04/06/2026
In honor of our Earth, nature, and wildlife, let's forgo the fertilizer!
Your lawn fertilizer is creating a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.
Every spring, excess nitrogen and phosphorus washes from 31 states into the Mississippi River watershed → Gulf of Mexico.
→ The Gulf of Mexico "dead zone": 5,000-8,000 square miles annually
→ That's roughly the size of New Jersey
→ Almost NO marine life can survive in it (oxygen depleted by algae)
→ Caused by: agricultural runoff (primary) + suburban lawn fertilizer (significant contributor)
How YOUR lawn contributes:
→ Excess fertilizer not absorbed by grass washes into storm drains
→ Storm drains flow to creeks → rivers → Gulf
→ The nitrogen causes algae BLOOMS in the ocean
→ When algae dies, decomposition USES UP all the oxygen
→ Fish, shrimp, crabs suffocate and die or flee
→ The fishing industry loses $82 MILLION per year to the dead zone
THE FIX:
→ Soil test BEFORE fertilizing (most lawns are already over-fertilized)
→ Use slow-release organic fertilizer (less runoff)
→ NEVER fertilize before a rainstorm
→ Apply at HALF the recommended rate (lawns need less than you think)
→ Leave grass clippings on the lawn (free nitrogen — reduces fertilizer need by 25%)
→ Better yet: replace some lawn with native plants (zero fertilizer needed)
Your lawn doesn't need to be golf-course green.
The Gulf of Mexico needs to be alive.
Those two things are connected. 🌊
