"Lush" Garden

Once in a while, a Mama needs to kick back and relax...and maybe have a glass of something more grown-up than Kool-Aid. But who knew that alcohol could help your garden grow?

Have an empty wine bottle in your recycling bin? Why not fill it with water and stick it upside down in one of your potted plants? The water will be absorbed into the soil as the soil dries out. This is a simple and green way to make a "Plant Nanny"!
But what about using alcohol to actually help your garden grow? eHow.com provides the following list for putting that beer to good use in your yard (note: we are simply passing their list onto you - we have not tested them ourselves.):

• Feed your evergreens in early May. Mix ½ can of beer, 2 oz. fish emulsion and 2 gallons of water. Apply to each evergreen. Follow with lawn food around the base about a month later.

• Give your tree a drink at the weep line for preventative maintenance in early June. Use 1 can of beer and 2 cups liquid soap (Use non-scented dish washing liquid soap but not dish detergent. Try environmentally friendly soap.) in a 15- to 20-gallon hose sprayer. Spray the area of ground under the longest branch of your trees. Saturate this area in your garden with about 5 gallons of the mixture.

• Place a small amount of beer in a jar and bury the neck of the jar to drown slugs. Make sure to empty and replace the liquid after a rain since it will be diluted.

• Feed your lawn with a homemade fertilizer. Mix 1 can of beer, 1 cup of ammonia, 1 cup of liquid soap and 1 cup of your favorite liquid lawn fertilizer in a large bucket. Once that is combined well, stir in 1 cup of either corn syrup or molasses. Pour into a hose end sprayer. Thoroughly spray the yard, and then apply every 3 weeks during the normal growth season.

Who knew beer and wine (bottles) were so useful?