To get started you need to decide what kind of grass that it is that your yard is made up of. If it is green all year long and it gets cold every winter then more than likely you have either a fescue blend or bluegrass mix or one that has both of the types of grass included. You will want to get select a grass seed that is the same or as near to the same as your existing grass in your lawn. If you do not know or cannot find out then it is best just to go with a blended fescue mix.

Once you have your seed either aerate or use a hard rake all over your lawn to give the seed a good bed to sit on. You will want to go over your lawn with either the aerator or the hard rake as much as possible to give it a really good seedbed. Doing this will also allow for your lawn to get a increase in nutrients, air and water to the grasses root layer.

Once you have aerated your lawn spread the seed at a rate of 5 – 7 lbs. of seed per 1000 square feet. There should be a spreader setting on the seed bag that will tell you about the setting to put the spreader on for spreading seed.

Once the seed is down now spread the fertilizer at the rate that it says on the fertilizer bag. Make sure that when you are using the spreader that you do turn off the spreader when you are turning around so that you do not put large clumps of fertilizer on the lawn.

Now that you have spread the seed and the fertilizer use the water hose or sprinklers or whatever way of watering your lawn that you have to give the grass seed a good soak to ensure that there is good ground contact and that the seed will get the moisture that it needs to germinate.

Now all that you have to do is water your grass for a out 20 minutes each day until you see it get around 3 inches. At this point you can then cut back on the watering and begin cutting your grass.

Jason is the editor of both the Art Of Growing a gardening site and Georgia Lawn which specializes in Atlanta weed control.

Advantages of BloomBoss 90W Grow Light

Developing a product that saves the environment and saves money is the way to success in today’s business world. At first it was believed that providing both environmentally and economically healthy products was impossible (it was either one or the other). However, with some effort, companies are finding that they can provide both. The BloomBoss UFO Grow Light is a perfect example.

Initially this light costs more than traditional growing lights (quite a bit more at that). However, over time the energy savings from this light is quite phenomenal. Some say that you can save over 80 percent on energy costs. This might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the plant experts agree that LED lights provide quite a bit of savings on energy costs (in many cases enough to more than make up for the initial costs).

Saving energy means helping the environment. The BloomBoss LED light leaves a much smaller environmental footprint than traditional growing lights. This means you can have more money in your pocket and feel good about doing your part to keep the earth healthy.

How to Use the BloomBoss 90W UFO

The makers of the product recommend you hang the light anywhere from 6 to 24 inches away from your precious plants. That’s quite a wide range! We’d recommend you go about half way (around 15 inches away). Keep in mind that you might want to put the light a little closer when your plants are just seedlings. Seedlings need deeper light penetration. Gradually move the light away as your plant grows. If you want your plant to grow wide, then move the light farther away. If you want your plant to grow thick, then keep the light close. Manufactuer 6 to 24. We would say around 13. Closer for vegging, farther for flowering

Conclusion

The BloomBoss UFO is a great starter light for those who want to get their feet wet with LED technology. It’s a fun little light that will allow you to grow plants from start to end inside your house without the use of the sun (a miracle in our humble opinion). Nothing wrong with growing your plants, saving money, and saving the environment.

One way of “living off grid” is to learn about composting.  There are many methods of composting.  All of them are relatively simple and inexpensive.  But what exactly is compost and what it is used for?  Compost is a dark, nutrient rich material that is comprised of broken down garden/yard debris, kitchen scraps, and other organic materials.  many gardeners call compost “black gold”, because it is so rich in minerals that it is a prime fertilizer for garden beds, potted plants, and landscaping in general.  Any gardener can create his own compost by combining the above mentioned materials in a simple bin or container along with some water.  But is it really that simple?  The answer is a resounding, YES!

Photo By: Bruce (http://www.flickr.com/photos/superfantastic/4123518950/)

So, how to make compost…

Step 1 – Decide a location for your compost bin/pile.  Most compost bins are wooden or wired in area that holds materials securely in a pile.  If you do further research into using worms for composting, you will definitely want a wooden box or a shallow metal or plastic basin to hold your compost materials.

Step 2 – After deciding on a location, you’ll need to figure a size of your compost pile.  This is going to depend on a few factors.  First, how much organic scrap material does your household produce in a week to put into your compost pile?  Typical home composts are about 3 foot by 3 foot and are no more than 18 inches deep.  You want to make sure your pile doesn’t get much taller than this so the pile can have proper air circulation.  Air will naturally penetrate the pile up to 20 inches.  This will help reduce odor and your chances of attracting bugs and other critters to your compost.  For smaller piles I recommend wire fencing on the outside of the pile so you have easy access through the top to turn your pile.  For larger piles you can create a box using wooden pallets as the side walls and a fifth one for the top.  The slats in the pallets allow for air flow and the lid can still be removed to help you maintain your compost pile.

