Chesapeake Bay

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Water flowing from your landscape after rain or during irrigation can pick up sediments, fertilizers and other chemicals that pollute streams, rivers and lakes, and the Chesapeake Bay. The yard care practices you follow can lead to healthier plants and create a landscape that traps pollutants before they harm our waterways. Although your property size may be small, it’s the accumulation of runoff from all the homeowners, farmers, waste treatment plants and businesses from the Maryland mountains to the coast that have led to our current pollution problems.

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Better gardening practices include fertilizing wisely, watering efficiently, controlling storm water runoff, mulching appropriately, recycling yard waste, managing pests properly and selecting plants carefully.

chesapeake3 Information on these topics is outlined in brochures found on-line at this website, and further discussed in on-line publications from the University of Maryland’s Home and Garden Information Center. The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources has publications at two locations: Natural Resources & Water Quality and Lawn, Garden & Home. For specific information on lawn care go to the Maryland Turfgrass Council website. Additional information can also be found at the Chesapeake Bay Trust website. You and your neighbors can help become “Bay-wise” gardeners.

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For more information, contact Web Master

Last updated: 08/15/2008