Homemade lawn care recipes is an effective way to reduce gardening costs and tailor make your fertilizer, herbicide and compost to your yard. It is essential to find out what nutrients are lacking in your soil to determine what to add in your recipes. Conduct a soil pH test to ensure that it is within the range of your grass. Based on the results, mix up your own lawn care concoction. Does this Spark an idea?
Fertilizer
Allow your grass to green up before applying any homemade fertilizer. Applying fertilizer to dormant grass in early spring will usher in a host of annoying weeds. Mix up one can of beer and one can of soda. Both beer and soda provide carbohydrates to grass to microbes living in the soil. Add in 1/2 cup of ammonia for providing nitrogen to promote growth. Pour 1/2 cup of mouthwash to use as an insecticide and 1/2 cup of dish soap to allow the recipe to coat the grass. Place ingredients in a hose end sprayer and apply evenly across your lawn by walking back in forth in an imaginary line. Water the area thoroughly. Make sure you apply early in the morning to ensure the liquid soap won't burn up your yard from dehydration.
Herbicide
Mix up your own herbicide for spot treatments for weeds. Covering your lawn with herbicide can kill off grass. Use this recipe for areas with thick weeds and protect surrounding plants and grass with towels. Pick a day that isn't windy to prevent the spray from traveling to other vegetation. Combine 1 cup of vinegar, 1/4 cup of dish soap and 1/4 cup of salt. These ingredients are able to penetrate the waxy covering on weeds and cause them to dry out. Spray the weeds down to a couple of inches from the base of the plant, so that the ingredients do not dry out surrounding grass. You may need to spray weeds again in a couple of weeks to ensure their death.
Compost
Choose a flat area in your yard for your designated compost pile. Compost piles are generally 3 to 4 feet in diameter and 4 to 5 feet high. Pick an area that will not ruin the aesthetics of your landscaping. The right mix for compost is a 3 to 1 ratio of brown organic material and green organic material. Brown material includes dead leaves, manure and twigs, which supply carbon to the lawn. Green material lawn clippings, vegetable peelings and coffee grinds, which provide nitrogen to the yard. Avoid throwing in wet manure, meat, pet waste, dairy products or bones. Spread the green and brown materials in layers. Add enough water to wet the compost pile, but do not soak the pile. Turn the pile every three days for two months. Water your compost when your pile gets too dry.
Tags: your lawn, your yard, beer soda, compost pile, dish soap, lawn care, organic material