Green Tips for Your Lawn and Yard

Looking for ways to go green in your yard? Check out some neat stuff you can do.

• Before you toss anything away, think of what else you could use it for. Yogurt and similarly sized cartons are perfect as next year's seed starter pots. A gallon milk jug with the bottom cut off on an angle makes a great scoop for fertilizer, potting soil or driveway salt in winter. You can create a "wind chime" from aluminum cans and hang it on a stake in your garden to shoo away creatures. It's fun to repurpose things - and it saves money!
• Do one of two things with your grass clippings: Bag them and put them in your compost pile; or get a mulching blade for your lawn mower which will cut the grass blades into fine pieces, returning them to your lawn as a natural form of fertilizer.
• Check out Yard Smarts articles on building a rain barrel or creating a rain garden.
• Grow salad greens in a large flower pot right outside your kitchen window. Many types of lettuce and radishes grow quickly and you will have an ample supply of healthy food within less than a month.
• Use layers of old newspapers to create a garden bed. Place them on the garden bed site, right over the lawn. Soak them with water and place two to three inches of dirt, compost or mulch on top. By spring, the grass will be smothered and you'll be ready to plant.
• Let your lawn grow a little bit longer before you mow. It's healthy for the lawn. Just be sure to cut one-third the length of the grass when you do mow again.
• Use boiling water to kill weeds growing up in the cracks of your sidewalk or patio.