Super Handyman: Tips for giving your lawn the best care

Mowing your lawn can be done a lot of different ways, but there are some things you need to do to get it in optimum shape and keep it looking good year-round. Here are some of our favorite tips.

First of all, keep your lawn equipment in good working order. Inspect and make any repairs before each mowing season begins, and about halfway through the season as well. Monthly maintenance also might be required. A sharp mower blade is very important. It will help you get the job done quickly and will prevent damage to the lawn itself.

When using power lawn equipment, wear eye protection, long pants and gloves, and protect yourself from the sun. Boots or other heavy-duty shoes also are a good idea.

The height of your lawn needs to change through the growing season. As it starts to grow in the spring, it might be cut lower — not scalped, just lower. As it grows during the season, slowly raise the blade level so that in the heat of the summer, the grass blades are higher. This actually shades the ground and keeps it from drying out so quickly, encouraging a thick, lush lawn. As a rule, you never should cut more than a third of the total length of the grass blades off in a mowing. So if you miss a mow, cut it a little higher and then come back in a few days and lower the blade to the optimum level.

The choice of grass is a personal one, from among the choices that grow well in your area of the country. Check your local agriculture department for its recommendations.

Feed your lawn with either a good-quality commercial fertilizer or an organic lawn food. You can have your soil tested by the agriculture department as well to find out exactly what nutrients are needed.

Regular feeding, watering and mowing will keep weeds out of your lawn. Your lawn is a valuable asset to your home, so take good care of it, and the benefits will go back into your pocket.

Stand and deliverThe new umbrella we ordered is great. It#146;s big enough to cover the seating area on our back porch. The only problem is that the shaft of the umbrella is much larger than the standard type we always have had in the past. We had to design a stand for it. We got an attractive ceramic pot and found a section of PVC pipe that was just a smidgen larger than the shaft of the umbrella. We cut the pipe the same height as the pot and set it inside, with the open end facing up. Then we mixed up a bag of quick-setting concrete and poured it into the pot. We put a weight on top of the pipe to keep it from floating, and filled the pot to the top with the concrete mix. After it had set up, we placed it next to the outside sofa and inserted the umbrella. Now we are sipping lemonade and working on our next column! What about you?For good measure We received a neat retractable tape as a promotional prize that included a memo pad built into the case of the tape. In fact, many of the new tapes incorporate some way to note measurements right on the tape itself while you work. It#146;s helpful for many reasons, especially for those of us who are getting more forgetful every day! This is a really great idea, and if you don#146;t have a new, improved tape with a memo pad included, you can make one by just slapping a scrap of masking tape on the front to jot notes on while you work. It#146;s just that simple, and it will work just as well.Super hintsŸ A super, inexpensive and easily disposable trash can for road trips and other places is an empty tissue box. These boxes hold quite a bit of trash, and the plastic over the top opening will keep things from spilling as you travel.Ÿ As a knitter, I am always trying to find new projects, and I especially love to recycle. You can cut all those plastic grocery bags into strips and knit a reusable shopping bag with them. Now, that#146;s the ultimate way to recycle a shopping bag! They also are very strong.Ÿ A neat way to lubricate threaded plumbing pipes is to use lip balm on the threads instead of Teflon tape. The waxy material will keep the threads from rusting and becoming difficult to turn.Q. The shut-off under my toilet won#146;t work any longer. Do I need to fix it? What should I do?A. It#146;s a good idea to have one, and it#146;s not a difficult thing to fix for a DIY#146;er with some experience. A plumber also would be able to do it. Depending upon what type of connection you have, it might take just a wrench to fix it. Take a photo of it and ask your local hardware dealer if he can fix you up.Q. I have noticed that my fireplace doesn#146;t seem to seal up, even with the damper closed. Is there any way to seal it up?A. You can install a gasket, available at fireplace-supply stores. These work pretty well and still allow you to use it when you want. There also are some great blocks you can position in the flue that will seal it as well. You would need to pull them out when you want to use the fireplace.Q. I have a faucet in my backyard that freezes every winter. It comes through the wall of my laundry room, so I have access to it. Is there any way to prevent this from happening every year?A. You can replace it with a freeze-proof faucet. These are made so that the valve, which currently is located outside your home, is put at the back of the faucet and would be located inside the house when you finish the installation. This would mean that as long as your house is warm, the pipe wouldn#146;t freeze. You should have little trouble putting this in, since the inside wall is in your laundry room. Good luck!Reader tipsŸ I lost a large tree last winter and finally got it taken down. It was a major ordeal and took me a couple of weeks to get the whole thing down. I cut up some of it to use in our fire pit and borrowed a shredder to chop up more of it for some mulch. I used a couple of the large, forked branches to mount on my fence to hold the garden hoses that I use for my garden. They make very strong hose holders and look kind of neat. There wasn#146;t much left for the trash guys. I will plant another tree in time, but I am enjoying some sun in our backyard for now.Ÿ I like the breath mints that come in a clear container. I#146;m sure you know which ones I#146;m talking about. Anyway, I go through a lot of them and have started saving the containers to use as small hardware containers. They work very well and never come open accidentally. You easily can see what#146;s inside each one, and you can put a whole lot of them into one box for easy storage. They also are great in the toolbox for storing items.Ÿ I hate cleaning paintbrushes, but I hate buying new ones even more, so I do it. I have a system that actually works pretty well for me. First I use a good brush cleaner. This gets all of the paint out of the bristles. Then I mix up a solution of half water and half fabric softener, and soak them in this for just a few minutes before setting them out to dry. The fabric softener keeps them straight and smooth, and I just rinse out the softener when I am ready to use them again.Ÿ I#146;m not a Super Handyman like you, but I have tried a few projects around the house and had some successes as well as a lot of fun. I had to make a drywall repair, and I tried several times to duplicate the existing texture. I just couldn#146;t get it right until I grabbed a sponge. I dabbed at the texture, pulling it out from the wall just a little, and finally got the texture looking like I wanted it. The sponge was a simple tool that I hadn#146;t tried at first, but it sure did the job.Ÿ I have a great way to wind up extension cords and keep them organized. Once I roll them up, I put a ponytail holder around them. The type I use are the ones with the balls on each end. They are stretchy and act like small bungee cords or rubber bands, and they really work. I think they work better because they are smaller than most bungee cords, and they won#146;t break like rubber bands. You can buy a bunch of them for a buck or two and keep all of your cords and other things organized.ShoptalkŸ The StirWhip is a super-fun way to stir paint. It is a special attachment for a drill, but it#146;s a little different from most. The design reduces strain on the drill, and it#146;s flexible enough to fit through the pouring spout of a 5-gallon paint bucket if you want to save time on big projects. Besides paint, it also works on epoxies, concrete, glue and other things you need to mix. Check it out at www.praziusa.com and see the video, as well as find out where you can buy one for yourself.Ÿ Replacing a window screen requires a #147;splining tool.#148; It takes a little practice and muscle to get the spline into the channel with this tool, but the Screenmouse is so much easier to use. The spline feeds right through the roller, so it does the work for you. It can cut the repair time in half, and it works with a variety of splines. The dual-wheel system is the key, and you#146;ll be amazed at how simple it is to use. Check it out at www. Screenmouse.com.Ÿ Write to Al and Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006, or visit the Carrells#146; website at thesuperhandyman.com.$PHOTOCREDIT_ON$© 2011, Cowles Syndicate Inc.$PHOTOCREDIT_OFF$