True story: I was shopping in a garden products aisle when I overheard a customer asking the college-age check-out clerk if corn gluten really kills crabgrass. She paused for a moment, smiled, and nodded in the affirmative.

Based on that simple interaction, the gentleman added two bags to his cart, along with four bags of synthetic, high-nitrogen fertilizer.

A little knowledge could have saved the buyer a few dollars and a lot of crabgrass disappointment down the line.

His impulse to try an organic approach is encouraging, but a quick Internet search shows that corn gluten is very difficult to use effectively.

Furthermore, if he applied the fertilizer on that late March weekend, he might as well have tossed his money down the storm drain. Fertilizer shouldn’t be applied until forsythia is in full bloom, when soil temperatures are reliably above 50 degrees, usually around the second to third week of April.

Before then, it isn’t well absorbed by soil and plants. During heavy rain, it runs off.

This brief encounter illustrates a larger problem. The particulars of lawn and plant care were never simple, but the parade of modern products makes it harder.

Should land care be part of high school education, like driver’s ed or cooking class? Perhaps, but as far as I’m aware it isn’t.

Instead, much of our land care education comes from the companies whose products change the soil and push grass to new heights. The news can be as confusing as the latest university press release on weight loss.

The confusion affects both synthetic chemical and organic products.

Unfortunately, confusion can lead to misuse. Best practices can be hard to get across, and habits are hard to change.

Take, for instance, the practice of building mulch “volcanoes” around the trunks of newly planted trees.

“It’s hard to believe we still see trees and shrubs encompassed in mulch volcanoes,” said Nancy DuBrule-Clemente, owner of Natureworks Garden Center and Landscape Services in Northford. “Mulch should never touch the trunk,” she said, “but people are still surprised when we offer that advice with their plant purchases.”

Mulch not only rots the bark but encourages finely-netted roots to develop on the trunk, she said. Voles can also burrow into the mulch and strip the bark.

Given all the forces that harm trees these days, it seems a shame that we should inflict a few more for the sake of appearances.

“The right information has been available for many years,” DuBrule-Clemente adds. “People think that if professionals are doing it, it must be correct.”

Other practices should be largely banished. Rototilling, for instance, helps weed seeds germinate. It also disturbs soil structure, which is very important for plant health as well as prevention of erosion.

Grass clippings should be allowed to decay in place. A bag of grass clippings is as valuable as a bag of fertilizer on the lawn.

Leaf removal is counterproductive and energy-intensive. Shredded leaves are a great source of plant-nurturing compost and mulch.

If you’re ready to “up” your land care game, one way is to make a commitment to new learning. Here’s the good news: Local and online learning opportunities are many.

Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station offers free soil tests and advises on weeds, plant diseases, wildlife, pollinators, ticks, and other insects from offices in New Haven and Windsor.

• The extension specialists at UConn Home and Garden Center provide multiple sources of public education and individual assistance, such as land care, plant care, insects, pests, and food safety. They also have offices in Norwich, Haddam, and North Haven.

• UConn Extension offers the Master Gardener, Advanced Master Gardener, Master Composter, and Coastal Landscaping for Clean Water classes.

• Connecticut College Arboretum offers public tours and hands-on workshops.

• If you’re looking for the right landscape plants, use the UConn Plant Database or the Connecticut Botanical Society for native wildflowers. If you want an organic lawn, the Northeast Organic Farming Association offers classes.

• For local reporting by local experts, and all the local landscape events, see Connecticut Gardener magazine.

• In other words, keep learning. It may be a good time to contemplate something Thomas Jefferson said towards the end of his life, “But though an old man, I am but a young gardener.”

We can’t all be great statesmen and women, but we can be youthfully open-minded when it comes to earth care.

Kathy Connolly is a landscape designer, writer, and speaker from Old Saybrook. See her speaking schedule or contact her at www.SpeakingofLandscapes.com.