Save the Bay ✤ Our Bay-Wise Certification

Recently our garden received the Bay-Wise Certification.

Why is this important? 

In Maryland, most residents live within a half mile of a drainage ditch, storm drain, stream, or river. Most of these waterways eventually drain into the Chesapeake Bay.  

No matter where you live, you also have drainage ditches, storm drains and waterways heading to large rivers that end up in oceans. What we do to maintain our own landscapes affects the health of our local waterways and our environment. So, whether your state has a Bay-Wise program or not, you can make a difference by following the same healthy gardening practices.

How I learned about this program.

I had just finished the University of Maryland Master Gardener course and exam which is the first step in becoming a certified Master Gardener. 

Because we live near the Chesapeake Bay, part of our training was to better understand best gardening practices to protect our local waterways, tributaries, streams, rivers, and wetlands. I was introduced to the Bay-Wise  while taking the course.

I became fascinated with the Bay-Wise project and realized that I had already designed my garden using sustainable practices. So, I investigated what it would take for me to get the certification. 

Where to start. 

I started by printing out the Checklist of Approaches and Management Practices Designed for Home Landscapes. Click the link to see the checklist.

After carefully reading each action needed, from the categories below, I selected the ones that I had already completed and made note of ones to add to my To Do list. 

Those categories are: 

• Control stormwater runoff 

• Encourage wildlife 

• Protects the waterfront 

• Mow properly/Water efficiently 

• Manage yard pests with Integrated Pest Management 

• Mulch appropriately/recycle yard waste 

• Fertilize wisely 

• Plant wisely 

You need 36 points to earn the Bay-Wise Certification. After an inspection tour with the Bay-Wise team, we had surprisingly accumulated 60 points. So, we earned this sign which we happily placed outside our fence so that people walking or driving by may look it up online or ask us about it. The more people that are aware of what they can do to improve the bay health, the better! 

So, what items had I completed to earn my certification? 

Below you will find the items from the checklist that helped us earn the Bay-Wise certification: 

• Direct downspouts and gutters to drain onto the lawn, plant beds, or rain gardens where rain will soak into the soil rather than run off on driveways or impervious areas. However, make sure to direct this water at least 10 feet away from the house to avoid a wet basement and foundation problems.  

See more on this by reading my post: Transform Your Yard with a Stunning Rain Garden: A Step-by-Step Guide.

• Plant groundcovers on thinly vegetated areas, under trees, or on slopes to decrease erosion. 

• Core aerate and amend compacted soil with compost to restore and enhance infiltration. 

• Keep grass clippings, fallen leaves, pet waste and other yard waste out of storm drains, waterways, and drainage area. 

• Plant mulched beds containing trees, shrubs, native grasses, or groundcovers along the low edges of your property to catch runoff. 

• Install a properly designed rain garden where it will catch runoff from roofs or other impervious surfaces. 

• Install rain barrels to collect and store water from downspouts. 

• Pick up and dispose of pet waste, every day. Dispose of this waste in garbage that goes to a landfill.  Do not put in a compost pile. 

• Provide and properly maintain a water source, such as a birdbath or small pond, for wildlife. Change birdbath water every other day to provide a fresh, clean drink and discourage mosquitoes. 

• Provide and properly maintain wildlife shelters such as a toad house, birdhouse, a dead tree or woodpile. Keep woodpile away from house to deter unwanted insects. 

• Incorporate native trees into your landscape. 

• Plant native shrubs and perennials that provide cover, nesting area, or produce berries/seeds to encourage birds.  

• Encourage pollinators to visit your yard by including nectar-rich plants such as Joe-Pye weed, native asters blazing star, and goldenrod. 

• Incorporate butterfly larva host plants such as white turtlehead, spicebush, pawpaw tree and milkweed. 

• Mow cool season grasses high (3-4 inches) to encourage a deeper, more drought and pest-tolerant root system. A higher cut also shades out weeds. Remove no more than a third of the grass height when you mow. 

• Use a push mower that mows 3-4 inches high. 

• Maintain lawn equipment in good condition. 

• Direct water at the base of the landscape plant. Excess water on the leaves increases the potential for foliar diseases. 

• Use drip irrigation to conserve water in plant and flower beds.  

• Design and maintain a landscape that, once established, will survive on natural rainfall amounts by planting trees shrubs, and perennials that are native/adapted to your area. 

