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Ernst: Experts agree that Sarasota's <br /> fertilizer law is good <br /> By Eric Ernst <br /> Published:Thursday,January 26,2012 at 3:55 Am• <br /> Sarasota County's fertilizer ordinance is once again under attack. <br /> Enacted in 2007, the local law intends to keep nitrogen and phosphate pollution <br /> from our waterways by requiring only slow-release fertilizers and by banning <br /> application from June through September. <br /> Consider the testimony of Michael "Mike J."Juchnowicz. His company, <br /> Gardenmasters of Southwest Florida Inc., has io,000-plus lawn-care customers <br /> from Collier to Manatee counties. <br /> Juchnowicz admits he had to scramble during the first year of Sarasota's new <br /> rules. He had to find suppliers with the right type of slow-release fertilizer, and <br /> he had to pay more for it. <br /> By the second year, however,things were running smoothly, he says. With his <br /> accounts, Juchnowicz sets prices based on the maintenance of vibrant lawns, not <br /> on how much fertilizer and pesticide he spreads. <br /> "People are results-oriented,"he says. "As long as the grass is healthy and green, <br /> you get no complaints." <br /> Meanwhile, his chemical costs dropped as production caught up with the market <br /> and national giants such as Scotts developed 50-50 slow release products they <br /> didn't have a few years ago. <br /> Plus,because of the summer ban and subsequent education of his customers, <br /> Juchnowicz says he now uses about 200 tons less fertilizer each year.And that's <br /> just in Sarasota County. <br /> "I don't want to sound like I'm a big tree-hugger,but I can see I make a visible <br /> impact on clean water in our community," he says. <br /> Sarasota's rules have also led to another discovery. Curtailing fertilization in the <br /> summer has an impact on fungus and insect problems, particularly in the popular <br /> St.Augustine turf. <br /> 13 � 53 <br />