Baby shampoo, ammonia, beer for my lawn?

The string of insightful lawn tips continued in my paper just four days later under an article title that indicated we all might be going too far in going green and that going green shouldn’t have to cost a lot of green. They hooked me and I started reading. This time I at least made it through the first recommendation about dishwasher soap. The second recommendation advised me that for my lawn I should mix some baby shampoo, ammonia, beer (unfortunately for the lawn, not for me), and some corn syrup in a 20 gallon hose end sprayer. Really? What are these ingredients all about and how could they possibly work on a lawn?

Baby shampoo could serve as a type of surfactant that could reduce water repellency in the soil – if that’s a problem for your soil. Ammonia is a source of nitrogen. Beer and corn syrup has some sort of natural organic fertilizer or biostimulant. For the beer, I’d buy the cheap stuff – not the microbrews. The final comment about mixing in a 20 gallon hose end sprayer? How many of you have a 20 gallon hose end sprayer, and how many of you could hold a 20 gallon hose end sprayer? OK, go to your favorite store and ask them where the 20 gallon hose end sprayers are, really!

Rebecca Finneran

Michigan State University Extension

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