All the many products you can use on your gardens and lawn. Well, to start, always select organic and more environmentally friendly products. As individuals, we have a profound impact on not only our immediate surroundings, but are responsible for pollutants that find their way down the water table, into the aquifer and creeks and pollute the water we rely on to sustain life.
That being said, here is the low down:
GOOD:
Fertilizers give the extra nutrients that are soils are depleted of. I suggest using compost tea because it is rich in organic matter and is a liquid that can easily be applied with a hose end sprayer on ANYTHING. The soil is full of microorganisms that work in the soil to balance the good guys and the bad guys. Healthy soil = Healthy plants. Compost tea provides these fungi, bacteria, nematodes that fight the bad guys in the soil and provide extra nutrients. It can be purchased at most local nurseries (not large commercial places like Home Depot) and has to be applied immediately and not stored. I also like any Medina products.
Herbicides attack specific problems and pests in our landscape and should be used sparingly or by a professional. The major disclaimer here is that you don't want to kill EVERYTHING especially when you just fertilized and balanced the good and bad. The bad can overtake quickly so use organic products when possible. I like any product made by Greenlight. This can be purchased at Home Depot and Lowe's and garden stores. Vinegar with at least 75% solution can kill off a lot of harmful pests. I recommend getting The Bug Book by Howard Garrett to identify the pest so you can implement the appropriate solution. Using pre-emergents in the early Spring like Corn Gluten can save a whole lot of time hand picking and spraying weeds later. If you have to spray a pesky Bermuda grass patch or another unwanted leaf with Roundup, us a paintbrush and apply when temperatures are above 65 degrees or put a cone over the bottle to be exact.
That being said, here is the low down:
GOOD:
Fertilizers give the extra nutrients that are soils are depleted of. I suggest using compost tea because it is rich in organic matter and is a liquid that can easily be applied with a hose end sprayer on ANYTHING. The soil is full of microorganisms that work in the soil to balance the good guys and the bad guys. Healthy soil = Healthy plants. Compost tea provides these fungi, bacteria, nematodes that fight the bad guys in the soil and provide extra nutrients. It can be purchased at most local nurseries (not large commercial places like Home Depot) and has to be applied immediately and not stored. I also like any Medina products.
Herbicides attack specific problems and pests in our landscape and should be used sparingly or by a professional. The major disclaimer here is that you don't want to kill EVERYTHING especially when you just fertilized and balanced the good and bad. The bad can overtake quickly so use organic products when possible. I like any product made by Greenlight. This can be purchased at Home Depot and Lowe's and garden stores. Vinegar with at least 75% solution can kill off a lot of harmful pests. I recommend getting The Bug Book by Howard Garrett to identify the pest so you can implement the appropriate solution. Using pre-emergents in the early Spring like Corn Gluten can save a whole lot of time hand picking and spraying weeds later. If you have to spray a pesky Bermuda grass patch or another unwanted leaf with Roundup, us a paintbrush and apply when temperatures are above 65 degrees or put a cone over the bottle to be exact.
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