Healthy Yards & Gardens
Information provided here will help with safer yard care and gardening practices that also benefit our community's air and water quality.
It is important to protect your health and the health of our community through safer yard care and gardening practices. Chemicals used in your yard and garden can end up in our bodies and in our community’s drinking water, lakes, rivers, streams, and Puget Sound.
Safe and Healthy Yard & Garden Tips
- Use compost and organic, slow release fertilizer for healthy soil.
- Apply mulch like straw, leaves, wood chips, or grass clippings to bare soil and around plants to help prevent weeds and conserve water.
- Plant the plants that will thrive in the amount of sun, water, and attention that you and your yard can provide.
- Building Healthy Soil
- Building Healthy Soil (Spanish)
- Practice Smart Watering
- Water deeply and less frequently. Use soaker hoses or drip irrigation to deliver water right to the plant roots.
- Water in the mornings or evenings to prevent evaporation.
- Check that automatic irrigation systems are set up for the yard you currently have. These systems are often programmed to meet the needs of brand-new plantings. As plants mature, they need more water, less often.
- If you have a pest or weed issue, choose the safest products at Grow Smart, Grow Safe.
- Building Healthy Soil
- Building Healthy Soil (Spanish)
- City of Olympia’s Natural Yard Care
- Composting Resources
- Follow the Water – What's Your Lawn Style
- Gardening without Chemicals
- Gardening without Chemicals (Spanish
- Grow Smart, Grow Safe
- Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Fact Sheets
- Natural Yard Care
- Natural Yard Care (Spanish)
- Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides
- Pesticides & Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
- Puget Sound Starts Here
- Rain Garden Handbook for Western Washington
- Thurston County Master Gardeners
- WA Poison Control Poisonous and Non-Poisonous Plant List
How to Reduce Contaminants in Your Yard
The following guidelines are suggested to help you reduce exposure to lead, arsenic, and other contaminants in soil. For information on the Tacoma Smelter Plume (a source of soil contamination for some areas of Thurston County), visit State of Washington Department of Ecology Tacoma Smelter Plume project webpage.
- Wash hands and face with soap and water after working or playing in the soil, and especially before eating.
- Use a shoe brush or quality doormat to remove soil from shoes.
- Take your shoes off before entering your home.
- Damp mop and wipe surfaces throughout the home often to control dust.
- Vacuum 2-3 times a week. Use a bag designed to filter "allergens" or a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter.
- Wash children’s toys and pacifiers with soap and water often to remove dust and bacteria.
- Remove soiled clothing and wash them before wearing them again after working or playing in the soil.
Children's Play Areas
- Wash children’s hands and face with soap and water after playing in the soil, especially before eating.
- Limit exposure to bare soil by covering bare patches with bark, sand, straw or grass.
- Do not eat or drink while playing in the soil.
- Rinse off toys used outside often and keep them away from areas of bare soil.
Garden Areas
- Wash hands and face with soap and water after working in the soil.
- Wear gloves when working in the soil.
- Dampen soil before gardening to reduce dust.
- Wear waterproof footwear when working in the soil and rinse them off after each use.
- Rinse soil off garden tools and store them outside.
- Replace the top 18 – 24 inches of soil in vegetable and garden beds with new soil or compost from your local home and garden store.
- Scrub or peel vegetables and fruits before eating. Avoid growing root vegetables in your garden unless you’ve replaced your soil from your local garden store.
Pet and Livestock Areas
- Keep pets away from bare soil so they don’t track it into the house.
- Wipe your pets’ paws before they come inside the house.
- Dampen soil with water when it’s windy to reduce dust.
- Fence off and frequently rotate where animals feed on areas of the property to keep the animals in vegetated areas so they do not create bare soil.
To learn more, visit Healthy Actions – Protect Yourself from Arsenic and Lead in Dirt (State of Washington Department of Ecology)
Resources
Learn more:
American Lung Association: Do It Yourself Healthy Home Assessment
Environmental Protection Agency: Reducing Household Hazardous Waste in Your Home
Environmental Protection Agency: Safer Choice
Green Science Policy Institute Six Classes
Safer Cleaning Recipes
Thurston County Healthy Homes Vendor List
Washington State Department of Ecology: Healthy Home Guide
Washington State Department of Ecology: What's hazardous in my home?
Washington State Department of Health: Eight Principals of a Healthy Home
Contact Us
Contact our Environmental Health Education and Outreach Team for more information at healthyhomes@co.thurston.wa.us or call 360-867-2674 if you have additional questions.