Top dressing your lawn with compost is a common practice that has been used for centuries. In fact, in the 15th century top dressing was applied to golf courses in Scotland. Because top dressing provides lawns with beneficial nutrients, many homeowners use this technique along with regular lawn maintenance routines. Read on to discover helpful tips and the benefits to top dressing your lawn with compost. The Benefits of Top Dressing Your Lawn with Compost Top dressing a lawn with compost may seem at first to be ineffective or even harmful to your lawn. After all, the last thing you likely want to see is compost covering up your once lush, beautiful grass. Although top dressing your lawn has a temporary unattractive appearance, its rich nutrients deliver incredible benefits to lawns. Applying compost as a top dressing to your lawn can improve the soil structure. Top dressing can also build up beneficial soil microbes, aerate compact soil, improve drainage, and even reduce … [Read more...] about Top Dressing Your Lawn with Compost
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Make Your Own Houseplant Soil Mix
Make your own houseplant soil mix or potting soil and you will save lots of money. You will also give your houseplants and container gardening plants the perfect growing media they need for optimal health and growth. One of the most critical aspects of houseplant and container plant care is soil. The right potting mix can mean the difference between a happy, healthy plant and one that struggles. While buying pre-mixed potting soil is possible, it's also easy to make your own. This article about how to make your houseplant soil mix will cover potting soil recipes and the proper ingredients. That’s because houseplants grow best in a soil mix that is specifically designed for them. A good houseplant soil mix comprises several ingredients, including potting soil, peat moss, and compost. Each component adds a particular characteristic to the soil mix. By varying the proportions, you can achieve the desired attributes. Let us discuss in detail the essential characteristics of … [Read more...] about Make Your Own Houseplant Soil Mix
How to Fix Bare Spots in Lawn
A complete guide to grass patch repair and how to fix bare spots in lawn. As a homeowner, the last thing you want to see is bare patches in your lawn. Bare spots can appear for many reasons, including disease, pest infestation, shade and excessive foot traffic. For whatever reason, your lush lawn has been replaced with ugly bare patches. It's important to provide your yard with proper care to restore its health and beauty. Here are the best ways to fixing bare spots in lawns. Plus, we will cover grass patch repair and how to identify the cause of these patches. What Causes Bare Spots in Your Lawn? Before you begin filling in and fixing your lawn's bare spots, it's important to determine what caused these spots. Even if you provide your lawn with the best possible care, your yard may still suffer from diseases. Plus, your grass may have insect pests below the turf. The following list includes other possible reasons for bare spots to occur in your lawn: Identify the … [Read more...] about How to Fix Bare Spots in Lawn
A Spring Garden Jump Start in 12 Easy Steps
It's time for a spring garden jump start. There are gardening tasks to be done, and the growing season is coming. The grass is starting to green up, bulbs are peeking through the soil, and spring is around the corner. Gardening chores come fast and furious once warm weather hits. Sometimes you don’t have time to fit all the tasks in. A spring garden jump-start is a productive way to begin your gardening year. You can hit the ground running and get ahead of the season. That's why late winter is my favorite time to get many of the spring jobs done-- or at least get them started. It's a great way to reduce the springtime stress of too many gardening tasks to do. So what are we waiting for? Let's use these garden tips and get this spring garden jump start going! Step 1: Weeding My top priority in late winter/early spring is keeping weeds under control. Cold weather weeds such as chickweed and mustard are much easier to hand weed when small. Plus, the weeds haven’t gone to seed … [Read more...] about A Spring Garden Jump Start in 12 Easy Steps
Best Cordless Electric Tillers
Cordless electric tillers and cultivators combine impressive digging power with eco-friendly benefits. The electric motor of a cordless electric tiller is quiet, energy efficient, and it starts immediately. Plus, an electric tiller or cultivator will never run out of gas. Garden tillers and cultivators make it easier to prepare a garden plot for planting. Because let’s face it, turning soil over with a shovel can be back-breaking work. Most people DO NOT say tilling the soil by hand is one of their favorite gardening chores. That’s why the power tiller was invented. A motorized power tool that breaks up the dirt prior to planting is a terrific labor-saving device. It’s no surprise the power tiller has become one of the most popular garden tools. Gasoline-powered tillers have been around for decades. They became even more popular in the 1980s with the introduction of the Mantis mini-tiller. But it wasn’t until the 21st century that electric tillers and cultivators became … [Read more...] about Best Cordless Electric Tillers
