Fertilizer Update – Annual Greening It Up

love-the-lake-logo  by Pam Hoover – Lake Management Committee

An excerpted from ‘Green Up Your Lawn: Not the Lake’, by Betsy Washington, Lake Bancroft Assoc. website. Click here for the full article http://www.lakebarcroft.org/community/environmental-quality/green-your-lawn-not-lake.

Finally! Spring is really just around the corner, and with it comes the annual rite of greening up the American lawn. And with the greening of the lawn, comes the inevitable “peculiar green sheen” around the edges of our lake. This green sheen is NOT the type of green we are aiming for! It is caused by excess fertilizer, particularly phosphorus, running into the lake from improper lawn fertilization.

Improper and excessive fertilization is a major source of phosphorous and nitrogen run off into our lake. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus runoff causes algal blooms that reduce water clarity and decrease dissolved oxygen levels when the algae decompose. Decreased levels of oxygen can stress and even kill aquatic life. Algal blooms tend to coincide with the most common times of lawn fertilization in spring and early fall. In fact, improper or excessive fertilization of lawns is one of the main sources of nutrient runoff pollution.

So what can you do to make sure your lawn care does not harm our lake and health? Follow these basic guidelines to green up your lawn, and not our lake.

1) TEST YOUR SOIL. Lawns do not automatically need fertilizing, so it is important to get a soil test to tell you if you need to fertilize or lime your soil. Every responsible lawn service should begin with this simple step, and should be willing to share the results of the test with you. Test kits can be obtained at the Ohio State University Extension Office in Jefferson, Ohio. Taking a soil sample is very easy.  The test results will give you specific recommendations for your lawns and save you money and guesswork. The Extension Office will even assist in reading and interpreting the results.

2) USE COMPOST TO FERTILIZE. Feed your soil to feed your lawn. Healthy soils are full of soil microorganisms that partner with plants to break down and release nutrients efficiently and create rich, humus-rich soil. A healthy soil reduces or even eliminates the need for external fertilizer. Compost and organic mulches enhance the soil web and break down slowly, so that the soil microorganisms can release nutrients just when plants need them, eliminating the threat of excess nutrient runoff. Compost improves soil tilth by lightening heavy clay soils and bulking up light, loose soils. Get in the habit of applying 1/2 to 1″ of compost to your lawn each year.

3) NEVER FERTILIZE WHEN THE GROUND IS FROZEN OR GRASS IS DORMANT. Many lawn companies interviewed give “a little boost” of fertilizer and weed killers or pesticides for good measure in late winter/early spring and during summer when the lawn is dormant. Pre-emergent herbicide treatments are routinely combined with an application of fast release nitrogen and most of this will runoff straight into the lake. This is a harmful waste of money and harmful to our lake.

4) AVOID FERTILIZERS WITH PHOSPHORUS. Phosphorus has become “persona nongrata” in landscaping, especially near streams and lakes because of its harmful effects. Now there is NO excuse for anyone in Lake Roaming Rock to add to phosphorus runoff into the lake. If you choose to use fertilizer, use a granular slow release Nitrogen fertilizer. Make sure that your lawn service follows this advice!

5) USE A FERTILIZER WITH SLOW RELEASE NITROGEN (N) that is released gradually over time, instead of all at once.  Slow release nitrogen is listed as WIN or water insoluble nitrogen.  You want a fertilizer with a high percentage of WIN. Many “organic” lawn services use a chicken manure based fertilizer, which contains high amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus that can cause problems for our lake.

Now it is up to you. Make the decision to follow the recommendations in this article when you are planning and doing your lawn fertilization. If you have a lawn service provider, ask them about the products they use. Protect our Lake and decide to BE LAKE RESPONSIBLE.

Early Bird Drawing #9

The winner of Early Bird Drawing #9 for 2015 and recipient of $100 is Alan & Carol O’Donnell, Lot 1930!

Congratulations!

Our final drawing for 2015 will be next week!

