Question
Hi Charlotte,
I promise, I'm going to buy Howard's book so I don't keep bugging you, but I have 2 questions in the mean time.

#1.  What is the mixture ratio for the baking soda mixed with water?  I guess I can use a 20 gallon sprayer, but how much baking soda do I fill that with?

#2.  What is the composting good for and when should I use it?  I have access to take my used coffee grounds from work, could I spread those alone on my lawn?  

Answer
Bless your heart, sue honey, you aren't buggin me at all.
I love to talk about gardening.
when I started using baking soda, I had no clue how much to use, and couldn't find anyone to tell me how much. I just filled my 2 gallon sprayer and dumped a small box of soda in it. that worked, so I kept that mixture.LOl
I read in howard's book, and he has us putting much less baking soda in.
I think it was 2 TBLSP of baking soda to a gallon of water, but that seems like too little to me, so I think I will keep using the whole box.LOL
You want to wet what you are spraying down well, on top of the leaves and underneath them.
I guess for me, in a 20 gallon sprayer, i would dump a large box of soda. You may not need that much though.
I went into howard's site and joined his ground crew. It is only about 30 bucks oer year, and when you join, you have access to the furums, and all the information on the site, and you can ask wuestions and get answers from other ground crew members on what has worked for them.
The coffee grounds. YEP, just toss em out on the lawn.
Compost breaks down and forms lovely top soil. If you do it right, it is full of nutrients, and does the same thing as fertilizer does, except it doesn't wear out. You can start it anytime. Save all your vegetable scraps from the kitchen for the compost pile, fruit peels, potatoe peels etc. all the vegetable waste that normally you would put in the garbage or down the disposal.
All those vitamins and minerals we have been throwing away all these years.
You have to turn the compost every so often to keep it from souring. different spaces of time depending on what you are using in the composter and what kind of composter you are using. You never put cooked veggies that have any animal fat (butter either), or any animal product.
Meat scraps and feed cooked with butter etc in them will cause a lot of parasites you DON'T want.
You can but a neat compost bin, or even use a wire cage.
Go here and read up on composting.   www.garden.org
That is the National Gardening Association site.
My husband is the composter in the family, so I am not that informed on just how to do it. He tills some compost into his vegetable garden.
Coffee grounds and tea leaves are great for your lawn and garden, and for indoor plants. Coffee grounds also loosen up the soil. You can add them to your compost or just throw them on the yard and let them set there. You don't have to dig them in or anything.
If you have leftover tea or coffee, don't pour it down the sink. Pour it on some plants.
I tell the grandkids that if they have leftover pop, don't pour it down the sink, pour it on something growing. That sugar in it is just good for the plants.
You can also top dress your lawn and flower beds with compost. I would do that in early spring.
Write anytime.
Charlotte