In the Garden

Q: My roses are looking diseased and lots of leaves are falling off. Will cutting back now help to make them attractive again?

A: This wet spring has made roses highly susceptible to black spot. This is a fungus disease that begins with spotted leaves that soon turn yellow. In severe infestations most of the leaves fall off, leaving the shrub bare and unsightly.

It cant hurt to cut the rose back by a third. Hopefully that will stimulate the buds at nodes just below the cut to put out new growth. Feed your rose with a mix of alfalfa meal and organic rose food. Make sure your rose has adequate water, but use care not to wet new leaves or they will likely become infected with black spot as well.

As a precaution, spray the new growth weekly during rainy weather with environmentally friendly neem oil, available at nurseries and garden centers. If all goes well, the leaves will grow back and your rose will put on a nice display of blooms by fall.

Consider replacing your susceptible variety with a Knock Out rose. These roses are tested and only those varieties that are highly resistant ever reach the market. They lack fragrance, but they make up for it with attractive disease-free foliage and practically nonstop flowering all summer long.

Q: Ive noticed swarms of little moths hovering over my lawn and lots of small brown, dead spots are appearing. Are the two related?

A: There are a lot of possible causes for brown spots in a lawn, but the fact that youve noticed numerous moths above the lawn makes it likely that your lawn is infested with sod webworm.

The troublemakers are the offspring of the moths, -t o 1-inch-long caterpillars that hide in silken tunnels during the day and then come out at night to chew grass blades off at the base.

Just to be sure webworms are causing the damage, examine the grass. If you see silken tunnels and green frass (polite word for pelletlike bug poop) your lawn has a sod-webworm infestation.

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Q&A: Dealing with rose black spot and sod webworm

CHARLES CITY As with everything involved in farming, this story begins with a dream and a bit of seed.

The seed is grass, not all that different from that used at the famous Field of Dreams only a couple hours from here.

On that farm, the fictional Ray Kinsella planted grass for a baseball field because he knew if you build it, they will come.

Near here, Mark Kuhn planted grass for a tennis court, much like those at the legendary All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, home of the most-famous tennis tournament in the world.

But, the thing to remember is the fictional Kinsella and the real Kuhn are both farmers, and they planted the seed because they each had a dream.

This used to be a feedlot when I was a kid, Kuhn says as he walks across the tennis court on his farm. We had cattle grazing on this part, he says with a sweep of his arm, and my sisters horse, Chico, on that side.

But, the dream started when Kuhn fell in love with tennis. He can still recall sitting with his grandfather as the two found a BBC broadcast of the Wimbledon tourney on a short-wave radio in 1962.

Kuhn grew up, went to college, married and started a family and moved back to the family farm. He became a leader in his community and served in the Legislature for more than a decade.

However, in 2001 a neighbor and friend, Peter Bjelica, suddenly died.

It reminded me that life is short, Kuhn says. I talked to my wife, Denise, and said it was time to do it.

Read more:
Farmer serves up whimsical replica grass court

CHIEFTAIN PHOTO/CHRIS MCLEAN Sprinklers are having to work overtime to keep grass green in recent very hot temperatures, but the water board is not going to restrict watering.

Other cities in the West ration water, use block rates to discourage water waste and even pay property owners to rip out sod.

Pueblo does none of those things, and a couple of people who attended last weeks state water plan meeting at Pueblo Community College wondered why.

Its driven by economics, said Terry Book, executive director of the Pueblo Board of Water Works. Using less water drives up rates. That puts more of a burden on poorer customers. Its a complex question.

For years, the Pueblo water board has seen a decrease in water use that began after the city put outdoor watering restrictions in place following the 2002 drought.

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Water board leaves lawns alone

For the first time in more than 40 years, Sun Bowl Stadium will have live, fresh and all-natural grass.

The grass will be ready for Sunday's soccer exhibition game between Club Deportivo Guadalajara, known as Chivas in Mexico, and Brazil's Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. The game starts at 8 p.m.

Installation of the 1.5-inch thick grass began at 6 p.m. Wednesday and should be finished by the end of today, University of Texas at El Paso officials said. Precision Turf LLC out of Georgia is handling the installation.

It took 30 trucks to haul the 90,000 square feet of Bermuda grass from Gardner Turf in Santa Teresa to Sun Bowl Stadium.

The grass is being placed over the AstroPlay turf that is already installed in the Sun Bowl. A protective geo-turf cover will be laid in between the artificial turf and the natural grass, said Jorge Vasquez, UTEP's special events director.

The last time the stadium's playing surface was made out of grass was in 1973. The next year, AstroTurf was installed and in 2001 the new synthetic AstroPlay was installed.

The cost of the grass is estimated at more than $100,000 and it is being paid for by Soccer United Marketing, which is an affiliate of Major League Soccer.

Soccer United spokeswoman Marisabel Muoz said that grass is just a better playing surface for soccer.

