...from our collection of 'inexpensive solutions'

In order to help your lawn stay healthy, pick up a pair of golf shoes or aerating sandals.  Then in the morning, walk all across your lawn in them, covering the entire surface area.  The spikes will not harm the lawn, but will help air get down to the roots to keep them healthy.  As an added benefit, the spikes will also help kill Japanese beetle grubs.

As you continue mulching your garden during the growing season, there are many inexpensive sources of mulch to consider that are readily on hand.  Consider trying coffee grounds, peanut shells, corn husks, shredded wood, bark chunks, seaweed, rice hulls, or ground oyster shells.  Many kinds of mulches deplete the nitrogen content as they decompose, so be sure to include nitrogen (like corn husks or wood ashes) or an inexpensive nitrogen supplement from your local nursery or feed store. This extra nitrogen boost will help the soil and plants. 

Be sure to save your kitchen scraps for the compost pile.  Excellent compost material for the garden includes egg shells, coffee grounds, herbs, grains, vegetable peels and tea bags.  An unlikely material for the compost heap is lint -- add it to the heap or till it into the soil to help plants retain moisture.

Fish tank water is another wonderful way to nourish your garden plants.  Next time you clean the aquarium, save the water for your garden because it's full of rich nutrients your plants will love.  Scummy pond water is also a welcome treat for garden plants.  (If you don't have an aquarium or pond, this is available at your nursery supply store and known as 'fish emulsion').

In the last blog, I mentioned how coffee grounds are a wonderful treat for your camellias and azaleas.  African violets prefer tea!  Don't know if they have any preference, but you might start off with a gentle chamomile!