Introduction
Most companies out there want you to spend a lot of money having the perfect lawn or garden and it's simply not necessary. I'd wanted to highlight some things you can do to reduce the expense of your lawn and garden care.
In this diary, we'll cover two basic tips--a soil test and simple organic recycling.
Get a Soil Test
Many people throw down fertilizer without knowing what the soil already has, or what it needs. Don't waste money by tossing phosphorus at a soil that already has more than it requires!
Cheap soil tests are available through many local University extensions, although quality and the usefulness of the information can vary a great deal. Two that I happen to prefer and have experience with are Logan Labs (http://www.loganlabs.com/) and the University of Massachusetts (http://www.umass.edu/....).
The cost for a basic soil test with organic matter, including shipping, should be under $25 or so.
Results can be difficult to read, and the computerized results are famously inaccurate. It's best to have the soil test read by an expert. Your local University extension office will be happy to help you. Alternately, sign up for a free account at http://bestlawn.info/ and post the question with the complete information. Reading it over there is free, and those people know what they're doing (disclosure: I'm a member and assist with reading soil tests).
With that in hand, you'll know what your soil requires and won't be putting down resources your soil doesn't need.
Basic Organics
Organics tend to frighten a lot of people as they think they don't work well, or will cause problems by attracting animals. To some extent, that's true--you won't see immediate green-up of your lawn from using an organic. They require time to process in the soil.
The long-term benefits are much greater than synthetics, however.
However, in the interest of brevity, we'll skip organic feedings this time and go with simple recycling.
First, always mulch-mow your lawn unless you have a specific disease that precludes doing so. Mulch mowing returns the organic material to the soil, reducing your feeding requirements by at least a quarter. It also keeps grass waste out of the landfills.
Weeds can be extracted from the soil, the roots, blossoms, and seeds torn off, and tossed into the lawn or garden to add organic material. As a general rule, I weed the gardens and discard the weeds into the lawn as I prefer not to see them in the garden itself.
For slightly more advanced recycling, start a simple compost pile or bin. You don't need an expensive setup in the slightest. I used an old trashcan with a break in the bottom, drilled several hundred holes into it, and viola! A compost bin. Anything that's not appropriate for tossing directly into the lawn is thrown in the bin to decay, and I can generate five or six loads of compost a year.