Glenna Todd's Page

Hi, Glenna! Yes, I use Earth Right on my grass and beds. You put it in a sprayer, attach it to your garden hose, and spray it right on top of the grass or soil. The key to penetration is that you must follow within 24 hours with a minimum of 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water. I just run my sprinkler after application, or you could also do it before rain -- just make sure that it's at least 1/2 to 1/2 inch water. Earth Right comes in smaller sizes with a hose connector on the bottle, or you can buy the big size and pour it into a normal hose sprayer. I have a large yard so buy the gallon size of Earth Right and use an Ortho hose sprayer because it's so easy to set the application rate. It costs about $10.00 at WalMart or Home Depot.

The Earth Right people also make a liquid fertilizer called Mushroom Stuff. You can usually find it on the shelf near the Earth Right. I'm going to try it this Spring. You use it as a fertilizer on new plantings or early in the growing season in the Spring. The gal from Rose Hill Gardens in Martin City says it's amazing on roses -- will cause new canes to grow. And I have some shrub roses that are very scraggly. I think you can also use it on vegetables. So you might look at it when you're at Family Tree.

BTW, I love the Family Tree in Overland Park. They have so many different kinds of shrubs and trees. I bought a lot from them last year. And they are really knowledgeable about problems. I bought a beautiful Hinoki False Cypress on sale from them in the fall. Then I foolishly accidentally over-watered it (forgot to turn off the hose and watered it for 12 hours) and it started to die. I went to Family Tree and they told me just what to do to remedy the situation (spraying Earth Right around the tree was one of their recommendations -- it broke up the soil and allowed the water to drain from around the roots). It survived and still looks good despite my mess up.

Sally

Glenna, Suburban Lawn & Garden at 135th and Mission Rd. in Kansas City, MO (actually it's Martin City) has cotton burr compost all the time. Plus they have the best hardwood mulch I've found because it's double ground and really holds on slopes. And it's only slightly more expensive than what they have at Home Depot and WalMart, so well worth the difference in cost. They also have cotton burr compost at Family Tree Nursery in Overland Park, and I saw it at Home Depot last summer but HD didn't keep a consistent supply. Toby Tobin said to till the compost in, or if you want to top dress then use a rake and work it into the top couple of inches of soil. He also recommended Earth Right, which is a liquid polymer that will break up clay down to 18 inches. I used it last year and it really helped both my beds and lawn. The only drawback is it's expensive if you have a large yard, which I do. But again, well worth the cost. It will even be easier to dig holes when you use it. You can find it at both Suburban Lawn & Garden and Family Tree Nursery as well as Nuts & Bolts True Value Hardware at 95th and Nall in Overland Park. Use it at least twice a year, spring and fall. There are also brochures next to the bottles that give more information on how to use it. Hope that helps! Sally