"We seek the best option natural grass or FIFA approved turf for the elite clubs and national teams we host," Muoz said. "Therefore, natural grass will be brought in."

Vasquez said the grass is easier on players' knees and ankles.

Read more from the original source:
UTEP Sun Bowl gets grass for Sunday's Chivas soccer match

glen rock gazette file photo

The Glen Rock Board of Education is discussing the possibility of adding lights to the Glen Rock High School all-purpose field, which was renovated in 2012.

The possible installation of lights at the Glen Rock High School all-purpose field emerged at the Board of Education's June 23 public meeting.

In a new element of talks principally aimed at the improvement of girls softball fields at Coleman Elementary School, the high school lighting tie-in was broached last week by trustees in tandem with a natural grass solution at Coleman, rather than the previously contemplated $1.2 million synthetic surface there.

The new alternative was recommended to the BOE Operations Committee by district Superintendent Paula Valenti, with the support of Athletic Director Frank Violante, according to committee chair Elizabeth Carr.

Officials emphasized that should such a proposal move forward, it would not materialize until the summer of 2015, following full BOE analysis and public outreach and input beginning in the fall, notably involving residents who live in the immediate vicinity of the high school field.

BOE President Sheldon Hirschberg said his hope is that at the next BOE meeting on July 7, "We can vote on a way forward on our fields. There are two topics here: We need to fix the Coleman Field, and our administration is (also) strongly in favor of putting lights at our football (all-purpose) field."

Having called for the June 23 discussion in a prior email to board members, Hirschberg said, "I think this is the kind of issue that deserves the (full board's) attention. I'm not asking for a vote tonight because I think we should first put this in the public domain, so that residents who are for or opposed to it can reach out to any and all of us."

Officials supporting the idea cited the improvement at Coleman, the expanded scheduling capacity at the high school venue, and the cost. The high school lighting was estimated at $300,000 to $350,000. Combined with $427,000 already in the district's capital budget based on the original plan to sod Coleman, the two projects would top out far below the synthetic turf alternative alone - an amount that would revert to the district's capital reserve, according to Business Administrator/Board Secretary Michael Rinderknecht.

Carr kicked off the June 23 discussion, noting that while she had previously supported the synthetic turf option, the multiple benefits, natural grass solution and financial aspect of the new alternative proposed by the district administrators changed her mind.

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Lights at Glen Rock High School field added to options

Houston, TX (PRWEB) June 30, 2014

On July 7th, 2014 the Fresh Patch Company will start offering a completely biodegradable product. The Company will use a new technology to manufacture the leak-proof containers it uses to house and ship hydroponic dog-potty grass nation-wide. As a result, the Fresh Patch containers will be totally biodegradable and recyclable because no wax coating will be needed to create a moisture barrier. The new technology will give us the impermeability of a wax coating, without the environmental drawbacks, says Company President, Andrew Feld.

We were seeking a high-tech, biodegradable container to match our technologically superior hydroponic grass, says the Company. Unlike conventional sod, hydropically grown grass is lighter-weight, longer-lasting, dirt-free and highly absorbent. Now, we will be offering a container that is also technologically superiorjust like our grass.

According to the Fresh Patch Company, fruit and vegetable suppliers are also likely to start adopting the new technology to manufacture containers for shipping perishable items. Were at the forefront of a new eco-friendly trend in packaging and shipping, says the Company. By offering 100 percent biodegradable, disposable dog potties, we expect to attract many new customers who have environmental concerns. Our disposable dog potties are already 99 percent natural grass. Now, our biodegradable containers will be as green as our grass.

The Fresh Patch biodegradable, disposable dog potty units are intended for dogs up to 25 pounds. The Company also offers 2x4 feet hydroponic grass pads for larger dogs. More information can be found on the Fresh Patch website http://www.freshpatch.com.

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Fresh Patch Company Offers Completely Biodegradable and Recyclable Dog Potty

Francis Tiafoe literally grew up around tennis, often spending nights at a Maryland tennis center where his father worked. At only 16, he is ranked number two in the world. Could a future U.S. champion be in the making? (Lee Powell / The Washington Post)

WIMBLEDON Francis Tiafoes introduction to Wimbledon couldnt have been more fitting.

Scheduled to open play Saturday afternoon in the Junior Championships, as Wimbledons tournament for 18-and-under players is known, Tiafoe arrived at the practice courts for a 12:30 p.m. warmup just as it started raining.

After the skies cleared, he trudged back to the practice court, but the skies opened again before he hit the first ball.

Finally, after whiling away the afternoon in the junior players lounge listening to music, reminding himself to drink water and guessing how much to eat, Tiafoe was informed that his first-round match had been postponed until Monday, along with several dozen other matches, because of scheduling havoc wreaked by the weather.

You see it so much on TV, the rain delays at Wimbledon, Tiafoe said. This was the first time I experienced one. Its not easy, but youve got to stay focused and be ready to go.

