Yard and Garden Tips
That Help Keep Our Water Clean
Keeping your yard and garden healthy and protecting Longfellow Creek.
Think of Your Yard and Garden as Part of a Cycle...
Plants are the best recyclers. The forest that used to cover our land never needed someone to feed it or rake up its leaves. We have changed that natural system with houses, roads, and plants that are not native to this area. But we can still make it work for us - if we are smart.
Fertilizers Should Be Part of a Plan
The right amount and kind of fertilizer at the right time can make plants grow well. The wrong fertilizer at the wrong time-or too much fertilizer - is a waste of money. And it can pol lute streams. The best times to fertilize your yard are in November- December and in June. Extra fertilizer may not be good for your plants and can cause big problems. Avoid fertilizer products that include a pesticide that you may not need, because they can lead to water pollution problems. Choose plants that grow well without a lot of help.
In its Place, Yard and Garden Waste Can Work For You
Compost is another healthy way to
help your plants grow. You can make it yourself by collecting your yard
wastes into a compost pile. Or you can have the City pick it up and compost it
at Cedar Grove, and buy the finished compost at your garden store.
Compost will provide food for your plants to use, and help build good soil. It will also hold water. You can reduce your use of fertilizer and the need to water with the proper use of compost.
Leaving clippings on the ground can be a great mulch. Mulching helps keep weeds down, and also reduces your need to water. You can spread clippings around to help other plants. Grass clippings are best used after they are dry.
Be part of the cycle. By taking care of your yard waste, you can use the nutrition in the clippings instead of throwing it away. When you return this nutrition to your garden or yard, you do not have to buy as much fertilizer for your plants. It all works out as nature intends it to. With the right kind of care and planning, you can have a better looking yard and garden, save money, and protect your stream at the same time. You can have it all!
Actions Steps To Make Your Yard Work Better, and Your Creek, Too
Here are three simple steps that
you can take to make your yard a Friend of Longfellow Creek. 
- 1. Plan your yard and garden.
Choose plants that are hardy, will grow well here, and are right for the
kind of soil and amount of sun and water your yard gets. Have as much area
covered with plants as you can, with as little pavement as possible.
- 2. Decide what fertilizer you
will need, and only buy and use what is necessary. Fertilize lawns no
more than twice a year, and follow directions for other plants.
- 3. Find away to reuse
clippings and other yard and garden wastes. Use them as mulch, set up
your own compost system, or join the City of Seattle Clean Green Yard Waste
Pick-up program. To sign up, call the Seattle Solid Waste Utility at
684-7600.
It is illegal to dump yard and garden wastes down a storm drain, culvert, in the street, down a ravine or in a park.
To report illegal dumping, call the Seattle Solid Waste Utility at (206) 684-7587.
Why Not Dump Yard and Garden Waste?
What you do with your fertilizers and yard waste can harm your local creek. If you use extra fertilizer, it will run off with the rain and end up in your creek. Leaves and plant clippings that you leave in piles or on curbs will end up in the creek. Yard waste that is dumped down the ravine will smother native plants living there, and cause erosion. These plants and their roots will die and stop holding the ravine in place. Then winter storms will carry the hillside down into the creek. So why is this a problem?
Streams are delicately balanced. Extra fertilizers may harm fish and other animals and cause changes in plant life. When plant materials break down, they use up the oxygen that stream animals need. Yard waste can also block or change the flow of the stream. You can avoid these problems by managing your fertilizers and yard wastes with care. You will probably have a healthier yard and garden, too!
Need More Information?
You can get good advice about how to maintain your yard and garden by calling WSU Cooperative Extension at 296-3440. Call 296-DIAL for a recording about composting and other subjects. You can also call the Tilth Composting Hotline, 633-0224 or the Master Composters at 684-5353 for additional information.
To report illegal dumping, call the Seattle Solid Waste Utility at 684-7587.
To find out more about what you can do to protect Longfellow Creek, call Sheryl Shapiro, Watershed Educator, at (206) 615-1443.
NOTE: This document titled "Yard and Garden Tips
That Help Keep Our Water Clean" was scanned and formatted for the Web as
a public service. The source document was the version published by
Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) dated 8/96. Scanning software
may have introduced minor errors. Please contact Seattle Public
Utilities for the official version.