Step 3 – Once you have a location, size, and basic structure, you are ready to start adding materials to the pile itself.  Every compost pile is made of green materials which add nitrogen (non greasy kitchen scraps such as fruit cores and peels, crushed eggshells, coffee grounds, grass clippings, weeds, and barnyard animal manure – not cats and dogs), brown materials which add carbon (shredded paper, twigs, small branches, and straw), and moisture.   Keeping your compost pile watered so it is damp but not sopping wet is key.  If it is too dry the materials will not break down.  If it is too wet it will start to smell and become slimy.

Step 4 – Wait.   Time will do most of the work.  Although you do have to check the pile weekly to make sure it is moist.  Also, you will want to rotate the pile from the outside in once a week or so.  This will help the materials to break down more evenly.

Step 5 – Harvest your compost and use it around your home.  Various uses are to fertilize indoor and outdoor herb gardens.  Use as a top fertilizer for any indoor or outdoor potted plants.  Use instead of expensive store bought mulches and fertilizers for your larger flower beds or gardens.  For all potted plants, you will only need about 1/2-1 inch of compost on top of your potting soil to keep your plants happy and growing all season.

Happy gardening!

Garden wagons and carts come in every imaginable variety, and like the act of gardening itself, can serve multiple purposes. You may prefer a purely useful tool to assist in the transporting of produce, watering cans and other gardening accessories, or you may wish it to serve a primarily decorative purpose.  Here are some of the garden cart options that you may wish to consider.

Photo By: Lisamarie Babik

The first type, mentioned above, is the one that is purely functional. This cart is rugged, able to withstand considerable wear and tear, and resistant to extremes in weather conditions. Most often this type of wagon will be made of a durable material such as metal, or a combination of metal and wood. It is also possible to find rugged carts made of durable plastic materials. These types of carts are especially useful in situations where heavy or bulky items must be transported. Using this tool can not only save time; but also considerable strain and exertion caused by manually transporting heavy or bulky materials.

The second type of wagon is primarily decorative in function. Although this cart may be used to transport materials, it will also be aesthetically pleasing, and a visual feature of the garden itself. Look for carts made with wrought iron detailing and wood slats. To make a permanent installation within the garden, consider planting flowers or vegetables directly in the cart.

Garden edging is simply working on the edge of your garden bed. Instead of leaving it as the soil meets the grass, there are a wide variety of ways you can make the transition from soil to grass smoother. A barrier that goes into the ground will help keep the weeds out of your garden and away from your vegetable plants. Plastic edging should work well for this and is a good starter for other edging as well.

Photo By: Steve Cornelius

Stones make great edging materials. You can find stones or large rocks in your yard, or you can purchase stones from your local garden store. Placing the stones side by side makes a pretty border that is also natural looking. Bricks or broken stones or concrete can be used in a similar manner. Feel free to mix and match materials as well.

Flowers or other plants can be used as edging, too. Surround your vegetable plants with short growing, dense plants or flowers. Try plants that stay put and try to create straight lines. You can be unique in how the plants grow, possibly making the boarder larger and smaller in different parts, but keep the edge clean will ensure that the edging is serving its purpose and doesn’t look disheveled.

In addition to plants and rocks, you can use recycled materials or other unique ideas you have. Mix and match as well, but try not to make the garden boarder overwhelming. Keeping it simple with plastic edging is fine too if you are worried the garden will look too busy or make it difficult to harvest or vegetables.

An aerator is a lawn care machine. The process of lawn aeration involves plugging holes into the compacted soil underneath the lawn. With this process, the holes that are created allow water and fertilizer nutrients to reach down to the roots. Likewise, it allows increased oxygen supply. During aeration, the amount of carbon dioxide deposited in the lawn is also released. In simple terms, the process of aeration allows the lawn to breath, something which every healthy looking lawn needs to do in order to look fresh and green.

On the other hand, a dethatcher is a machine that removes thatch in the lawn. Thatch is composed of stems, crowns, and rhizomes of dead turf. Dethatching is the process of removing thatch layers, with the use of a thatching rake, that obstruct the passage of water and fertilizer nutrients down the grass roots. When thatch layers are removed, both the soil and the grass can breathe.

According to some experts, it is best to do your dethatching first and then follow it with aeration. In that way, the thatch is already removed before the holes are made in the lawn. By following this sequence, the lawn should never look messy.  Aeration is best done during the spring time while dethatching can be done when the thatch layer is more than 1 inch thick. But as mentioned earlier, it is best to dethatch first then proceed with aeration for better results. Definitely, with these two machines working together, you will have a beautiful, green and fresh looking lawn.

