With all the rain we have had lately, there have been gardening articles reporting that you should fertilize more because nutrients have been washed away.  But if you have native plants and a healthy lawn, fertilizers are not needed in northern New England.  Recent soil studies at the University of Vermont show there is plenty of nitrogen and phosphorus naturally occurring around most lakes in New England. If you do decide to use fertilizer on your lakefront property, make sure it is phosphorus-free (noted by the “O” in the middle number describing the fertilizer blend). So take a break from fertilizing, limit your impact on the lake, relax and hope we get a nice mix of sun and rain this summer now that the drought is over.

More from the University of Vermont: http://www.uvm.edu/~vlrs/doc/lawnfert.htm

More from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection: http://www.maine.gov/dep/land/watershed/fertilizer/index.html