Spring Cleaning (Lake-Responsible Style)

love-the-lake-logo  By Dick Hurwitz – Lake Management Committee

Alright, so you’re looking out your window at the snow and cold and wondering when spring is going to come again to Roaming Shores. Then—just maybe—you start thinking about all the cleanup chores associated with spring and you think Maybe a little more snow and cold won’t be so bad. You soon remember, though, how good you feel when your house and deck and dock are clean, and how proud you are when you hit the water with a shiny boat; and you actually start looking forward to some of those cleanup chores. This year, however, you also start thinking about our Roaming Shores’ Love the Lake campaign and ask yourself how you can make your spring cleanup as “green” and lake-friendly as possible. The purpose of this article is to provide some answers to that question, to recommend some eco-friendly products, and to let you know where you can get more detailed product information. So get comfortable, take another quick look at the snow and cold, dream again of spring, and read on.

Powerwashing

There are a lot of cleaning products recommended for use with the powerwashers we use to clean our houses, decks, docks, watercraft, outdoor furniture, and probably other things as well. A number of them claim to be “eco-friendly” or “environmentally safe.” However, the labels also include directions for what to do if the products are ingested or get in your eyes; and they recommend you do not use them where the water they are mixed with may run off into a pond or lake. In this case, the safe thing to do is use the powerwasher without any additional cleaning products. Water alone, under the proper pressure and with the proper nozzle setting, should do a fine job.

General Cleaning

Look for products that are biodegradable, plant based, and free of phosphates, chlorine, and petroleum distillates to clean your outdoor things. (It is probably a good idea to use them inside too!) The following are a few recommendations:

  • Bon Ami Liquid Cleanser
  • Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Glass Cleaner
  • Method Floor + Surface Cleaner
  • Bill by Eco-Me All-Purpose Cleaner
  • BOULDER® Citrus All-Purpose Cleaner
  • Sun & Earth All Purpose
  • Green Works Natural All-Purpose Cleaner
  • Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner
  • Advantage 20X Cleaner – all natural multi-purpose cleaner

For more information on these products, refer to the Lake Management link on the Rome Rock Association website (http://www.roamingshores.org/RRA1/). Look for “Recommended Cleaning Products.”

Boat Cleaners

The following products are recommended for marine cleaning in a lake-responsible way:

  • EcoDiscoveries All-Purpose Boat Wash (removes dirt, salt, and stains from boats)
  • EcoDiscoveries Boat Seat Cleaner
  • M2 from EcoDiscoveries (for mold and mildew)
  • EcoDiscoveries Marine All-Purpose Boat Cleaner (designed to cut through grease, stains and other soils)
  • Spray Nine All Purpose Cleaner (for removing mildew or stains, preventing mildew, removing black streaks or marks from fiberglass and vinyl boat seats)
  • Simple Green Marine All Purpose Boat Cleaner (multiple uses)
  • West Marine Pure Oceans Crystal Boat Soap (for cleaning all marine surfaces)
  • West Marine Pure Oceans Hull Cleaner
  • West Marine Pure Oceans Nanotec Fiberglass Cleaner Wax
  • West Marine Pure Oceans Aluminum Pontoon Cleaner
  • West Marine Pure Oceans Citrus Bilge Cleaner
  • West Marine Pure Oceans Non Skid Deck Cleaner

Additional information on most of these products can also be found on the Association website.

Now it is up to you. Make the decision to follow the recommendations in this article when you are planning and doing your spring cleaning. Decide to BE LAKE RESPONSIBLE.

Association Meeting Highlights – March 2015

by Richard D. Gainar, CEBS – Secretary RRA

The RomeRock Association Board of Directors met on March 5, 2015 with all Directors present. Eight residents were also in attendance.

Dell Rogers discussed this year’s poor road conditions due to weather and asked residents to call the RRA Office if they spot unsafe conditions. There is a single candidate running for one of the two open Board of Director positions this year. Even so, ballots will be mailed as usual until the Board can amend the By-laws to find a better way to deal with such a unique event in the future. The Board will appoint and interim Director to fill the last position. The Board thanked Rick Gainar for his service to the Board and the community. Dell announced his intention to seek Board approval to set the pool hours of operation at 10AM to 9PM starting this summer and invites interested Members to comment at the next Board meeting.

