Oct 05 2008
Fall Lawn Maintenance
Regular maintenance is the only way you are going to ensure that you have a nice, healthy yard that is free of weeds. The most important step, as far as I am concerned, is that you keep your yard free of debris and leaves. This keeps the grass underneath from getting the sunshine it needs to grow. The next most important step is to be sure that you are giving your grass enough water throughout the year, especially in the driest times of the year and at the end of the year before it begins to freeze. Next, you can pick out a weed control spray, and luckily, they now sell it in weed and feed, it only kills the weeds and then feeds the grass. (Be sure to follow the directions on the label to a T.) And the last step, and definitely not the least important one, is to cut your grass on a regular basis. Be sure that you do not cut the grass too short, or this will cause it to brown and look as if it is dying. I suggest setting the blade a little higher than you normally would and cut a little more often. (As you can tell in the above picture, I am constantly fighting cloves in my yard
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Happy Gardening!
Miss Crystal
There are many types of fertilizers on the market these days. I prefer the old tried and true Miracle-Gro. I use it on everything from my roses, azaleas, and peace lilies to my tomatoes, peppers, and squash. I also use it on the plants I keep indoors just in a watered-down state. I have tried a whole bunch of others out there and as far as I am concerned, none can stand up to the power of Miracle-Gro. I use the regular kind year round, but during the time certain plants are blooming, I use their Bloom Booster. Wow! It will literally make buds and blooms pop out within days.
When starting off, most people prefer to go to their local nursery to purchase seedlings because they tend to grow slowly. Some people do get the enjoyment of watching it grow from seed. You can start them off inside and then transplant them into your garden after the last frost of the spring. They prefer full sun and love the hot weather. Amend the soil with fertilizer and compost, and then be sure to space them about 20 inches apart. These plants tend to get pretty big and need the room to breathe. Be sure to water often, especially in the hottest part of the year. It takes about 80 days until maturity and they will put off peppers until it frosts. One tip, do not plant peppers too close to other varieties (as in banana peppers and bell peppers) because pepper plants pollinate themselves and they will cross pollinate easily. 
Caring for Purpe Fountain Grass, Penniston rubrum, is pretty easy. It grows fast and comes back year after year. You can plant this in a bed or container and use it as the main focus. It can grow as tall as 3 feet and fill a space quick. It can take most soils and does not need a great amount of water, it is pretty hardy and does need full sun. The plumes that come out feel like a cat’s tail, soft. I have this plant in my garden (and you can see it if you look through earlier posts) and it is probably the prettiest plant I have. Out of all of my plants, this one did not wilt any all summer long. It took the heat and drought like a trooper. I do plan to buy more of them next year and plant them in several places.
