Lawn, Garden and Farm: alphabetical order starting with ""PULLNPOUR" SPOUT FITS OUR 42-941, 42-942, & 42-9"

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Recommended Books

The Lawn & Garden Owner's Manual
by Lewis Hill, Nancy Hill

Full of useful information on refreshing tired-out lawns and gardens, The Lawn and Garden Owner's Manual is a terrific, comprehensive guide to ongoing care and maintenance of those long-suffering lawns, fruit trees, and ornamental trimmings. Emphasizing care of plants that are already installed and in need of some tender loving care, there are lots of helpful charts and calendars to help you time your tasks properly. Troubleshooting areas are especially helpful for the lawn--you'll learn just how to fix those spots of patchy growth or yellow grass. Plant choices are aimed at providing attractive, low-maintenance options for all types of growing conditions. From grasses to vines, you'll find lots to update your existing lawn.

There's both organic and chemical solutions to pest and disease control. The authors caution you never to expect an instant fix for long-term problems--rather than being discouraging, this tactic will be reassuring to novices. There's lots of insight provided into why all these types of upkeep are necessary, and questions like "is pruning really worth it?" are answered in a straightforward manner. Whenever possible, replacements are offered for high-maintenance areas such as enormous lawns or disease-prone roses, and these replacements are often more attractive than the originals. Plenty of eye-pleasing color photos round out this handy, colorful addition to the gardening shelf. --Jill Lightner
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Successful Small-Scale Farming: An Organic Approach (Down-To-Earth Book)
by Karl Schwenke

Synopsis
Instructs the beginning farmer in evaluating and preserving the soil, acquiring and maintaining machinery, and raising a successful crop through sound farming practices.

From the Back Cover
"When I first wrote Successful Small-Scale Farming eleven years ago," writes Karl Schwenke in the preface to this new edition, "an 'organic farmer' was synonymous with a 'lonely hippie troublemaker.' Today he is classed somewhere between a high-priced elitist and an opportunistic liar."

So begins this classic guide to organic small-scale agriculture, fully updated and revised for the 1990s -- for a new generation of readers who would like to live closer to the earth.

Successful Small-Scale Farming introduces anyone owning (or planning to own) a small farm to both the harsh realities and the real potential involved in making a full- or part-time living on the land. Karl Schwenke's clear-eyed approach to the best farming methods covers a wide range of proven techniques and practical advice, including:

* How to improve, conserve, and enrich your soil organically, to ensure the highest (and healthiest) yields.
* What machinery you'll need and how to use it.
* The best "cash crops" and specialty crops to grow for profit and how to raise them.
* How to use innovative strategies to find or create a market "niche" for your farm's crops or services.
* A concise overview of essential farmstead skills, such as haying, fencing, and managing a woodlot.
* Numerous charts and tables that put useful calculations at your fingertips. top of page

With today's increased concern for the quality of the food we eat and the health of our environment, Successful Small-Scale Farming offers a unique and invaluable perspective on the future of agriculture. Karl Schwenke's message -- that small-scale farms can be cleaner, smarter, and more efficient than corporate agribusiness -- has never been so relevant as it is today. top of page

About the Author
Husband-and-wife author team Karl and Sue Schwenke live on a farm in Newbury, Vermont, where they have raised strawberries, pigs and hay among other crops. Sue is a teacher and Karl has been a professioanl writer for over 30 years. Together, this couple has written the book Build Your Own Stone House and Karl wrote the Storey title Successful Small-Scale Farming. His other work includes Sierra North and Sierra South from Wilderness Press, an organization in Berkeley, California, that he co-founded after graduating from college. Karl has also written In a Pig's Eye (Chelsea Green Publishing). top of page

Complete Turf Makeover 101:

1. Before doing anything take representative samples of your soil and conduct a soil test. A soil test will detail vital aspects of your lawn such as pH and organic content along with recommended rates of fertilizer, lime and minor elements that should be applied to your site.

2. Kill off existing weeds and grasses on the site to be tilled up. You can use a glyphosate type of herbicide like Round Up.making sure to spray the entire area evenly. Wait 7 days for grass and weeds to die. A second application may be necessary especially if killing dense turf and weeds or tough-to-control weeds such as Bermuda grass.

Multiply (length) x (width) to determine the number of square feet you need to spray. Mix Roundup Concentrate - 6 ounces per gallon of water. Each gallon you mix will treat 300 square feet.

3. Roto-till your lawn and add PERMA-Till to you soil. Perma Till is a long lasting soil additive that looses clay while improving soil structure and drainage. To learn more about Perm-till follow this link:

Start working on a making the initial "slope" to your lawn. Change any areas that need filling in or cutting down to provide a more level, properly sloped lawn area. An ideal lawn slope allows water to gently run off of the site, usually at a slope of 1-2 foot drop per 100 feet (1-2% slope). If large areas must be moved, try and set aside the top 5 inches (topsoil) of your soil to replace back in the same location

4. Spread the necessary soil amendments and fertilizers based on the results of the soil test. Do the second Roto-tilling of your lawn area. Improve the soil by spreading 2 to 3 inches of organic matter, such as compost, over the planting area.

Till the soil to incorporate the organic matter to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Make two or three passes in alternating directions.

5. Smooth the planting area with a leveling rake - An ideal finish is to get all of the lawn very smooth and level, resulting in the top 1-2 inches of the soil being very fine composition.

6. You are now ready to seed your lawn. Set your seed spreader at the appropriate setting and fill it with half the seeds.? Walking at a steady pace, sow the seed over the planting area, moving back and forth in opposite directions. Repeat the process using the rest of the seeds, walking at a 90-degree angle to your original paths. This will ensure that the seed is sown evenly.

7. Spread a thin layer (1/8 to 1/4 inch) of organic matter (such as peat moss or bonemeal) covering all the seeds. This will help keep the seeds from drying out. Also, spread a good starter fertilizer -the best lawn fertilizer available is called Turf Trust.

8. Push a water-filled roller (about a third full) over the entire area to make sure the seeds and soil are in good contact. Roller can be rented or purchased --- this step is Optional

9. Water the seedbed thoroughly so the soil is moist to a depth of 6 to 8 inches. Apply the water slowly so that the seeds do not wash away.

10. Keep the seedbed moist (but not soggy) until the seed germinates and the new grass is a few inches high. In hot weather you may have to water more than once a day.

11. The new grass should be mowed when it is 3 inches tall. Make sure the mower blades are sharp. Mow at a height of 2 to 2 1/2 inches. Regular mowing through the remainder of the fall will help to thicken the turf.

Seed Selection:

Choosing the right grass for your new lawn ensures that it will be beautiful, healthy and easy to take care of for years to come. We always recommend using a blend that is formulated for your area. A few extra dollers spent on seed provide good color, disease and drought resistant turf that will save money in the future.
Source: Our Affiliate partner, Yardiac.