Americans spend $23 billion a year on gardening. Most is for lawn care; about $8 billion. Next is landscaping; almost $6 billion. Then come flowers, vegetables and insect control for which we used 1.2 billion pounds of insecticides the last year or two, 50 percent more than in 1962. Leaf blowers are a big problem. Beyond noise, they blow dust and dirt around, stir up allergies and spread destructive insects. The small p in pH is a chemical math symbol for "negative logarithm of" and "H" is for hydrogen. Together, pH is the "negative concentration of hydrogen ions in soil or water." Speaking of chemicals, save banana peels. Dried, they provide potassium and phosphorous for roses, vegetables, and houseplants. Undried, on lawns, they catch fleas. And that's the On The House tip for today.