Home Garden Info

Home Gardener answers:

That’s going to depend on what part of the country you live in. The best thing to do is to call around to a few landscape supply stores. Big boxes generally don’t carry heavy duty edging.

Home Gardener answers:

Yes, and they’re awesome. There’s another similar tool called a Verticutter which will cut deeper into your lawn, and is really only for use when you’re planning to totally re-seed. The Dethatcher/Power Rake have a fixed blade, so they’ll only cut so deep, but a Verticutter has a moving blade that will actually cut down to and even a little into the soil.

Remember to:
1. Mow as short as you can first
2. Mark your sprinkler heads (I killed 2 – OOPS)
3. De-thatch
4. Run your mower over the lawn just to help bag the debris.

You’ll be shocked at how much comes out, but your new lawn will be SO worth it looking crappy for a little while now.

Home Gardener answers:

Sounds like your going to have to work hard to save some cash! I believe you can rent a truck by the hour at most home depots. Your gonna have to get dirty! Put some music on grab a beer and make it fun.

Home Gardener answers:

You get what you pay for.We use Earth way spreaders.You can use it in the summer for fertilizer and in the winter for spreading calcium chloride for ice.They hold up well,just rinse them of with water when you are done for the day.

Home Gardener answers:

That’s pink muhly grass = 2′ tall. Weeping love grass is great for slopes if you can find it. Miscanthus or pampas grass will work

Home Gardener answers:

Hey, I have great results with a nice layer of mulch alone and no landscape cloth. You really have to spray big perennial weeds first with Roundup or remove them before applying mulch or whatever. Stuff like chickweed that just seeds in can be smothered with the mulch. I would prefer to spend the money on deeper mulch and not landscape cloth because I think it is better for the soil in the long run and for the plants I want to grow in it. Mulch that is 2-3″ deep does an excellent job here in Michigan to discourage weeds. Add a little more to the top every couple years if you need to. Be careful not to bury good plants up to the neck in mulch though to avoid crown damage. The weeds dont grow under the skirts of established plants much anyway due to the shade and competition. Really, the mulch only needs to be thick enough to prevent sunlight from hitting the soil to be effective. Then if I want to plant more plants in my garden I dont have to cut through some stuff to do it. And, nothing looks worse than mulch sliding off the landscape cloth on a slope! So it may have its place, but ….

On the edging the old fashioned way is to cut the border and leave the cut edge of the turf exposed to the air. Cut straight down thru the turf 4″ and remove the sod along the edge. Then brush the dirt upward from the cut into the flower bed. Leaves a V-shaped edge. Lots of work but sure looks crisp. Not hard to maintain but you do have to re-do this from time to time as the grass grows. If you elect to install “bed edger” please please please PLEASE set it in deep enough. It is meant to stop grass roots from growing into the flower bed — not to hold mulch in raised beds. You shouldn’t be able to see the edge stuff from several feet away.

Home Gardener answers:

Its called a bed edger. It puts a 45deg. Angle about 3-4 inches deep around the bed. Best thing to do is to mark the edge of the bed with marking paint.(its the kind that marks upside down) To make a nice round circle around trees tie a piece of rope lightly around the tree and pull out enough to make to size circle tie knot around the marking paint and then slowly walk around it makes a nice line that you can use the edger to make that “PROFESSIONAL” look. It also helps keeping weeds from growing into the bed. Home Depot might have one but most rental places have one the you can rent.
Hope to works

Home Gardener answers:

Cats don’t like strongly smelling substances, so your pepper should have helped. They also hate moth balls for the same reason, and these are more water tolerant than the products being sold for cat deterrent.

Some thorny twigs should prevent them digging too. Final solution is a motion activated watering system, which will deter them quickly!

As they are creatures of habit, breaking the habit will help them form a new one of going somewhere else. Remove any scents that they have left, as these are marking points – this does mean washing away thoroughly, though I know that you’re having to clean up after them anyway.

Blocking entrance holes that they are using would also be useful, as well as any fences that they may walk on – again smells will be a deterrent here. It may help even to leave some other animal manure on walk ways, for a while, as they will detest it.

Hope this helps. Good luck! Rob

Home Gardener answers:

As far as what position-just put down Sales/Cashier. Since you are 19 thats probaby the kind of job they would give you anyways. They would have you working the floor, helping customers who walk in and maybe stocking shelves or running the cash register in between times.
And yes, put down those jobs even though you dont consider them a “real job”. Dont sell yourself short-those were real jobs. They will understand that you are just a younger person. They arent going to expect a 3 page resume from you. Just put down what you did and who you worked for and maybe some contact information from that person. To tell you the truth, alot of stores dont even bother to check into past jobs anyways.
Like i said though-dont sell yourself short. Dont go in there with a negative attitude that you have never had a real job. Go in there and tell them what you can do and have done and dont focus on what you cant do or havent done.
I think you have a very good chance.