The Grass-Growin’ Season is Under Way!

It was Opening Day this week for your favorite Major League baseball team—so how’s the turf at your home field looking? Take some time between innings this weekend to get out there and give your yard a good old-fashioned spring-cleaning. Here’s the top-of-the-list tasks that make the starting line-up:

• Rake up the remains of last fall’s leaves and grass clippings. The young blades of grass need as much light as possible to grow strong.
• Overseed to repair any damaged areas of the lawn. Make your lawn-repair job a home run with my sensational Spot Seed Tonic:
  Combine 1 cup of beer, 1 cup of baby shampoo, and 4 tablespoons of instant tea granules in a 20 Gallon Hose-End Sprayer, and lightly apply the mixture to the mulch covering your newly seeded areas.
• Get your key player in tip-top shape—sharpen your mower blade, or replace it with a new one, so you’ll be all set for the first cut of the season.
• Remove thatch from cool-season lawns. Then spread screened compost over the dethatched turf, followed by a dose of my Kick-in-the-Grass Tonic:
  Mix 1 can of beer, 1 cup of antiseptic mouthwash, 1 cup of dishwashing liquid, 1 cup of ammonia, and ½ cup of Epsom salts in a large bucket and pour the solution into a 20 Gallon Hose-End Sprayer. Apply the tonic to your lawn-repair site to the point of run-off, wait two weeks, then administer another dose.