepods to jellyfish. The name comes from the Greek word “planktos” meaning “drifting.” Zooplankton are floating or weakly swimming animals that rely on water currents and tides for locomotion.

Plankton are widely considered to be some of the most important organisms on Earth, because of the food supply they provide to aquatic life. Plankton are the first link in the marine food chain, eaten by many organisms including mussels, fish, birds, and mammals. Because of their high sensitivity to the environment, plankton are important indicators of aquatic health.