Publication offers practical solutions to yard problems
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Midwest homeowners who aren't sure how to tackle common yard problems could benefit from a new Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service publication.
"Taking Care of Your Yard: The Homeowner's Essential Guide to Lawns, Trees, Shrubs, and Garden Flowers" (publication HO-236) is a practical guide for tending to yards.
The nearly 40-page resource meets many homeowners where they live, said Mary Welch-Keesey, an Extension consumer horticulture specialist and the publication's author.
"There are many books on gardening, but they aren't written for people who see the grass getting high and are faced with mowing it for the first time," Welch-Keesey said.
"They need a resource that tells them about mowing the lawn and caring for a brand new lawn if it is a new house. Often books and articles on the Web only tell you how to water a new lawn after they've told you how to select grass seed, how to prepare the soil and how to apply the seed. 'Taking Care of Your Yard' was written for the person who is standing in their yard and needs to know what to do -- now."
In addition to tips on mowing, the publication covers such topics as watering, fertilization, planting flowers, adding trees and shrubs, controlling weeds and pests, pruning and troubleshooting common lawn problems.
There's also an introduction on the climate and soils of Indiana. "If you've always lived in the Midwest you might know about cold winters and heavy soil, but if you've always lived in a state like California or Texas, this might be new to you," Welch-Keesey said.
"Taking Care of Your Yard" contains lists of other yard-care resources and contact information for Purdue Extension and sister Extension services in Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Specialists from Purdue's departments of Agronomy, Botany and Plant Pathology, Entomology and Horticulture and Landscape Architecture contributed to the publication, as did educators from the Purdue and University of Illinois Extension services and the Purdue Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory.
The publication is $8 and is available only through Purdue Extension's Education Store by logging onto https://mdc.itap.purdue.edu/item.asp?itemID=19605 or calling toll-free 1-888-EXT-INFO (1-888-398-4636). Additional information, including sample pages of the publication, is available by visiting http://www.extension.purdue.edu/yardguide
Writer: Steve Leer, 765-494-8415, sleer@purdue.edu
Source: Mary Welch-Keesey, 317-275-9267, marywk@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Keith Robinson, robins89@purdue.edu
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