Tom Sopko introduced Katherine Bushey, an attorney with Kaman & Cusimano, LLC specializing in bad debt collections. Ms. Bushey met with the Board earlier to discuss her firm’s ability and procedures and how it could help the Association collecting bad debts.

Maintenance Director Dan Mullins reported that work fabricating wings for the new bulldozer has been completed. These wings will allow the bulldozer to more efficiently handle the soupy dredge materials at our Crosby-Cook property where lake sediment removed in our dredging operations this summer will be dried and stored. The repair of Clubhouse kitchen was also completed. Two more plow pump failures were repaired in-house getting our plows quickly back on the road. Dan asked residents to be careful of the winter’s rippling effect on our roads due to extreme cold weather.

Lake Management Sub-Committee Chairman Tim Langer reported on his committee’s activities to encourage residents to consider minor household changes that have significant positive effects on our lake’s water quality. Residents will also be asked to support his committee’s efforts to convince our elected state representatives to take action that limits the excess nutrients and sediment from entering our streams and lake from our watershed. Village Liaison John Ball, RSV Mayor, reported that the lake drain will be opened again at the Association’s request due to expected ice melt at week’s end. Also the Village Council is working to hire a new police officer. Building & Facilities Committee Chairman Jim Swartz announced another work session meeting on 3/6. Jim’s committee also plans to meet soon with an architect for building design plans in order to proceed with his committee’s investigation of a permanent RRA Office.

In the Club Reports section of the meeting, Ron Morris reminded us of this month’s Friends & Neighbors winter dinner at Clay St. Grill on March 20 at 6:00pm.

A question was raised during the Member Comments section of the meeting regarding whether an appointed interim director is first required to attend three Board meetings (no such requirement). The meeting was adjourned at 8:20pm. The Association Board’s next meeting will be on April 2. Hope to see you there!

2015 Polar Bear Plunge

2015-polar-bear

The 10th Annual Roaming Shores Polar Plunge is Saturday, March 14th! The event will begin at 1 pm at the Roaming Shores Clubhouse/Main Beach. The actual plunge will begin at 3pm.

The Polar Bear Plunge will include brave students from Jefferson, Grand Valley and Pymatuning Valley Schools, as well as wild and crazy local area residents. Last year’s event was a huge success as we raised over $6700.

This year, the money we raise will be used to benefit the Jeff Meddock Memorial Scholarship, Jefferson Area Schools Falcon Academic Boosters, Grand Valley Schools, and the Roaming Shores Breakfast with Santa event. Jeff Meddock was a resident of Roaming Shores and the beloved principal of Pymatuning Valley High School. He died unexpectedly and the money we raise helps to continue his pursuit to educate. The Falcon Academic Boosters strives to reward students for academic success. Grand Valley Schools plans to award academic achievement. Also, a portion of the money we raise is also used to host the Roaming Shores Breakfast with Santa event.

There will be a DJ and a 50/50 raffle! We’ll be serving hot dogs, chili, popcorn, chips and soda. You can purchase items before and/or after the plunge. First come, first serve.

Last year, the ice was 22 inches thick! Will we beat that this year?

Even if you are not participating in the Plunge, come out and show your support!

Change Your Smoke Alarm Batteries

State Fire Marshal Larry L. Flowers is reminding Ohioans to make a potentially lifesaving change when they move their clocks forward one hour on Sunday, March 8: Change the batteries in your smoke alarms!

The Rome Fire Department encourages all residents to make a habit of changing the batteries in their smoke detectors at least twice a year – at the beginning and end of daylight savings time.  If smoke alarms are more than 10 years old, you should replace the entire unit.

“We’re still finding that many homes in Ohio don’t have working smoke alarms,” said Marshal Flowers. “Many times, fatal fires could have been prevented with the help of the early warning a smoke alarm provides. It gives people time to escape.”

