Question
Thank You so much. I will write back with the results
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
Charlotte,
I was reading your answer about killing weeds with sugar. Can you tell me how many times I should spread the sugar? I find it interesting because my lawn is full of weeds. When I go out to mow the lawn, my girl friend always says; 揋oing out to mow the weeds.?br> -----Answer-----
Hi Marc;
Now listen up. gonna say it just once. LOL
Sugar DOES NOT KILL WEEDS !
What sugar does,( and so will anything with sugar in it.
Molases, dry molasses  used for horticulture, beer, fruit, anything that contains sugar.) is to feed the beneficial microbes that DO work round the clock enriching the soil.
The richness in the soil is what does in the weeds.
Weeds love poor soil, and will not thrive in rich soil, so the richer your soil gets, the less the weeds will thrive, and after a few applications of sugar, the weeds will come up and immediately die out.
I haven't had a weed even come up and get big enough to see since about the second or third year after I started using sugar.
Now, if you put weed killers or any other gardening chemicals on the soil, it will kill the microbes out again, and you are back to square one.
You either have to go organic or chemical. Chemicals cvancel out the effects of the organic products.
If you put a tad too much fertilizer, you can burn your grass and kill your whole yard.
If you put sugar on it every day, all you will do is waste a lot of sugar.
I put sugar on mine every spring and fall, when you normally feed the lawns.
I did it at those times for so many years, when I used chemicals, that it is just easier for me to remember to do it by following pretty much the same schedule.
The first time I put it down, in about 2 weeks, about half the weeds were gone, and when my hubby said he had not pulled a weed, I figured it must be the sugar, so I ran to the store and bought enough to do it again.
Like a shark feeding frenzy.LOL
I don't know if that second time in two weeks made a difference or not.
It didn't hurt anything.
I'll bet I sure had some fat microbed. LOL
I know in the 8 or 9 years since, I have gotten some fat lizards.
I occasionally see roads, but they are always fat, and I don't see the grass snakes.
I don't WANT to se them, so if I am going into tall flowers etc, I rake a long stick across the tops to scare out the snakes, and I can hear them scurring through the underbrush.
I see the lizards running along a tree branch or along the fence top or a walk, but they stay away, and don't bother me.
Don't pay any attention to her.
My husband still refers to my lawn as my weed patch.
Some people just love to tease those of us who are horticulturally gifted. You have to live with the envy. LOL
I live in North Texas, and we have some doozies of summers, and when it has been above 100 for several days, and my grass is having a hard time with the heat, I figure my microbes may be stessing too, so I will apply another sugar feeding and water it in well.
It does seem to perk it up some more.
One of the main keys is to water deeply to establish a deep root system.
When you water only a few inches deep, and do it every day or every few days, the roots come close to th surface to get the water, and getting to the top of the soil and dieing is what causes thatch.
If the roots are trained to go deep to look for water, they will still have moisture down at their base when the top 2 to 4 inches are dry.
I water to a depth of at least 6 inches, and except when it is extrmely dry, and dries out deeper, I only water once a week.
Organics cures all the yard problems.
The beneficial microbes, nematodes and critters that inhabit your soil and lawn, feed on the harmful ones, and do a much better job of keeping you weed and insect free than all the chemicals on the market.
Now, all the yard maintenance we have to do is mow, edge, water and give it some sugar.
When you fertilize, the grass gets a big growth surge, and you have to mow every 4 or 5 days until it starts to wear out and the growth spurt slows down.
With the chemicals, it grows at a steady pace.
Instead of my husband and I putting in a total of 20 to 40 hours a week, combined, we now put in a average of about 2 or 3 hours a week, combimned on yard work, and we have so much better looking lawn.
Write anytime you feel I can help.
Charlotte


Answer
I will be anxious to hear from you.
While you are waiting for a good sized herd of lawn livestock, ( toads, lizards etc) to mopve into your yard to eat all the bad bugs, there are some natural things you can do to keep them away, that only add nutrients to your soil
Cedar bark mulch scattered thinly all over the yard, in early spring, when termites begin to swarm, and fls and ticks come out, will repel these pests.
A trail of cedar bark mulch about 3 inches wide and a couple inches high around the foundation of your house and outbuildings will give extra termite protection there, it will also keep a lot of insects out of your house.
If you get fire ants in your area, about the time they are ready to swarm, in spring, chop fresh orange peels up in small pieces ( about the sixe of a small fingernail) ad scatter them all over the yard.
If you see an anthill, throw a small handful down on it.
Orange oil is the main ingredient in effective fire ant killers and repellants.
If you toss some orange peels on a hill in the morning, they will usually be gone by the evening.
They leave pretty fast when that is put down.
I get all the grandkids over, and/or invite in some neighborhood kids, and get a big bag of oranges.
They eat oranges and I chop the peels, then they all take a section of yard, and scatter the peels.
We call it our orange festival.
When you get a good crop of crittrs, they will eat all the ants of all kinds.
Toads, grasnakes and lizards all eat ants.
Toads love slugs.
That makes them best frinds of mine.LOL
My lizards eat all the aphids off my rioses, and I can grow much better roses than I did with chemical insecticides.
I use baking soda disolved in water to spray plants that are susceptable to fungus and molds.
Be sure to spray underneath the leaves too.
I put about 2 Tablespoons to 1/4th cup per 2 galons of water in my garden sprayer.
Read some of my other answers on organics.
I have used alfalfa meal and lava sand in the past year.
It does add a lot of nutrients, and just beefs up the growth a lot.
I also use herbs inside my house to keep all kinds of insects out.
I never see a cockroach or spider etc.

Charlotte