Grass, mow your own or pay someone?

[Rider]

Originally Posted by MILK

YESSS!! If you use it when temps are too cold it goes straight to the ground water!!

It's not as bad as Miracle Grow though!

What is wrong with miracle grow?

[ontwo]

Like I said, I have no idea about you northerners, but my dad has a really shady yard. He found a Creeping Red Fescue that has turned out beautiful

[Kaneman]

Originally Posted by MILK

YESSS!! If you use it when temps are too cold it goes straight to the ground water!!

It's not as bad as Miracle Grow though!

The company that developed Roundup, Monsanto, also developed genetically altered seeds for commercial plants that are impervious to Roundup, which is awesome.

Not so awesome is Monsanto building a monopoly and forcing farmers to use their seeds and Roundup through various bullshit lawsuits and so forth.

Originally Posted by Apoc

Miracle Grow is for Pot plants!

Uhh...no. Yuck!

[Apoc]

Originally Posted by Kaneman

Uhh...no. Yuck!

Uhh... Yes... If your growing outdoors, you want Miracle Grow and plant food.

[Kaneman]

Originally Posted by Apoc

Uhh... Yes... If your growing outdoors, you want Miracle Grow and plant food.

If you're growing outdoors and you don't want nutrient burn on your plants you want something like Fox Farms Ocean Forest.

I mean, yea you can grow with Miracle Grow. But why take all that risk and not get the best quality product you can?

[MILK]

Originally Posted by Rider

What is wrong with miracle grow?

It causes sodium buildup in the soil. If you are using it in pottED plants (not pot plants, lol) eventually the sodium buildup kills the plant. This can take years and is obviously not as much an issue on plants in the ground. It's still bad for the soil though!!

Good fertilizers are Fish Emulsion and Fescue pulp (nasty stuff though, you brew it into a tea and the mix it with water - smelly.) Of course fish emulsion is smelly too though! Cow manure is also good!

I do not consider myself an 'organic' gardener by any stretch but I do try to use composted cow manure, mushroom compost, and similar things rather than buying any pelleted or liquid fertilizer that is chemical based. I also only use pesticides if the plants life is in jeopardy. You can use household items like Dawn detergent to treat many pests too.

A wonderful alternative to RoundUP for example is newspaper. You put the newspaper on the soil, then cover the newspaper with mulch. I will use Roundup when I need it though. You can also just dig the weeds but that can be overwhelming when you have a bunch of them. You can't put newspaper down in the lawn either!

[Rider]

Originally Posted by MILK

It causes sodium buildup in the soil. If you are using it in pottED plants (not pot plants, lol) eventually the sodium buildup kills the plant. This can take years and is obviously not as much an issue on plants in the ground. It's still bad for the soil though!!

Good fertilizers are Fish Emulsion and Fescue pulp (nasty stuff though, you brew it into a tea and the mix it with water - smelly.) Of course fish emulsion is smelly too though! Cow manure is also good!

I do not consider myself an 'organic' gardener by any stretch but I do try to use composted cow manure, mushroom compost, and similar things rather than buying any pelleted or liquid fertilizer that is chemical based. I also only use pesticides if the plants life is in jeopardy. You can use household items like Dawn detergent to treat many pests too.

A wonderful alternative to RoundUP for example is newspaper. You put the newspaper on the soil, then cover the newspaper with mulch. I will use Roundup when I need it though. You can also just dig the weeds but that can be overwhelming when you have a bunch of them. You can't put newspaper down in the lawn either!

Well it works great on my outdoor plants and trees.

[MILK]

OH yes it works good, but just like Roundup it is BAD.

I am loving this topic!! I never have anyone to talk gardening with!!

[Rider]

Originally Posted by MILK

OH yes it works good, but just like Roundup it is BAD.

I am loving this topic!! I never have anyone to talk gardening with!!

Tell me how to thicken up my backyard grass. It's full shade all day long and the soil is mostly clay.

[MILK]

Originally Posted by Rider

Tell me how to thicken up my backyard grass. It's full shade all day long and the soil is mostly clay.

Clay soil is very dense and little air gets in. Do you aerate? That is important. Do you use lime?

Getting the soil tested is the best route but I have never had that done anywhere. My previous house had clay and the backyard had shaded bits. I never worked the lawn but my ex was adament about lime and aeration. The grass on that lawn is in really good shape. He also fertilized in the Spring but I don't know what he used. It wasn't anything special though. The folks at Lowe's or Home Depot could suggest a good fertilizer.

If your backyard is shade all the time though you may never get the grass like you want it..