Tiafoe, of Riverdale Park, has spent most of his 16 years in a tennis bubble, having picked up the game at 5 while his father worked as a maintenance man at College Parks Junior Tennis Champions Center. But he had never set foot on a grass court or owned a pair of grass-court shoes with pimpled soles until two weeks ago, when he and a contingent from the JTCC flew to London to compete in a Wimbledon tuneup at nearby Roehampton.

Frank Salazar, the centers director of high-performance training, prepared the youngsters Tiafoe, 16-year-old Raveena Kingsley and the Arconada siblings, Usue, 15, and Jordi, 17 for the quirks of grass-court tennis as best he could. All earned spots in Wimbledons 64-player boys and girls draws.

Salazar warned them that the ball wouldnt bounce as high, so they needed to bend their knees and stay low to the ground. He advised them to shorten their backswings to quicken their reaction time. And then he let them hit just for fun to get a feel for it, and then in a more structured way.

As the No. 7 seed here, Tiafoe is finding out that competing on grass is something he must learn by doing, with a racket in hand and sod underfoot.

The rest is here:
Francis Tiafoe masters the Wimbledon rain delay; playing on grass is next

Two garden vignettes at the Water Conservation Garden show a dramatic difference in water use. One has traditional turf; the other uses hardscape, low-water plants and a small lawn area.

Theres never been a better time to consider replacing traditional turf with a water-wise landscape.

Consider these factors:

The entire state is in the throes of a severe drought.

The cost of water continues to escalate; our water rates will rise another 15 percent by the end of 2015.

And, the good news: There currently are two programs that offer rebates for turf removal to San Diego County residents.

The drought cycles and rising water costs are nothing new, yet most of us have been reluctant to let go of our green expanses of lawn. Pam Meisner, education director at the Water Conservation Garden, is among conservationists who are working to change our perceptions.

San Diego doesnt look like an arid Mediterranean climate because we dont want it to, she says. We want it to look like Hawaii.

Meisners colleague, Clayton Tschudy, who is horticulture director at the garden, believes that a Mediterranean landscape can be just as beautiful. By choosing the right plants, for example, you can have blooms all year long.

You dont have to put cactus in your yard to have drought-tolerant plants, says Tschudy. We have all manner of plants that are adapted to our climate: beautiful, soft, flowy grasses; beautiful evergreen shrubs; shrubs with color; trees with color; deciduous trees that give you fall color; vines everything is possible.

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Get off the grass

Entire Front Yard a Beach

Dale and Kathleen Rhodes, with their and son Shelby Rhodes, 15, right, enjoy their 'Beach Front Yard.' The Lido Key residents used some 20 tons of sand to turn the entire front yard into a beach, complete with umbrella, shells, beach balls, colorful chairs and Jimmy Buffett music.

LIDO KEY - In a residential neighborhood off Lido Beach, the streets are named after presidents, but the yards run every which way.

There are grass yards and gravel yards. Mulch yards and paved yards. Brick yards and shell yards.

Then theres the sand box with a picket fence on Grant Drive.

Its more like a sand dune, with a pair of palms and a small mound supporting beach chairs and a colorful umbrella. Stepping stones lead to a seashell corner. Plastic pails and inflatable beach balls complete the scene.

People come by and go, Youve got to be kidding me, says Dale Rhodes. Every day, somebody takes a picture of this. Every day.

Rhodes laughs. People are supposed to get a kick out of his yard. That was the whole idea four years ago.

I told my wife, I can see it, I can see it in my head, he says. Shes like, You want to do what?

Street life

Continued here:
Steps from Lido beach itself, a beach scene front yard

GLENPOOL, Oklahoma -

Oklahoma is getting some much needed rain and farmers are loving it, local sod farmers said the rain of the past few days helps them grow healthier grass, they hope, will survive our intense summer heat.

Crews delivered fresh sod this spring to Guthrie Green and it's holding up pretty well, thanks to the wet weather. Farmers who grow sod said the rain helps, but it's still not enough to get us out of a drought.

Slow and steady, rain keeps falling on Green Country, and sod farmers said it's exactly what the grass needed.

Charles Rumbaugh manages Easton Sod's store in Glenpool, where pallets were stacked with grass and ready to roll out on to lawns.

Bermuda grass, which Rumbaugh said is Tulsa's most popular, should be able to thrive in the wet conditions.

"All the Bermuda should be healthy, because there's a lot of moisture in the ground, a lot of good rain to start it into the growing season, which makes it real healthy," he said.

Rumbaugh said the rain is going to keep the grass greener when the temperatures heat up.

"See how thick this cut is, that's showing the depth and the thickness of the root system, that's healthy. Before it would be real thin, falling apart, because of there wasn't enough moisture deep for the roots to go deep," Rumbaugh said.

Farmers said the heavy rain will also help the grass better prepare for the winter months.

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Green Country Sod Farmers Happy With Recent Rain