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Welcome
Maryland farmers thank you for your interest in taking backyard actions for a cleaner Chesapeake Bay. Many of the tips below are based on agricultural conservation practices that can be adapted easily to your backyard and garden. • CURRENT SPRING FEATURE - Use Fertilizers Wisely - Watch a 30-second video on Using Fertilizers Wisely (Requires QuickTime player. Free download). Click on the links below to open and print out valuable tips and information for your backyard or call the University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) at 800-342-2507 to receive them by mail. Visit the HGIC website, www.hgic.umd.edu, more more valuable resources for homeowners and gardeners. • Try Composting - Leaf "recycling" brochure - or listen to a radio spot • Try Pesticide Alternatives brochure - Watch a 30-second video on Trying Pesticide Alternatives (Requires QuickTime player. Free download) • Control Soil Erosion and Rainwater Runoff brochure - Watch a 30-second video on Preventing Soil Erosion (Requires QuickTime player. Free download) • Garden Planner and Checklist brochure - and listen to a radio spot • A summary brochure of all five Backyard Actions for a Cleaner Chesapeake Bay. • Look at our banner ad. This series of fact sheets highlights various conservation measures—best management practices—that farmers use to produce healthy crops and protect water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Homeowners can apply these same conservation measures to home, lawn, and garden projects. Working together, we can make a difference for the Bay. Governor Martin O'Malley said this about the effort: “Farmers like homeowners and all residents of the Chesapeake Bay watershed play an important role in protecting our soil and water resources. It is a priority of the O’Malley-Brown Administration to protect the health of the Bay for all to enjoy and to strengthen the family farms that anchor our rural communities and economies, preserve open productive land, and provide a local source of food. Farmers are strong partners in conservation.” To learn about more ways to care for our watershed, what else farmers are doing to protect the environment, and the state's premier hands-on, outdoor natural resources competition for high school students, the Envirothon, click here. Here are some additional internet resources and some additional highlights related to the campaign. The Maryland Master Gardener program has 1200 volunteers across the state that can also help you "go green" in your landscape. Their Bay-Wise Landscaping Program provides on-site recommendations for making your property "Bay-friendly." Homeowners who follow the recommendations can earn "Bay-Wise" certification for their property from the Master Gardener program. Click to learn more. If you have an extra minute, click on the blue crab above and take our survey. Thank you for your time and interest. This effort was made possible through private funds provided to implement the Statewide Plan for Agriculture are supporting the "Take it from Maryland Farmers: Backyard Actions for a Cleaner Chesapeake Bay" campaign. In addition, expertise on backyard actions is provided by the University of Maryland Home and Garden Information Center. |
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