For the greatest protection, install a smoke detector on every level of your home and inside each sleeping area.  Also, develop an escape plan with two ways out and make sure every family member knows what to do and where to meet outside if the fire alarm sounds.  Take time to practice both a primary and secondary escape plan, so that if a real emergency occurred, you and your family know what to do.

Please follow these additional tips:

  • Test smoke alarms at least once each month to ensure that they are working properly.
  • Vacuum the dust from inside the detector at least once every year.
  • Never “borrow” a smoke detector’s battery for another use.
  • Change batteries twice a year or if a detector “chirps” to signal low battery power.
  • If you have a smoke alarm that was installed before March 8, 2005, completely replace the unit this weekend.

Early Bird Drawing #8

The winner of Early Bird Drawing #8 for 2015 and recipient of $150 is Vincent Mucci, Lot 87!

Congratulations!

Next week’s drawing will be for $100

Road Conditions

frost-heave

Driving down our roads, one can’t help but notice that it’s anything but a smooth ride. Why are the roads so bumpy? When moisture under the roads freezes, it expands. This leads to the heaving and rippling you see on the roads, especially in the areas where waterlines and culverts go under the road. This heaving also makes it difficult for our plow drivers to remove snow from the roads as their plows only have so much clearance.

What can be done about it? Unfortunately, not much other than waiting. In the springtime when everything starts to thaw, the roads will begin to settle back down. Unfortunately, this also means potholes, as they don’t settle down evenly. This is why there is a ban on heavy equipment on our roads from February 15th to April 15th. The ban helps prevent damage to the roads.

Algal Blooms 101 – Part 2

love-the-lake-logoBy David Ernes – Lake Management Committee

This is the second in a series. This is not meant to be a comprehensive overview, but is intended to give the reader some basic information on this important lake management subject.

Algal blooms obviously have an aesthetic concern – they just don’t look nice. But the recent news regarding the Toledo bloom brings up another issue – toxins (aka cyanotoxins). These toxins are not associated with common green algae but with cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Cyanobacteria blooms, as a result, are often called “Hazardous Algal Blooms” or HABs. The good thing is that not all cyanobacteria produce toxins. However, some species of cyanobacteria can produce more than one type of toxin. Obviously, this issue is complex. In spite of all of this attention, the US EPA has not yet set advisory thresholds above which exposure to these toxins should be avoided. The advisory thresholds that you see in the news and elsewhere are either the early World Health Organization (WHO) values, or those set down by the OhioEPA. Most, but not all states have cyanobacteria or cyanotoxin thresholds for exposure, and they differ from state to state. The thresholds for recreational exposure (like for our lake) are typically less severe than those for drinking water (like the Toledo issue).

Exposure to toxins can result in everything from a mild rash to a more serious condition depending on the toxin concentration and exposure. Since it is not possible to tell visually if a bloom is due to cyanobacteria, or if the cyanobacteria have released any toxins, it is best to avoid contact with an active bloom. The tag line on the OhioEPA site is “When in doubt, stay out”.

The only way to determine if toxins exist is to test. Reliable test results require careful sampling and analysis in a qualified lab, both of which are expensive. On the RRA web site, the toxin level results from our two beaches are published. The values for our lake continue to be below recreational advisory thresholds. If the level were to exceed these recommendations, signs will be posted at the two beaches to warn of the advisory. With hard work, good lake management, and the help from our neighbors, we hope to never have to use those signs.

The OhioEPA website (one of the sources of the information in this article) has a lot more information on this topic.

BE LAKE RESPONSIBLE

Early Bird Drawing #7

The winner of Early Bird Drawing #7 for 2015 and recipient of $200 is David Zenker, Lot 823!

Congratulations!

Next week’s drawing will be for $150

Office Info:

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 8, Rome, OH 44085

Located at 1875 US Route 6, Roaming Shores, OH 44085

Hours

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Saturday
9am – 1pm

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Office: (440) 563-3170
Fax: (440) 563-5667

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