Fresh vegetables are not getting any cheaper and sometimes there are health concerns too. Your front yard may look nice, but is that sunny spot really pulling its weight for you? Consider turning that area into a front yard vegetable garden. Using a little imagination and a little elbow grease you could be helping to feed your family with fresh vegetables, enhancing you and your family’s health and saving your money too.

Every fall, as the leaves start falling, it's time to start thinking about how to get them off of your lawn. Consider two basic methods: mulch them into the lawn with your mower, or pile them up with a rake or blower and haul them away. There are pros and cons to each technique.

It’s natural to fertilize your lawn in the spring, but don’t let the cooler temperatures of autumn fool you. Fall is the best time to fertilize the grass, even better than springtime. After the summer’s heat and humidity, grass regains its strength before winter with a good fall fertilizing. It also helps grass develop a thick and deep root system, so it can survive next summer’s heat.

Whether flowers, vegetables or fruit, a bountiful garden is a thing of beauty and the result of much hard work. Don’t let it become a dangerous place for your children. Take a few minutes and check your garden for these hazards that could cause accidents.

Southern States presents an article series on steps you can take to minimize the effects of drought and dry weather conditions on your lawn and pasture.

• Repairing your lawn
• Simple summer lawns
• Lawn-care essentials
• Choosing a sprinkler
• Rain or shine: always be prepared
• Managing pasture during drought
• Watch out for nitrate poisoning
• Managed grazing

It’s summertime, and the living is easy—especially if you’re taking in the evening breeze from your lush backyard patio. Transforming an ordinary porch or outdoor space is one of the easiest and most gratifying ways to increase the useable square footage of your home. All it takes is some planning, a streak of creativity and a little elbow grease to add a living space you—and your neighbors—will love.

The growing season for your lawn is almost over. You might think that all that remains is a quick mow to tidy things up until next spring. You would be quite wrong. Once weeds have appeared in the spring, the seeds are set and your battle with them could take years. Late summer and fall are the perfect times to take action to help your lawn compete successfully with weeds in the spring and emerge from the winter looking its best.

Your native wildflower garden could become a shining example of the wild areas where you live, enhancing your garden, the environment, habitat for wildlife, and also giving you and yours much pleasure with minimal maintenance requirements. There is a huge variety of wildflower plants to choose. Set up your garden canvas and let nature paint the picture.

Children can learn many things in a garden. Working with plants and the soil teaches them about nature, the life cycle and the importance of nurturing. This year, set aside space in the family garden for your kids to try their hand at it. No matter what their ages, gardening can be educational and fun.

Vertical elements in your garden add visual interest by drawing the eyes upward. These elements could be plants and trees, as well as gazebos, trellises and other architectural structures. Upright items are not only decorative, but also practical. In many cases they support colorful climbing vines and flowers.

You have your water garden all set up and ready to go. Planting it is the next step but you need to consider what you can plant, where you should plant it, and how much you should plant. You have three zones to consider, submerged aquatic, surface aquatic, and marginal. Each zone is a separate environment that needs to merge with the others.

Long-handled garden tools have been used for back saving gardening and agricultural pleasure or survival for many centuries; the basic designs have changed little. With a little time and effort from you towards care and maintenance, your investment in your long-handled garden tools could last many years longer than it otherwise would have.

A juicy, sweet slice of watermelon is a taste of summer. It’s fun to eat and is good for you. Choose from dozens of varieties for your garden this year. Some are small and round; others are large and oblong. The rind can be solid, striped, or marbled and range from light green to nearly black. The flesh is usually red, but can be pink, orange or yellow. Watermelons require some space, but are easy to grow in the backyard.

Call them cantaloupes or muskmelons, these sweet treats are a summer favorite. Their fragrant orange fruit make them the most commonly grown – and eaten – melons. Honeydews ripen more slowly. Enjoy this refreshing light green fruit later in the season. Try planting both cantaloupes and honeydews this year, as they’re planted and tended to in the same way. The difference comes at harvest.

Ensure a vibrant and healthy lawn during the warmer months by testing your soil and selecting the right fertilizer. To be sure you apply the nutrients your grass needs, Southern States recommends that you test your soil with either a Rapitest Home Soil Test Kit or a professional soil analysis through your local Southern States dealer.

Start your lawn off right with an application of Southern States premium fertilizers. Southern States Early Spring Lawn Food contains iron for a deep green color and Dimension® for crabgrass control. When only the best will do, CarpetMaker® Turf Fertilizers with Barricade® are available in two professional formulas.

Statesman Brand Mud Shoes and Boots are fully insulated to keep feet dry and warm as you work around the yard or barn. As an added feature, the insoles are removable and fully washable. Statesman Mud Shoes and Boots are available in three distinct styles:

• 4" Garden Runner Shoe
• 12" Field Runner Boot
• 16" Ag Runner Boot

All three models are available in adult sizes 6 to 14 to fit men and women. Whichever shoe or boot you chose, you can rely on comfort and dry feet - satisfaction guaranteed!

Whether planting a new garden or planting again, you will want to have your soil tested at your local Southern States dealer. Keeping the proper PH level is critical for growing healthy plants. Southern States offers products such as Southern States Solu-Lime and Southern States 10-10-10 Premium Vegetable Grower to help you achieve proper PH and nutrient levels.

We also offer a wide variety of vegetable seeds. Find out more by downloading your own copy of our 2010 Vegetable Seed Catalog. Enjoy a bountiful garden and beautiful lawn this season with online and in-store products from Southern States. We are here to help you grow!

Bonide Annual Grub Beater controls grubs all season long with only one application. Also kills European crane fly larvae, mole crickets, and other turf destroying insects. Apply anytime, spring through summer. Contains .5% imidacloprid. Covers 15,000sq'.

• Bonide Annual Grub Beater 15m
• Bonide Annual Tree & Shrub Insert Control