• Give your irrigation system a check-up. Replace broken and mismatched sprinkler heads. Redirect sprinkler heads so that water falls only on lawn and garden areas, not on paved surfaces. 

• Install a rain shut off device on your automatic sprinkler system. 

• Avoid routine applications of herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides. Spot treat only affected plants or lawn areas rather than spraying your entire lawn and landscape.  

• Learn to identify three beneficial insects that provide natural control of harmful pests. List them. Note: praying mantis are not necessarily beneficial-they will eat beneficial insects as well as pests; but they do indicate an environment where few harsh pesticides are used. I have parasitic wasps, ladybugs, and green lacewings. 

• Many plants that attract and feed beneficial insects are edible. Plant at least one or two in the garden to do double duty. Examples include anise, basil, carrot, coriander, dill, fennel, mints, anis hyssop, kale, Asian greens, parsley, sage, and thyme. 

• Use non-pesticide tools such as attractants (e.g., slug traps) and barriers (e.g., floating row covers and hand-pick insects to control pests in preference to pesticides. Avoid using Japanese beetle traps-they will actually attract beetles to your landscape. 

• Hand pull weeks frequently where possible. It requires less effort to remove weeds when they are young and tender. This is a non-toxic way to control weeds. 

• Remove plant debris and diseased plants to prevent the spread of disease from one season to the next. Dispose of in garbage to reduce further spread-do not compost. 

• Choose resistant varieties of plants to reduce potential need for pesticides. 

• If deer, groundhogs, raccoons, or rabbits are a problem in your garden, use fencing or repellents to deter or repel them. 

• Attract beneficial insects to your garden by planting beds with a variety of native plants. These plants and other herbs help diminish pet invasions, provide habitat, and produce small flowers that serve as nectar and pollen sources for beneficial insects. 

• Maintain no more than a 2-3 inch layer of organic mulch over the roots of trees, shrubs, and in planting beds, Deeper mulch may prevent water from filtering down to the plant roots. Prevent wood mulch from coming in contact with tree or shrub bark. The same microorganisms that break down mulch will damage and destroy woody plants. Leave at least 1 inch of space between the base of the tree or shrub and the mulch. 

• Create self-mulching areas under trees and shrubs where non-diseased leaves and pine needles can remain where they fall. 

• Use by-product mulches such as shredded hardwood, pine bark or pine bark nuggets. These may be available from your community or check your local garden center.  

• Use compost, fallen leaves, dried grass clippings and pine needles found in your yard as mulch under trees, shrubs and in flower beds, rather than bagging them and discarding them. Pine needles are great in beds of acid-loving plants like azaleas, and rhododendron.  

• Create and maintain a compost pile with collected clippings, leaves, and kitchen scraps (no animal products; crushed eggshells are okay) 

• Test your soil every 3 to 5 years. Results will indicate nutrient/lime needs. Follow recommendations as specified. Call your county Extension office for more information on getting a soil test. Note: A new garden may need to be tested more often until you reach the desired nutrients. I currently test mine every year. 

• Use a fertilizer with the proper balance of nutrients for landscape plants.  

• Use compost, slow release, or natural organic fertilizers.  

• Avoid spilling/leaving granular fertilizer on paved surfaces. Sweep it back onto the lawn or collect it for use later. 

• During the fall, mow when the lawn is lightly covered with fallen leaves. Leave finely shredded leaves on the lawn to decompose and release nutrients to the soil.  

• Never fertilize your lawn or don’t have one. 

• Incorporate a variety of native plants into your landscape. Name 4 different species. I have native honeysuckle, swamp azalea, clethra, fothergilla. 

• Convert lawn to a conservation landscape. Determine how much grass you want for children, pets, recreation, or ornamental purpose. Grass requires extensive maintenance to grow well, potentially resulting in greater air and water pollution. Where possible, replace unneeded lawn areas with beds of low or no maintenance native ground covers, grasses, perennials, shrubs, or trees. 

• Educate yourself about what is invasive in your area and avoid planting these plants. Help stop the spread of invasive, exotic plants such as English Ivy, Bamboo, Purple loosestrife, Japanese honeysuckle, Norway maple, Bradford celery pear, Russian olive, Chinese bittersweet, multi-flora rose, Kudzu and the Tree of heaven by removing them from your landscape. 

I hope that this has helped you to understand what you can do, in your own yard, to improve our waterways no matter where you live. And the side bonus is a lovely yard for you to enjoy.