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Iloveabeautifulyard, but I hate spending money to get it that way, which explains why I am always looking for do-it-your- self cheap ways to kill weeds, grow flowers and feed lawns. I have come across some very clever tips and tricks, not the least of which is to reclassify the dandelion as a low-main- tenance, exquisite ground cover! While you ponder that suggestion, take a look at these clever ideas to make your own landscape sup- plies. LAWN FOOD: Mix four pounds magnesium sul- fate (Epsom salts) with a bag of your favorite lawn food that covers 2,500 sq. ft. Now feed your lawn only half the amount of this mixture as recom- mended on the lawn food bag, You'll save a lot of money because you'll be using less than half the normal amount of fertil- izer, and this formulation cuts down on the nitrogen, which makes your lawn grow so fast. You'll have the wonderful deep-green color, better root struc- ture, and you won't have to mow as often. LAWN SNACK: Try this on your lawn every three weeks during the summer. (With every third snack, add cup clear corn syrup or molasses to the mixture.) 1 can beer 1 cup children's sham- poo Household ammonia Pour the beer and sham- poo (and corn syrup when it's the third snack) into a 20-gallon hose-end sprayer jar; fill up the jar with am- monia and apply, follow- ing the instructions on the hose-end sprayer. You're going to have very happy grass. YUMMY TREAT FOR VEGETABLES: If you want some startling growth in your vegetable garden, mix up a batch of this artillery punch. All of this smelly stuff goes into that 20-gal- lon hose-end sprayer: 1 can beer cup molasses cup household am- monia cup fish emulsion (available at garden sup- ply store) cup hydrogen perox- ide cup whiskey 2 tbsp children's sham- poo tsp instant tea gran- ules Apply to vegetables (us- ing the hose-end sprayer, of course) early in the day, one time half-way through the growing season. BUG-ZAPPER: This is a preventive measure to keep diseases and bugs away. Start using it early in the season on every- thing — lawn, flowers, shrubs, vegetables and fruits. 1 cup antiseptic mouth- wash 1 cup flea and tick shampoo (make sure it contains "pyrethrum" or "pyrethrins") 1 cup chewing-tobacco juice Wait! You don't have to start chewing and spitting to make this recipe. Sneak into the store and buy a container of chewing to- bacco. Dump it into an old nylon stocking, tie it off and steep uncovered in one quart of boiling water until the water turns dis- gustingly brown. Put a cup of it along with the other ingredients into your trusty 20-gallon hose-end sprayer; fill balance of jar with warm water and ap- ply to about 2,500 sq. ft. Keep the kids and pets away while applying. Any remaining mix or tobacco juice should be clearly la- beled and kept out of reach of children. BACKYARD BIRD- BATH: As long as you have a beautiful yard and gar- den you might as well in- vite some songbirds to splish-splash and enter- tain you. In addition to hanging birdfeeders, de- light your family with a birdbath. Pick up a large 12- or 16- inch diameter drip tray (the kind used under a potted plant.) Put the tray on the ground in a shel- tered part of the garden, positioning rocks or small logs around the perime- ter. Put a large rock in the middle of the bath to act as an island. Fill with wa- ter and wait for the action. Flush out water every two or three days. For more information on the ingredients men- tioned above please visit www.everydaycheapskate. com/gardener. EVERYDAYCHEAPSKATE Secretsofacheapskategardener Mary Hunt The April 15 tax deadline is here. If you need more time to file your taxes, you can get an automatic six month extension from the IRS. Here are five things to know about filing an exten- sion: 1. Use IRS Free File to file an extension. You can use IRS Free File to e-file your extension request for free. Free File is only available through IRS.gov. You must e-file the request by midnight on April 15. Don't forget to come back to Free File to e-file your taxes for free. You can ac- cess the program at any time through Oct. 15. 