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Lawn Care Tip – Secret Lawn Tonic Recipe
Today’s feature is from two sites with the same lawn care tip.
First Wise Bread with this tip for healthy, green grass: Secret Lawn Tonic Recipe From Golf Course Groundskeeper.
You will need:
- One full can of regular pop (any kind-no diet soda)
- One full can of beer (no light beer)
- 1/2 Cup of Liquid dishwashing soap (do NOT use anti-bacterial dishwashing liquid)
- 1/2 Cup of household ammonia
- 1/2 Cup of mouthwash (any brand)
Directions:
- Pour into 10-gallon hose-end sprayer (other sizes will work too)
- In high heat, apply every three weeks
Green Lawn: Pop, beer, dishwashing liquid, mouthwash, etc., … how could you go wrong with a recipe like that! Seriously, I’m handing this one off to my husband. Super Green Lawn here we come! 
I admit when I first read the tonic recipe, I was a little iffy about it. Beer? Mouthwash? Pop? Lawn maintenance has never been so wacky! The post mentions the groundskeeper’s name, so I did a quick search and found this on a tv station website: KSL TV:
He gets these great results with no sprinkler system and only a little fertilizer.
Tim Heffron, Lawn Tonic Expert: “I started using it about five years ago– back in Oklahoma– where it’s 100– 100 degrees every day– day in and day out.”
His secret–a formula– a “tonic” made-up of common household ingredients. A pop, a beer, a little liquid dishwashing soap- some mouthwash–and some household ammonia–all mixed in to a 10-gallon hose-end sprayer. The pop and the beer are essentially food for your lawn, and,
Tim Heffron, Lawn Tonic Expert: “The combination of the two will allow the grass–the dead grass in your lawn– help to begin to break down and to compost much quicker.”
Well–looks legit to me! Make sure to visit both sites and read the instructions and details as to why it works, very cool tip! Here’s to happy, healthy (and tipsy) green lawns!
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What about Water??? Do you mix this or ???????????
you screw the sprayer to your garden hose and then turn the water on and spray your lawn evenly.
Hi Tony, when you use the hose sprayer the water mixes with the tonic as you spray it–so no you don’t add water.
ok, i mixed 1/2 cup each of ammonia (there is lemon, sudsy, etc), scope mouth wash, organic dishwashing soap (all soap is ULTRA now – does it matter?) THEN a FULL CAN – not bottle – of Pepsi and a FULL CAN – not bottle of Old Style 12 oz each. Brought mix to 36 fluid ounces. Hooked up to sprayer and then wondered, the ENTIRE amount on this lawn? It’s not a large lot. Parkway, side of house, front; maybe under 1000 sqft. Used the entire mixture. Time will tell. The mouthwash made it smell pretty good. Tell people to be very careful with that ammonia!!!! Any tips on how to keep beer from foaming?
I only have a six gallon hose end sparyer. What do I set the dial at for the product to water mix?
As far as the beer foaming, if you let the beer go flat it shouldn’t foam.
If using a Ortho Hose End Sprayer, what should the dial on top be set to? Mine goes from 1 teaspoon per gallon to 8 ounces per gallon.
Hi Gary, read this comment found over at Wisebread:
Comment #15 – Mark. He states:
The amount of water helps (as I use a pull behind “trailer” sprayer). It would also be nice to know the coverage area. I’ve seen some websites saying similar recipies are 2,500 sq feet. That’s what I’m going to try. We’ll see how it works.
I may omit the mouthwash as I’m worried that will kill the good microbes from the beer. (Maybe apply that separately if there is an insect problem.)
I love these homemade recipies. It’s fun to experiment and come up with your own brew.
We tried this and WOW!! it worked. At first when I heard it I laughed and said no way will this work, but I was wrong and my husband was right…ugggh!!! hehe.
Jerry Baker published a similar recipe in a couple of his green grass books a few years ago, only he uses liquid fertilizer with it and doesn’t use mouthwash, and uses light corn syrup for the “sugar” instead of soft drinks. A friend of mine introduced me to his books, and her lawn always looks gorgeous. If I would remember to do this on a regular basis, maybe mine would look good, too!