Q. How do you know how much lawn food you need for your lawn?

A. Multiply the length of your property by the width (subtract the area of buildings, drives, walkways, and beds) and divide by ten. Then divide that answer by the nitrogen figure on any fertilizer bag or box. The end result will tell you exactly how many pounds you must buy of the stuff you’re looking at.
L x W ÷ 10 ÷ N = your purchase in pounds 100 feet x 200 feet = 20,000 square feet
20,000 = 2000 10
Lawn food is labeled 20-10-5, so divide by 20.
2000 = 100 pounds of 20-10-5 lawn food. 20
You would need to buy one hundred pounds of this lawn food and then apply it at one-half the recommended rate and Epsom salts and powdered sugar and double your money.

Q. Is it good to use a different type of lawn food in the spring, summer, and fall?

A. I do, and my golf course and sod growers do, regularly—lawn food in the spring, Milorganite summenzer for the summer, and garden food in the fall or winter, but always add the magnesium salts in Epsom salts.

Q. Is there something you can put on your grass to keep it from growing?A. Yes, but you don’t want to try it for a few more years. I have tested it and it’s not worth the worry yet.

Q. Is liquid lawn food as good as dry?

A. If you can afford it, I think it’s great. I use both from time to time so my lawn doesn’t get bored, at 25 percent of the recommended rate. Plus a can of beer, a cup of children’s shampoo, and one-half cup of molasses. Fill any room left over in the handheld sprayer’s quart jar with household ammonia.

Q. How do you know when your lawn needs lime?

A. Take a soil test with a piece of litmus paper. Get it in a drugstore or at your garden center.

Q. Is there a thing called liquid lime?

A. Yep, sure is. One gallon is equal to five hundred pounds of the dry, dusty, messy stuff. I use it, and I’Pm pleased with the results.

Q. My sister says she uses liquid gypsum. I didn’t know gypsum would dissolve. Does it?

A. She probably uses a material called “liquidlike gypsum.” It’s not gypsum. It does break up clay soil but does not contain all the things gypsum does and will not repair salt damage. However, this material isn’t bad; as a matter of fact, not bad at all.

Q. How do you discourage dogs and squirrels from digging in your lawn?

A. I’ve used paradichlorobenzene moth crystals on the soil to discourage animals. Crush them into a fine powder, add two tablespoons of chili powder per cup, and sprinkle lightly.

Q. Is it true that not all dog urine burns up shrubs and grass, just bitches’?

A. That’s what they say, but, on occasion, when males are not given enough drinking water, they can cause the same damage.

Q. Should you top dress an old lawn every year?

A. I seldom recommend it unless you’re overseeding it in spring or fall.

Q. Will cat manure hurt my lawn?

A. Not unless your dog catches the cat putting it there.

Q. We have year-old Merlon blue sod that is dying from fusarium blight. What will stop it and not cost me a fortune?

A. About the best thing available right now is Benomyl and prayer.

Q. What do skunks and moles have in common? They are both making a mess out of my yard and my social life.

A. What they both have in common is your lawn and the bugs underneath it. Kill the insects, and your social life will return.

Q. Can you get rid of weeds by burning them off on property on which you are going to plant grass seed?

A. Burning off weeds only kills the tops and the  new seed, but the roots will return to haunt you again.

Q. Can I mow weeds down and sod over them and not worry?

A. That’s like sweeping dirt under the rug; someday you’ve got to remove it. Weeds will find their way through the cracks and take over the whole lawn.

Q. How do I get rid of slime molds?

A. Use Benomyl according to package directions.

Q. How short should you mow a lawn in the spring?

A. If you are talking about the blues, I drop the blade to cut just above the green that can be seen underneath. This means that my blade is usually set for one to one and a half inches.

Q. Isn’t a built-in sprinkler better than lawn sprinklers?

A. If you have the money, it is; if you don’t, it isn’t. It all depends on whether you feel the convenience is worth it.

Q. When is the best time to water a lawn?

A. Before 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Never let a lawn go to sleep with wet hair, or the tonic you will have to buy might cost more than your lawn.

Q. What’s the best kind of spreader for weed and feed?

A. It’s not the spreader we worry about, it’s the spreadee. You are the “spreadee.” Any spreader works fine, though I prefer a cyclone or broadcast type. What’s more important is to go slow and watch what you’re doing.

Q. Are weeds killed faster with liquid or dry weed killer?

A. Liquid will generally begin faster, but they both end up doing the same job.

Q. Are grass clippings good for a compost pile?

A. They sure are. Just make sure that you spread a thin layer of soil between each three-inch layer of clippings.

Q. Can I spread dried manure on my lawn in the spring?

A. If you don’t mind being asked to leave the neighborhood by summer. Boy, oh, boy, that stinks—and it doesn’t really help the lawn.

Q. Who invented the lawn mower?

A. A sadist! Isn’t it funny that you should ask that question, because I asked my Grandma Putt the same thing thirty-eight years ago, and she knew the answer. She said, “Junior” (that’s me), “Mr. Hills invented the lawn mower in 1868.” So, now you know as much as I do.