Brevard County Gardening Guide: Fertilizer Rules, Watering Days and Plant Help

In unincorporated Brevard County, no fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus may be applied to turf or landscape plants from June 1 to September 30, the restricted application period in the county fertilizer ordinance (Brevard County Code).

The Brevard County ordinance sits in Chapter 46, Article VIII of the county code, adopted in December 2012 and amended in March 2014 and May 2019. It also creates a prohibited application period that applies in any month: whenever a flood, tropical storm or hurricane watch or warning is in effect for any part of Brevard County, or heavy rain is likely, no nitrogen or phosphorus fertilizer goes down, and none goes on saturated soil (Brevard County Code).

Three Brevard County rules apply all year. Fertilizer may not be applied within 15 feet of any pond, canal, lake, stream or wetland, or within 15 feet of the top of a seawall; newly planted turf may be fed in that zone for 60 days starting 30 days after planting. At least 50 percent of the nitrogen in a Brevard County lawn fertilizer must be slow release or controlled release. Phosphorus is allowed only after a soil or plant tissue test verified by a UF/IFAS approved method shows a deficiency (Brevard County Code).

The Brevard County ordinance also bars washing, sweeping or blowing grass clippings into storm drains, ditches, sidewalks or roadways, and its fines go into a trust used for enforcement, water conservation and nonpoint pollution prevention (Brevard County Code). One clause applies countywide, inside cities too unless a city ordinance directly conflicts with it: any business that sells fertilizer must post a county notice at eye level on the shelving saying lawn and landscape fertilizer use is restricted by city or county ordinance. The Brevard County fertilizer blackout and watering rules guide walks through each clause and how the rainy season ban works on a typical lawn.

Every Brevard city on the Extension chart keeps the June 1 to September 30 ban, but shoreline buffers run from 10 feet in Palm Bay to 25 feet in Titusville (UF/IFAS Extension).

The county ordinance covers only the unincorporated areas of Brevard County; the code defines County as the unincorporated areas (Brevard County Code). Inside city limits, the city ordinance governs. The Extension chart tracks four points for each place: no phosphorus without a soil test, at least 50 percent slow release nitrogen, the fertilizer free zone next to water, and the rainy season ban (Extension fertilizer chart).

The Brevard chart is old in places. Most rows were last updated between December 2012 and June 2014, and only Indian Harbour Beach shows a 2024 date; the chart itself warns that regulations may change and updates may not appear immediately (UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County). The chart also has no row for Melbourne Village, and it asks every resident to verify current requirements with the local government before fertilizing. Lawn services working across Palm Bay, Melbourne and Titusville in the same week face three different buffer widths.

Brevard County lawns follow the St. Johns River Water Management District schedule, and Brevard County Code Enforcement (321-633-2086) is the county contact on the district list of local governments that enforce it (SJRWMD).

During daylight saving time, homes with odd numbered or no addresses water on Wednesday and Saturday, homes with even numbered addresses on Thursday and Sunday, and nonresidential properties on Tuesday and Friday. From the first Sunday in November until the second Sunday in March, Eastern Standard Time cuts that to one day: Saturday, Sunday or Tuesday by the same address groups. In every season Brevard yards may not be watered between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and no zone may run longer than one hour (St. Johns River Water Management District).

The district declared a Phase III Extreme Water Shortage in 2026 that limits irrigation to one day a week and bans watering from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Order 2026-017 names Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Lake, Marion, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties and does not name Brevard County (SJRWMD Order 2026-017), so Brevard stays on the normal schedule above. For Brevard homeowners the practical date is November 1, 2026, the first Sunday in November, when the winter one day schedule starts and timers set for two days a week need resetting.

UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County runs a main Plant Clinic at 3695 Lake Drive in Cocoa, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. except county holidays (UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County).

The same Brevard office answers by phone on the Lawn and Garden Help Line, (321) 633-1702 ext. 52339, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and by email at [email protected], with clear photos attached rather than pasted into the message. The same number finds a Plant Clinic near the caller (Extension Florida-Friendly Landscaping page). Brevard County Government lists the UF/IFAS Extension Service in its Community Services group, alongside the libraries and parks (Brevard County Government).

For a lawn with a recurring problem, the My Brevard Yard program sends a Master Gardener to the property. The visit covers fertilizer amounts, timing and type, sprinkler run times and compliance with the local fertilizer ordinance; the volunteer can collect soil samples for nutrients, test well or surface water for salt, and write a fertilizer program for that lawn. The fee is $75, and visits are offered on the first Monday of the month between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. (My Brevard Yard).

The Brevard Discovery Garden, beside the UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County office in Cocoa, is open for free self guided tours on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 to 11 a.m., except holidays (Brevard Discovery Garden).

Master Gardener volunteers design and maintain the Brevard Discovery Garden as a living classroom. Its demonstration areas include pollinator gardens, a native plant garden, a coastal garden, a shade garden, Mediterranean, kitchen, salad and herbal tea gardens, an orchard, a food forest and a Worm Resort for vermicomposting. Visitors pick up a tour handout in the Extension office or in the garden and follow a marked route. Semi annual festivals and plant sales offer native and Florida-friendly plants grown by Master Gardeners in the garden nursery, and donations to the garden are cash or check only (UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County).

The garden puts into practice the nine Florida-Friendly Landscaping principles the Brevard Extension teaches: right plant, right place; water efficiently; fertilize appropriately; mulch; attract wildlife; manage yard pests responsibly; recycle; reduce storm water runoff; and protect the waterfront (Florida-Friendly Landscaping). The Extension office on Lake Drive also hosts a farmers market on Thursdays from 3 to 6 p.m. (UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County).

Brevard County holds Master Gardener training once a year, usually on eleven consecutive Wednesdays from January into March, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Extension office in Cocoa, for a $250 class fee (UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County).

About 175 active Master Gardeners volunteer in Brevard County, answering questions by phone, email and in person at plant clinics, working on the Brevard Discovery Garden and making the My Brevard Yard visits. Saturday classes, also 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., are now offered. After certification, a Brevard volunteer contributes 75 volunteer hours and 10 learning hours in the first year, under statewide program bylaws (Brevard Master Gardener Program). Applicants contact the program at [email protected] or (321) 633-1702, option 2.

The Brevard County gardening section has one deep guide today, the fertilizer blackout and watering rules guide, and the table below maps the section's main questions to the key fact and where it is covered.

The Brevard County county services page covers the county offices beyond gardening, and the Palm Bay and Melbourne town guides cover the city side for residents inside those city limits. Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the Brevard County Code (Municode), UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County and St. Johns River Water Management District websites.