1. Plot the area where the slow drip line will be installed.  Vegetable gardens, landscape plantings and flowerbeds are ideal areas for putting in a slow drip line.
2. Unless you are planning to set aside an outdoor faucet solely for the purpose of your slow drip line supply, attach a Y-shaped valve hosepipe connector to the outdoor nozzle.
3. Design the layout of your slow drip line depending on the way that your plants are arranged.  Draw a rough sketch indicating the position of specific plants you want to irrigate as well as their exact distance from each other.  In a slow drip line, each plant will be assigned a sprinkler of its own.  Certain plants that require more water should get two sprinklers.
4. Purchase and gather all of the materials required to assemble and install your drip system.  You will be needing a battery-operated timer capable of regulating automated watering times, a pressure regulator or a backflow valve to prevent damage to your household plumbing.  Hose adapters could make it easier for you to make connections but these are largely optional.
5. Assemble the slow drip line by connecting the parts in the following sequence: Y-shaped pipe, timer, pressure regulator, hose adapter, garden hosepipe, and hose-thread adapter.
6. If you already have an existing sprinkler system installed, you can convert it into a drip irrigation system by plugging all of the spray heads on a circuit except one on which you will be connecting a drip circuit.

Before doing any damage control, you need to detect the presence of grubs in your lawn. When you see numerous little holes in your area, such is already a good indication especially when there are birds apparently looking for the grubs. By then, you are sure to find lawn grubs right below the soil surface. Aside from that, when you notice a portion of your lawn that appears very dry with unhealthy and fading grasses, that portion must have high concentration of grubs.

Although the damaging effect of lawn grubs is a little lower, it may become significant however in some cases. In your lawn area, the thatch layer is where you can find white grubs enjoying the protection of the spongy layer of the soil. The grass root level of your lawn is the common feeding source of these beetle larvae. Even the roots of your garden plants are not spared by their harmful effects. The Japanese beetle and the European chafer are the two kinds of white grubs that can greatly damage your lawn. If there are at least 5 grubs living within the thatch layer per square foot of your lawn, they are already capable of destroying the root system of such identified area, and eventually your lawn will die. This damage will likely be aggravated with the presence of many cutworms in your area.

Larger grubs are harder to eradicate hence, repeated application of insecticides is necessary. Apart from manually picking up the grubs during weeding process, regular performance of core aeration is another good option. To effectively avoid beetles larvae, you better keep your lawn a lot healthier.

Although both white grubs and cutworms are found into the thatch layer of your lawn, these two are not the same. On one hand, white grubs or lawn grubs are white beetle larvae measuring ½ inch to 1 inch long. On the other hand, cutworms are actually moth larvae which measure 1 inch to 2 inches.

Photo By: Shutter Mania

In doing your lawn repair, you have to consider different seasons by which grubs are undergoing some sort of life cycle. During spring time, beetle larvae are vigorously feeding. When the summer time comes, they developed into pupae, and they eventually emerge into beetles. The fall season tends to drive the grubs to go deeper beneath the soil surface in order to stay away from freezing. When the spring comes again, they will also come out again.

The most effective approach against white grubs is to keep your lawn greener and continually develop a strong root system. This entails feeding and regular core aeration using an effective aerator. Also, you will notice that in times of weeding operation, the white grubs are exposed. Hence, when you prepare your land area, you can manually remove them to reduce their damaging effects.

To enhance your damage control, you can use chemical control or insecticide although this is not entirely effective unless you perform frequent application over your lawn. Don’t forget that treating white grubs during fall is much effective than doing it during spring time. Understand that when they are done with their feeding season, white grubs become larger hence, harder to kill.

LED Grow Lights

The first thing to say about LED grow lights is that they have a hyped reputation. But if you acquire the right product, after proper research, they have great potential. These grow lights are effective, because every amount of light produced, across different spectra, is used by plants for photosynthesis. Also, they consume the least energy of all lighting options, and they can last up to 100 thousand hours.

Fluorescent Grow Lights

If you buy these bulbs, you should look for them as T5 fluorescent grow lights. They can be easily confused with T12 bulbs, which are those commonly used in offices. Because they have high brightness levels (75 to 90 lumen per watt), they can grow healthy plants. Often they are used to grow seedlings and low-light plants, and they consume little electricity as well.

Compact fluorescent grow lights are a smaller version of T5 bulbs. They are more effective if used in smaller spaces, but they perform as good as their larger counterpart. Expect to find more information on fluorescent bulbs than LED, because they’re more popular and have been used for a longer period of time.

Incandescent Grow Lights

Incandescent bulbs provide a low quality lighting setting for plants. They are not fit to grow healthy plants, because their brightness level is so low it can maybe be used as supplemental lighting. They are the least expensive of all grow lights, but they’re also the least energy efficient.

We recommend looking into fluorescent grow lights if you’re just starting with indoor growing. There is far more information on how to use them than LED grow lights. Besides, you should only consider LED if you’re willing to experiment, research and tweak to get optimum results. There is a lot of promise in LED grow lights, but also more work to be done on the side of the user.