Water Features in your garden.

Q. How long are weed killers good?

A. As with any garden chemical you use, you should never purchase more than you can use soon. The vapors of 2,4-D weed killer can kill flowers and evergreens without your even opening the bag. There is a whole new family of weed killers that are now environmentally safe and effective.

Q. Should crab grass be dug out, or can I use a spray of some sort?

A. Dig, dig, dig used to be about the only way, if it’s growing in your yard. There are weed killers that can be used for crab grass control in special crops. Check with your nurseryman.

Q. Can I use the same weed killer to control weeds just offshore at a cottage?

A. No, no, a thousand times no! Your neighbors might even tar and feather you. Fish can be destroyed by ordinary weed killers. For aquatic weeds use a diquat weed killer, or ask a garden center operator near a lake, or make a call to the county extension agent.

Q. I absolutely refuse to use any weed killers on my lawn. They kill birds and our furry friends. What can I use in place of them?

A. You can feed the lawn extra specially, dethatch, and dig out what few weeds you do have. You can also spot kill with an ounce of vinegar in twenty-six ounces of water.

Q. Can all weeds be destroyed with one kind of weed killer?

A. The 2,4-D’s in combination can control most broadleaf weeds.

Q. I just can’t afford these expensive fertilizers, but I want a pretty lawn. What can I do?

A. If you will follow good commonsense cultural practices, like removing grass clippings, shampooing, mowing often, aerating, and feeding a minimum of twice a season, a cheap lawn food will give you passable results. But it does take a well-balanced diet to have a fat and sassy lawn.

Q. How good is expensive lawn food?

A. Very good! The more types of nitrogen combined in a lawn food to spread the meal over a long period of time, the longer your lawn will stay a deep green.

Q. Is liquid lawn food, applied by these lawn companies, worth the money?

A. A call to the Better Business Bureau will tell you if a particular company is reputable. Of course, having someone else do the work makes it easier. As to the results, I’ve had just as good luck with liquid fertilizers as with the dry ones, but the cost is a little higher.

Q. Is there a good way to spread fertilizer?

A. You bet your lawn there is. Always use the crisscross method. Apply the dry fertilizers and weed killers in dry form at half the rate recommended, back and forth in one direction, and then the other half back and forth in the other direction.

Q. What is meant by dormant feeding?

A. In snow country, you can and should feed as early as possible in the spring. The best time is when there is still a little snow on the ground and more to follow. Feeding then is called dormant feeding.

Q. How much lime should I feed my grass?

A. None. Lime is not a food. Lime is merely used to change the acidity of the soil and should only be used if a soil test indicates that your soil is sour.

Q. How good is good old-fashioned manure for lawn?

A. Raw, unaged manure is so harsh that it’ll burn an established lawn out, and it’s full of weeds. Driconure, a commercial product that’s a blend of many manures, has been dried and the damaging salts and fertile weed seeds have been destroyed, making it ‘a gentle and effective product. However, raw manure can be used when building a new lawn because the heat it creates helps the new seed to germinate.

Q. Can I feed my lawn with a liquid fish fertilizer?

A. You can, but I’m sure your neighbors would rather you didn’t, and I think you’ll find it a little too expensive.

Q. What good is iron, and how often should you use it on the lawn?

A. Iron builds blood, in humans and in plants. I’ve found that at least one application a season, just before the hottest part of the summer, keeps the color dark and fresh and eliminates the possibility of chlorisis.

Q. Do you recommend a sprinkler system?

A. I sure do if you can afford it and use it properly. A built-in sprinkler system, however, cannot just be left to look out for itself. You must still water early and deep.

Q. Is irrigation bad for a lawn?

A. In many of the southwestern states, lawns are irrigated at night. It’s a bad way to water, as it causes compaction and carries diseases and weed seed from one lawn to another. I prefer controlled watering with a sprinkler.

Q. Would it do any good to mix rainwater with my regular tap water for watering my lawn?

A. I would say so if you didn’t cut it down more than fifty-fifty. This can be done with an inexpensive attachment called a hose end.