19 May 2024

Aerate the lawn

It’s that time of the year again. Golf courses are starting to aerate their lawns, apply new topsoil, and maybe even reseed. It’s a good idea to do the same thing at home. For a small lawn like mine, a garden fork will do the trick. Simply walk along in lines and poke holes about one inch deep into your lawn. It’s great exercise for the arms, and after a half hour or so, you’ll definitely feel it.

If your lawn is larger, get some equipment from your hardware store. Spike boots or prong lawn aerators work well. Also, add a bit of soil and sand on top of the grass to create a mini golf practice chipping green if you like.

The bug wars 😦

It’s a never-ending saga with my citrus trees: plenty of bugs and leaf miner scales. They really like to hide, so when you’re spraying your trees, make sure you get the underside of the leaves and even unfold some of the curled leaves to find them. Sometimes, I just pick them off when the leaves are too damaged.

For a homemade anti-bug solution, mix one drop of washing soap, one drop of oil, and half a liter of water. Give it a good mix and spray your trees as many times as you like. This solution works well against whiteflies too. If that doesn’t work, a biodegradable room spray is great as well. Make sure it’s biodegradable and environmentally friendly.

Also, top up the pots with some fresh, good-quality potting mix and feed your trees with sea soil. The lemons are looking great. Autumn is my favorite time of the year. What a beautiful day to be out working in the veggie patch!