Q: My wife and I are trying to decide on an economical composter. Do you have any suggestions on the best one to purchase?

JAMIE SPINKS, Demorest

DON TRIVETTE/Special (ENLARGE)

Home-made compost tumblers like these are effective, if a bit unsightly.

Hybrid Bermuda grass doesn't produce seed  For more salvia blooms, trim faded spikes  Mowing won't thicken St. Augustine  Fig vine has drawbacks  Little bugs can be a big nuisance for strawberries

A: It all depends on your sense of aesthetics, your space and your wallet. If you have a small space in which to put the composter, the upright plastic bins work fine. If you want compost quickly, the tumbler-type units rapidly mix and aerate your landscape debris, but they are a bit unsightly. If you don't want to spend too much and you have a place to hide it, buy a 10-foot length of 4-foot-wide fencing and roll it into a wire compost barrel. The Web site www.composters.com sells a multitude of designs, including a composting bench with bins beneath the seat. Composting is simple: "Pile it up and let it rot," then feed your plants with the results.

Q: I have heard that there are new laws about soil erosion that affect our son's landscaping business. Does he have to have a permit to even change out seasonal flower beds, extend existing ones or add new beds?

D. TREA, e-mail

A: It's true. Georgia House Bill 285 states that anyone, including landscapers, who is involved with land-disturbing activities must be certified in erosion- and sediment-control practices. There are exemptions for home gardeners and minor land disturbances.

According to Mary Kay Woodworth, executive director of the Metro Atlanta Landscape and Turf Association, "Although seasonal color installation and landscape maintenance may appear to fall into the minor land disturbance category, my opinion (based on conversations with members of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals) is that anyone who uses a shovel and moves dirt needs to be certified." Details at www.gawponline.org.

Q: You recently mentioned 'TifBlair' centipede grass and said you should seed or sod in May. Can I just aerate my fescue lawn and plant the centipede seed or do I have to wipe out the fescue first?

DON MALCOM, Snellville

A: It's lots better to wipe out the fescue first. Centipede grass seedlings are no match for competitively growing fescue. Spray the fescue with glyphosate (Roundup, etc.) in mid-April, wait two weeks to see if anything survived, spray again if necessary, then aerate heavily. Apply 20 pounds of 5-10-15 per 1,000 square feet, then scatter centipede seed and drag the lawn with a big piece of carpet to cover the tiny seed with soil. Put down a total of 1/2 pound of seed per 1,000 square feet. Water lightly as often as regulations allow and pull weeds by hand for four weeks. By that time you should be able to spot seedlings coming up. Fertilize with 6 pounds of 15-0-15 six weeks after planting.

Q: I have a question about the apple, crab apple and pear trees that I planted last year. They did well through the summer and have grown by leaps and bounds. Now that it is almost a year later, what do I need to be doing as far as care? Do I need to spray, fertilize, prune, etc.? Is there some type of calendar I can get to keep me on schedule?

RONNIE HEARD, e-mail

A: There are lots of things you can do to keep fruit trees healthy. Being proactive is your first good step! February is a good time to thoroughly spray trees with horticultural oil. This will suffocate insects overwintering in bark cracks. When the trees bloom, spray with a garden fungicide like daconil. Consider spraying with Green Guard (www.gardensalive.com) when they leaf out. This new product strengthens a fruit tree's natural ability to ward off disease and insects. You can get a complete fruit spray guide at http://xrl.us/SPRAYGUIDE and care factsheets at http://xrl.us/FRUITS.