SLIME
STOPPERS
What can you do today to protect Florida's springs?
Skip the Fertilizer.
Lawn fertilizers are responsible for 12% of the nutrient pollution entering our springs statewide.
For springs surrounded by homes and development, like Wekiwa Spring, that number rockets to 37%.
Eliminating that much nutrient pollution by collectively skipping the lawn fertilizers would cost individuals nothing and would make a huge difference in the health of such springs.
While there's a lot of work to do in curbing nutrient pollution from industrial and agricultural sources, skipping the fertilizer entirely, all year long, is the most available individual action we can take to protect Florida's waterways from the slimy water crisis we're in.
Fertilizer Bans in Florida
Protecting water from home fertilizers is so important that counties across Florida have seasonal bans on fertilizer use.
For those who choose to use home fertilizers, these ordinances prohibit fertilizer use during times when rains are likely to wash them away before plants can use them or during times when grass is dormant. These ordinances are a nearly cost-free and effective tool in protecting our waterways, and each one is unique to conditions in that area.
Surveys reveal that many people don't know their local fertilizing ordinances. So SlimeStoppers.org offers a way to kindly inform friends and neighbors of local fertilizer blackout dates if you suspect someone may not be aware of local laws. And perhaps, eventually, they will join the growing number of people who choose to skip the fertilizer altogether, all year long.
Click an option below
I WANT TO:
Each county's fertilizer ordinance will be different, so be sure to check details in your county. The backbone of a strong fertilizer ordinance includes a summer rainy season ban on nitrogen and phosphorus application, often June through September. During the rainy season in Florida, fertilizer does not have an opportunity to be absorbed into the soil before our frequent rainstorms wash the fertilizer off lawns and into the aquifer and springs, where it fuels algae growth.
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Click on your county name below to get all the
details of your local fertilizer ordinance. If your county
is not listed, it has not adopted a strong fertilizer ordinance
with a blackout period.
Blackout period July 1 through February
Blackout period June 1-September 30
Blackout period June 1-September 30
December 15th - March 15th and
June 1st - September 30th
Blackout period June 1-September 30
Blackout period June 1-September 30
Blackout period June 1-September 30
Blackout period June 1-September 30
Blackout period June 1-September 30
Blackout period June 1-September 30
Blackout period June 1-September 30
Blackout period June 1-September 30
Blackout period May 15- October 31
Blackout period May 15- October 31
Blackout period June 1-September 30
Blackout period June 1-September 30
Blackout period June 1-September 30
Blackout period June 1-September 30
Print flyers:
These flyers can be printed out and used at neighborhood meetings, or posted in community areas to help alert neighbors that there is a fertilizer ban in effect.
Click the image to open a printable pdf
