Michigan has banned phosphorous from lawn fertilizers with a few exceptions. If a soil test shows low levels OK, if you are doing a reno that's fine and organics are exempt.... I guess they don't realize phosphorous is phosphorous regardless of the source. Either way the local Co-op ain't gonna question me. Mostly I just need it for the garden.

BTW I recall that NY state had banned phosphorous from all sources including organics. Is this true?

I don't know about NY, but NJ did a fertilizer ban this past fall. It basically says you cannot put any fertilizer down after November 15th (December 1st if your a licensed landscaper) or before March 1st. So in a mild fall/winter like we had, we could not do reapplications after November 15th. Real nice NJ...thank you.

DJG9282 wrote:I don't know about NY, but NJ did a fertilizer ban this past fall. It basically says you cannot put any fertilizer down after November 15th (December 1st if your a licensed landscaper) or before March 1st. So in a mild fall/winter like we had, we could not do reapplications after November 15th. Real nice NJ...thank you.

Well, you can't expect the government to make a distinction between the possible sources of pollution, that would be asking too much of them. With all the flooding out east this last fall it makes one wonder what all got into the watersheds besides a little nitrogen and phosphorous from lawns.

BTW I recall that NY state had banned phosphorous from all sources including organics. Is this true?

No, NY has very similar laws to other places.

BUT...

There are the famous (or infamous, depending on your view) "Long Island Restrictions". While I don't live on LI (I grew up there), it's a very unusual situation - sandy soil, almost no bedrock and shallow groundwater. Because of that, the rules are very different on LI than they are where I live (50 miles north of LI in NY's Hudson Valley). I can buy stuff that is verboten on LI. There IS a complete fertilizer application ban on LI from (I think) Nov 1 - April 1.

Jackpine wrote:

DJG9282 wrote:I don't know about NY, but NJ did a fertilizer ban this past fall. It basically says you cannot put any fertilizer down after November 15th (December 1st if your a licensed landscaper) or before March 1st. So in a mild fall/winter like we had, we could not do reapplications after November 15th. Real nice NJ...thank you.

Well, you can't expect the government to make a distinction between the possible sources of pollution, that would be asking too much of them. With all the flooding out east this last fall it makes one wonder what all got into the watersheds besides a little nitrogen and phosphorous from lawns.

Oh well, I guess I was on the wrong side of the law when I winterized on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Bill

Yadayadayakyakyak. The single largest source of Phosphorus in a large town or city is Fall leaves laying in the gutter. I've seen estimates as high as a pound of Phosphorus for every five big bags-worth of leaves, although that sounds pretty high to me. Any guess at how many bags-worth of leaves lay in the gutters of your town? But that's not politically-correct to counter with, is it?

MrBill wrote:Oh well, I guess I was on the wrong side of the law when I winterized on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Yep. You were. I did the same thing, but i wasn't aware of it and of course they say ignorance is not a cause for disobedience. I think it's only a matter of time before they send out law enforcement to see if people are abiding by the law. It's a good money grab. In fact, they can slap you with a $500 fine for the first offence.

You can find details on the law from Rutgers University here