You can use your garden hose to help lay out the borders of curved areas for gardens, flower beds, paths or small ponds. Just lay the hose along the proposed edge, check it for position, then mark out the curve by using a garden spade along the edge of the hose.
Before you apply fertilizer and lime you should know your soil nutrient values. Soil tests can be done at most Land Grant Universities for little or no fee. Others avenues for testing are County Extension Agents and maybe some of the better garden nurseries. An easy way to take a soil sample is to take an old golf club. Keeping the grip in place cut the shaft at a 45 degree angle about 2′ down on the shaft. About 2″ up from the angled cut, cut out or notch 1/2 of the shaft circumference. By inserting this into the soil it will remove a 2″ core of soil. Take at least a dozen core samples from all over the lawn area. You will need about 1/3 -1/2 lb. of soil in total. You then remove the grass top from the core and place the remaining soil in a brown bag to be sent off for testing.
If your planning a backyard wetland, locate it where it is unlikely to attract unattended children. Check local safety ordinances and building ordinances for restrictions and permits.
Anything that was once alive will naturally decompose. However, some organic wastes should not be composted at home.
DO compost these items: grass clippings, leaves, plant stalks, hedge trimmings, old potting soil, twigs, annual weeds without seed heads, vegetable scraps, coffee filters, and tea bags.
Do NOT compost these items: diseased plants, weeds with seed heads, invasive weeds such a quack grass and moring glory, pet feces, dead animals, bread and grains, meat or fish parts, dairy products, grease, cooking oil, or oily foods.
Lawn edging should be performed at regular intervals to maintain a neat appearance. Power edgers can be adjusted to make either straight of bevel cuts.
The first cut in the spring and the last cut in the fall should be low. In the spring this removes any winter fungus and in the fall prevents fungus from getting established during the winter.
To naturalize bulbs in your lawn, choose bulbs that blossom and fade before grass grows vigorously and requires mowing: crocus, winter aconite, snowdrops, and scilla.
Deflect winter winds by planting evergreen trees and shrubs on the north and west sides of your house; deflect summer winds by planting on the south and west sides of your house.
For those gasoline powered tools that don’t get a lot of regular use – generators, trimmers, blowers – add a bit of fuel stabilizer to keep them running smooth. A $5 bottle of stabilizer can treat more than 20 gallons and extend the gasoline’s life expectancy for a full year.
Cleaners and other chemicals entering drain fields can injure plants when they are leached into soil near plants. Leaf scorch is likely to be the primary symptom.
