Midwest Laboratories Blog

How I achieved a stronger thicker lawn this spring

Brent Pohlman — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:33:50 +0000

This year has been the best year for my lawn. It is still a bit early, but I wanted to share some of the things I did this spring to insure a nice, thick lawn. March Lawn Activity Laid sod down on former garden area 20′ x 20′ Mowed entire lawn on March 16, 2013 [...]

Some Tips for Growing Tomatoes

Brent Pohlman — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:17:24 +0000

Here is a question that a number of people have asked over the years: “Is it better to stake or cage tomato plants or should you let them fall over and grow naturally?” Source: 20 Gardening Tips: Growing Tomatoes News Story Tomato Plants produce fruit without any intervention Keeping tomatoes off the ground is the [...]

Take Precautions when swimming this summer

Brent Pohlman — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:04:47 +0000

A study from the Center For Disease Control found that 58% of the pools in the United States had a presence of e.Coli in their pool water. Make sure you take precautions with your children when it comes to going to the local public pool and dealing with the issue of bacteria this summer. Make [...]

Severe Weather is affecting the Central United States

Brent Pohlman — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:26:34 +0000

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of yesterday’s severe weather which produced tornadoes and heavy rains across the central and Southeastern United States. If you did not see the dramatic events, check out this news story from ABC. This slow moving storm will gradually move to the east affecting parts of [...]

Food Dates – Very Confusing

Brent Pohlman — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:04:58 +0000

Have you purchased a food item and looked at the label and tried to decipher what the dates mean like Use by “xx/xx/xx” date Sell by “xx/xx/xx” date Best by”xx/xx/xx” date Some items like baby foods have a date that is mandated by the government. Otherwise, the date on the package is up to the [...]

No-Till Planting Explained

Brent Pohlman — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:21:25 +0000

No-Till Planting is the tilling plan of choice for many growers and farmers. I came across a great article, “What is No-Till” by Brian Scott and have quickly summarized some of the points in his article. It’s major advantage is the fact that the soil moisture and nutrients remain in the soil and are not [...]

How often should I have an oil change

Brent Pohlman — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:39:42 +0000

If you are like myself, you have one of those oil change reminder labels that lets us know when we should expect to have our oil changed. Typical time is 3,000 miles. If you are like me, it seems that sometimes this time frame can go by very fast and as a result it could [...]

Bath Towels and Bacteria

Brent Pohlman — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:52:59 +0000

There has been a recent movement in our country to go green. You see signs in certain hotels encouraging you to reuse your towels. In addition, many high school and college athletes keep a towel in their locker to dry off with after practice. How safe is that towel over time? How fast can bacteria [...]

Germs on Airplanes

Brent Pohlman — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:57:46 +0000

Check out this news study regarding germs on airplanes. This news story should serve as a friendly reminder to not only plan with respect to your luggage and tickets but also to take steps to make your flight a safe and healthy trip. Some of the information in this story is very disgusting and down-right [...]

Calorie Counts on Exercise Machines

Brent Pohlman — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:46:46 +0000

In the past, information regarding calories on menus has been highlighted because of the new regulations are making it mandatory to post this information. However, many people look at calorie counts each day as they work out at their local gym. How accurate are these counts with respect to calories burned? The following video, (quality [...]