The Portland Flower Show, as the people who watch it regularly predicted, was more crowded this morning than opening day Thursday.

All of the gardens are holding up well. And people are still buying.

I dropped by the Master Gardener and Extension children's garden on the second floor and got to talk with Dr. Bud Johnston, whose radio gardening show I still miss after what is about 10 years.

I missed it yesterday, but Allen, Sterling and Lothrop has a vegetable seed stand right next to the Master Gardener area on the second floor.

I spoke to Gary Fish of the Maine Yardscaping Project and the Maine Board of Pesticide Control and told him I would be leaving his lecture a bit earlier so I wouldn't go from 10 a.m. to about 4 p.m. without posting on this Flower Show blog.

Fish, being self-deprecating, said I know most of what he would be talking about. He either overestimated my knowledge or underestimated how much the lawn-growing information has changed since I last listened to him.

Yes, I know that you should mow the lawn at least 3 inches high, change your mowing patterns, never use a weed-and-feed and let the clippings lie.

But new information to me includes: If you have a lawn that is more than 10 inches tall and don't rake or bag your lawn clippings, you don't need to fertilize your lawn at all. For newer lawns, fertilize only in September and use a nitrogen-only fertilizer, with a rating of something like 10-0-0, with no phosphorous or potassium.

Thatch has nothing to do with leaving clippings on the lawn. That is roots and crowns of dying grass, and if you don't fertilize too much, you won't get thatch.

Like Paul Tukey yesterday, Fish urged people to use clover in their lawn mix.

This makes the most sense, and I wish I had thought of it myself. Keep some high-quality perennial ryegrass seed on hand to seed areas where you have pulled out weeds. Ryegrass is not good for the entire lawn -- it should be mostly turf-type tall and fine-leaf fescues -- but because of its quick sprouting, it is ideal for filling in bare spots on your lawn. Those include areas where you have pulled out weeds. And the quick-sprouting ryegrass will prevent new weeds from coming in where you pulled out the old weeds.

So, that is what I picked up in the early morning. I will pick up information on growing fruit trees and grapes in a couple of lectures for the rest of the day and post again sometime around 4 p.m.

And I will be at the Press Herald booth, right near the flower show entrance, from 1 to 3 p.m. Drop by and tell me you read my invitation in this blog. The show is at 58 Fore St., right at the base of Munjoy Hill.

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