I'm going to start recording my adventures in yard care/ gardening here. What the heck, maybe we'll all learn something. I've read about 6 different lawn care books and feel like I have a well rounded grasp of what is and isn't recommended.
So I'm going to start at step 1: soil analysis. Tomorrow I'm taking my soil into the county extension office to get it tested. It'll tell me what the pH is and what recommended nutrients I need to add (lime, sulphur, iron, etc.). I really can't do anything productive to my yard until I know more than just "I have heavy clay soil".
I'm practically giddy because I'm also planning on signing up to become a Master Gardener (permitting child care availability), I believe that's what my awesome gardening SIL is. I was planning on taking some landscaping classes from the college, but I'm going to give this a shot first. I'm really, really excited to do this!
I also bought beer for my lawn and will be applying it today. It helps decompose thatch which is a big problem in my lawn, apparently. If you have too much thatch, don't bother trying to water and fertilize, it keeps most of it from reaching the soil. We'll see if there's a noticeable difference. For those interested, I've just been using a hose attached sprayer to apply it. Oh, and before I did anything, I sprayed the lawn down with some liquid dish soap. It helps kill bugs and diseases, makes chemicals stick, and protects foliage.Labels: gardening