Wednesday, December 31, 2014

2015 Planning and Observations

2015 Planning and Observations

I’ve heard it said that if you want to hear God laugh… just tell Him your plans. Being in recovery allows me to me have a faith in a Higher Power that brings me a lot of happiness in my life. Focusing on
loved ones, fellows in recovery and strangers all keep me from making life about me. It doesn’t always work, but I get reminders very quickly and that’s what keeps me centered. I’m at a point in my life where most of problems are luxury problems and I have to remember that.

A couple of things I’ll work on in 2015:

*Try not to gain any weight.
*Try to lose a few pounds by walking more and eating less of the bad things I love so much.
*Be more patient with my wife. I’m a fast thinker (speaker), but a slow learner and I need to reverse that!
*Volunteer more at the USO. What a great place to spend time with strangers who are willing to protect my freedom. {http://www.usomissouri.org/}
*Be less judgmental. Man is this going to be tough.
*Pray more.

If you have any suggestions on what works for you, please email me. I’m looking for all the help I can get!

Your lawn plans should include some of these:

*Test your soil. It will make all your fertilizer purchases more productive and beneficial in the long run.
*Stick to a plan. If you have one that works…keep working it. If not, adopt a new one and stick to it.
*Share your experiences with a neighbor/friend. Maybe you can help someone or get some help?
*When in doubt, raise the mowing height. Mowing too short is usually what is hurting a cool season lawn (especially in the early summer).

I want to thank MaryAnn for her endeavor of this blog. It is a great way for both of us to share our faith and our desire to help folks with their horticulture/lawn needs. May 2015 be a gift to all of you reading this and those in your life. Have a safe New Year and God bless you.


Monday, December 8, 2014

DECEMBER PREVENTIONS…AND WISHES!

December is a great time to do things to our cool season lawns. The weather looks great for doing the following items:

*Apply gypsum at 50#/1000 ft sq to prevent salt damage. We don’t see salt damage usually till next spring, so applying this now will prevent us from seeing it at all. You can apply this to the base of evergreen shrubs, or any bed areas, as well.
*Mow up leaves or remove them. The Oaks and Bradford Pears have been losing leaves like crazy lately. Don’t let them stay on the lawn all winter or you will have bald spots next spring. Bald spots will grow weeds eventually.
*Winter fertilizers should still be applied. 1# of nitrogen or more is still OK to apply. Doing so now will insure a nice green up next spring.
*You may consider a combo application of fertilizer with a weed pre-emergent if you want to prevent winter annuals (chickweed and henbit the most). Dimension or Barricade are great products to use if those weeds have been a problem in the past.
*I have not winterized my lawn mower yet. Looking at the forecast makes me think a good 2-2 ½ inch mowing will be necessary next week on my cool season lawn. Early spring green up is usually the reward here!
*Be sure you don’t do anything on the lawn until it dries out! If you can see or hear water forming around your feet as you walk on it…STOP! When we walk on frozen or wet ground, we are causing harm to the grass and or the soil.

The year sure did seem to go by quickly. The older I get, they all seem that way lately. I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Hanukkah and Happy New Year. Taking life One Day at a Time is a resolution I will carry with me into 2015…and beyond.


Remember folks…it’s just grass!