Question
I understand why you recommend spreading sugar on a lawn.  Is it the same reason that some experts recommend applying coke or another brown coal to their lawn wiht a liquid sprayer?  Does the corn surup in the coke get the same or different (or no result) when applied to your grass?

Answer
Sorry Bruce -- you have the wrong expert here.

I NEVER push sugar for grass.  I think the whole idea is ridiculous.

I have about 30 questions waiting for me... including a few technical ones about how Sugar works ... but I just want to mention a few things for you to think about and perhaps you will understand why this is IMHO idiotic.

1.  Sugar is a refined, highly processed substance.  It will never give you cancer and for that I am grateful because I just love the stuff.  But it is not 'organic' in the sense that it is not a 'natural' substance that you find naturally in soil.

2.  Sugar is useless to beneficial microbes in our garden soil.  What are beneficial microbes?  They are the ones that make soil rich, improve tilth, contribute to the Nitrogen cycle, enhance the growth of plants we grow in our garden.  What are they going to do with Table Sugar?  I would like to post here a link (http://www.disknet.com/indiana_biolab/b021.htm) to one basic experiment for junior biologists.  Note in particular: 'Microbes can't use sucrose unless they have an enzyme capable of splitting sucrose apart to give glucose and fructose.'

3. Sugar may damage roots.  I don't remember the details off the top of my head but Sugar molecules are simply too too big to be absorbed through roots in a plant.  So sugar simply doe snot get into grass.  NEVER.  It does however draw water molecules out of the roots it reaches.  That's bad.  It won't kill them -- I don't think.  I could be wrong about that.  Don't quote me.

4.  Sugar is expensive.  There's nothing thrifty about putting Sugar on your grass.  Ditto, Coke.  Have you compared the price of Milk and Coke lately?  Coke is more expensive here where I live.  Sugar is more costly than compost, especially if you make it yourself.

5.  Sugar is not needed to 'feed microbes in the soil' any more than it is needed to wash my car or clean my floor.  Microbes in healthy soil are very happy with their diet.  Healthy soil has a lot of organic matter -- and I do not mean fresh vegetables, Bruce.  The stuff has to be decomposed to work properly.

6.  As far as providing a sort of innoculant for ordinary soil, as far as wanting to turn ordinary soil into super-soil, Sugar is not dead or living matter.  If you want to increase the number of microbes in your soil, you give them organic matter to break down.  Not C6H12O6.

Thanks for asking.  Keep in touch.