2. Use Form 4868. You can also request an exten- sion by filling out Form 4868, Application for Au- tomatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual In- come Tax Return. You must mail this form to the IRS by April 15. Form 4868 is available on IRS.gov/forms at any time. 3. More time to file is not more time to pay. An exten- sion to file will give you un- til Oct. 15 to file your taxes. It does not give you more time to pay your taxes. You still must estimate and pay what you owe by April 15 to avoid a late filing penalty. You will be charged inter- est on any tax that you do not pay on time. You may also owe a penalty if you pay your tax late. 4. Use IRS Direct Pay. The safe, fast and easy way to pay your tax is with IRS Direct Pay. Visit IRS. gov/directpay to use this free and secure way to pay from your checking or sav- ings account. You also have other electronic payment options. The IRS will auto- matically process your ex- tension when you pay elec- tronically. You can pay on- line or by phone. 5. IRS helps if you can't pay all you owe. If you can't pay all the tax you owe, the IRS offers you payment op- tions. In most cases, you can apply for an install- ment agreement with the Online Payment Agree- ment tool on IRS.gov. You may also file Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request. If you can't make payments because of a fi- nancial hardship, the IRS will work with you. TAX TIP Fivethingstoknowifyouneed more time to file your taxes RED BLUFF Around 100 community leaders and volunteers gathered Tues- day at Growney Ranch just south of here for a fund- raising luncheon to bene- fit Tough Enough to Wear Pink and provide local re- sources for battling breast cancer. Members of Red Bluff Kiwanis, Red Bluff Ro- tary and Sunrise Rotary were joined by Red Bluff Round-Up directors, pub- lic officials and represen- tatives from St. Elizabeth Community Hospital at the event. An auction was held during which a number of donated items and baked goods were sold. Organiz- ers estimated that roughly $3,500 was raised during the event. All money raised at the luncheon and all tip money from Rotary Club beer sales during the Red Bluff Round-Up will be do- nated to Tough Enough to Wear Pink and remain lo- cal. Luncheon at Growney Ranch raises mo ne y fo r lo ca l br ea st c an ce r fig ht RED BLUFF A new 11 Days of Round-Up event will de- but at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Cook in Red Bluff, 643 Main St. Cooking with Bob will combine a meet and greet with rodeo announcers Bob Tallman and Wayne Brooks and a tasting event. Cook will barbecuing with Tallman's own line of seasonings, Bob Tallman's Ranch Fixin's. Proceeds from the sea- sonings go to the University of Texas MD Anderson Can- cer Center Children's Can- cer Hospital. The event is free and open to the public. There will be items avail- able for purchase, including meat from 2 Buds BBQ, lo- cal craft beer, local wine and iced tea. COOKING WITH BOB Me et r od eo a nn ou nc er s an d en j oy c ul in ar y sa mp le s DAILYNEWSPHOTOBYCHIPTHOMPSON Emcee Bill Cornelius of the Red Bluff Rotary takes bids on a pink guitar donated by Jessie Woods of The Gold Exchange. FUNDRAISER Wed, April 15 • 7pm LOCAL COWBOY POETRY & KIDS' COWBOY POETRY CONTESTS @TehamaCountyLibrary,RedBluffBranch Wed, Thurs, Fri, April 15-17, 10am-2:30pm TIMED EVENT RODEO SLACK Wed, April 15, 4pm Cowboys BARREL RACE Cowgirls BIKINI BARREL RACE Tehama District Fairgrounds, Pauline Davis Pavilion TH 94 2015 Wed.April15 th (530) 529-1654 Tires • Brakes • Alignment Wheels • Batteries • Shocks 522 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff Call 527-0445 for more information t o s p e a k Tommy Barnett Bethel Assembly 625 Luther Rd. Red Bluff, CA Doors open at 5 p.m. Sunday April 19 6 p.m. Pa s t o r, A u t h o r & Fo u n d e r o f t h e L o s A n ge l e s D r e a m C e n t e r Mel's Place • Lingerie • Airbrush Tanning • Swimwear 332OakStreet Red Bluff (530) 604-4182 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ StromerRealty 590 Antelope Blvd RedBluff (530) 527-3100 Specializingin Residential to Ranches 2 Bud's BBQ 592AntelopeBlvd.RedBluff (IntheoldProntoMarket) M-F 11am-6pm • Sat. 11am-3pm • Closed Sun. 528-0799 BBQ PORK★ BEEF ★ CHICKEN Onequestionweall love to hate WHAT'S FOR DINNER? Seeusforyourdinner needs, lunch too! WHAT'S FOR DINNER? SunCountryQuilters presents "SecretLanguageofQuilts" Quilt Show April 25 th & 26 th 2015 Tehama District Fairground Over 200 Quilts Vendors • Demos • Food Admission $7 For more information 528-8838 or (916) 425-8230 www.suncountryquilters.com (530) 529-1220 100 Jackson St.,Red Bluff 2 FREE Tanning Sessions withanynew membership in the month of April Valid:4-1-2015to4-30-2015 LIFESTYLES » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, April 15, 2015 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A5