Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Jan. 27, 1994, edition 1 / Page 13
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On A Quest For The Perfect Lawn; Secrets Revealed !. Do you want to have the best looking lawn in the neighborhood? 2. Do any imperfections (small weeds, off-color grasses, or small bare ground areas) in your lawn dri ve you crazy? 3. Do you demand perfection of your lawn? 4. Do moles, ants, insects, snakes and other critters digging or playing in your landscape disturb you? 5. Is working 8 hours to 12 hours a week on your lawn your idea of having fun? 6. Do you exhibit an obsessive compulsive behavior concerning your lawn? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you may want continue reading to find out the "se cret to the perfect lawn" in south eastern North Carolina. But beware, a perfect lawn can lie hazardous to your pocketbook. The "Secret" of a Perfect Lawn The road to a perfect lawn is paved with work, and the very first step is choosing the best adapted grass for your location. According to comments from readers and my own observations, the perfect lawn should be dark green, fine-textured, uniform (in col or and texture), have no bare spots, weeds or noxious critters (such as fire ants), look beautiful year-round, and require little maintenance. If ar tificial turf is ruled out, then that leaves us with the following lawn grasses. Our guidelines would eliminate centipede and carpet grasses (too yellow-green, too coarse-textured), St. Augustine (too coarse-textured), bahia (too coarse and difficult to mow), and common bermuda grass (too invasive). None of the coo! sea won nrnvcnv foirh ;is Krntnrkv ?,, o , ^ Bluegrass. tall fescue, fine fascine, bent grass, or perennial rye grass) are acceptable for a year-round lawn in eastern North Carolina due to dis ease susceptibility and poor toler ance of summer heat. The only warm season grasses re maining are hybrid bermuda and zoysia. Only these grasses will pro duce a "perfect" lawn based upon our guidelines. THE PLANT DOCTOR C. BRUCE WILLIAMS Extension Area 'w* e r?_ . f Mf/ J/ZCIHUUI Hybrid hermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) cultivars adapted tor lawn use include Tifton 419. Tifway or Tifway II. Tifton 328. Tifgreen, and Tifdwarf are also super quality culti vars of hermuda grass hut require even more maintenance and are slightly more prone to winter dam age. All hermuda grasses, common or hybrid, can be killed by prolonged exposure to winter weather, frequent heavy late spring frosts, poor soil fertility, improper mowing height, insects, diseases, nematodes, exces sive wear, shade or a combination of any of the above. Shade is especially tough on hermuda grass because the plant is slowly weakened and thinned out before being overtaken by a disease or insect problem. Bermuda grass is also susceptible to cold damage, and in light of the re cent arctic freeze we encountered. I am certain to see many cold-related "dead" spots in lawns and golf courses in April and May. The zoysia grasses (Zoysia sp.) are more cold-tolerant and shade tolerant but have other problems the bermudas do not. Common cultivars available include Meyer (aka Z-52 or Amazoy) Emerald, Cashmire and El Toro. Emerald and Cashmire are thr finest and are consid ered to be the finest of the fine. Emerald has demonstrated greater disease tolerance than Cashmire in cultivar variety trials. Meyer is slightly more coarse textured than Emerald. El-Toro is a new variety from California that looks very much like Meyer but grows as rapidly as hermuda grass. All cultivars of hybrid hermuda and zoysia uia.ss should be PiiCWCu Girl Scouts Kick Off Cookie Sale Local Girl Scouts kicked off their annual cookie sale last Saturday with the 1994 Cookie Rally at Camp Pretty Pond's Pine Lodge at Boil ing Spring Lakes. More than KM) scouts and leaders gathered at the camp to get in the spirit for this year's campaign. Troops performing various songs, cheers and skits included Troop 735 of Long Beach, Troop 936 of Shallotte, Troop 870 of Shallotte, Brownie Troop 186 of Boiling Spring Lakes, Troop 833 of Long Beach, Troop 124 of Bolivia and Troop 227 of Winnabow. Cookies cost S2.50 per box. Varieties include thin mints, shortbread, peanut butter patties, peanut butter sandwich, caramel delights (formerly Samoas), lemon pastry cremes and a new cookie called strawberries 'n creme. Girl Scouts will continue taking orders through Feb. 6. Cookies will be delivered between Feb. 26 and March 18. For more information, call Karen Prine, service unit cookie manager, at 910-845-2483. Reunion Planned Cloggers Compete Feb. 19 The Columbus County Cloggers non-members. Additional fees are will host a "Hog Wild '94" members charged for mini-competitions. Valentine's Day theme party Satur- For more information contact day. Feb. 19, in Whitevjlle for the limmy Watson at 910-371-6291. North Carolina Clogging Council Inc. Held at the N.C. National CJuard The Acme-Delco High School Armory on N.C. 130 West, the party Class of 1974 will meet to plan its will feature exhibitions, mountain 20th year class reunion on Feb. 19. dancing, line dances, a mini-work- The meeting will take place at 6 shop and mini-competitions that are p.m. at Sandpiper Seafood and Steak preliminaries for state clogging House in Leland. All members are competition. being asked to attend and to RSVP General admission is SI for cur- by Feb. 14 to Lynda Nichols Young rent council members and S3 for at 371-1554. Shailotte Moose Lodge #710 Talent Show Fahrnoni C /I ? nm ? VWIUUI J W, "T.WW Tickets $5.00 each ? On sale now at Shaiioiie Mouse Luuye, wiusic Sua or at the door (if available) Holden Beach Road ? Shailotte For more information call 754-2786 If ERR NOTICE /TW #m Drug Stores t\ Drug Stores We regret to inform our customers that a misprint in our January 26th through January 30th circular on page 4 lists the following 4 price points as being OFF instead of EACH. We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers. 1. Aspen Cologne Spray for Men 2oz. 7.99-?FT Should read EACH 2. Empire Angle Brooms #62-2498 2.49-OFF Should read EACH 3. Empire Economy Sponge Mops #32-2494 2.97 -OFF Should read EACH 4 Empire Dust Mop #32-3901 2.99 OFF Should read EACH at three-quarters of an inch to one inch at least one to three times a week with a reel-type mower during the growing season. Rotary mowers cannot cut grass closer than one inch without excessive scalping. Healthy zoysia grass can be stirred and "beaten down" but not cut with the average rotary mower. Never cut more than 30 percent of the leaf blade off with any mowing (this applies to all grasses) because this routine defoliation will weaken the stand and make your lawn more prone to disease and insect infesta tion. A modern, well-designed irriga tion system is an absolute require ment for the perfect lawn. Without irrigation a hybrid bermuda grass or zoysia grass law n will look no better (and may look worse) than your neighbors' yards. Plan on applying one-half inch to one inch of irrigation water per week during Ihe summer In s;indv soils, the application of one-half inch of water every two or three days may be required during the peak summer months. Optimum time for application of irrigation wa ter is during the early morning. A late afternoon syringing (a brief irri gation of 5 minutes to 10 minutes) may be necessary in very sandy soils il'.iring extreme heat (above l? de grees Fahrenheit). Hybrid bermuda grass must be fertilized often to maintain the vigor, color and texture required of a per fect lawn. Using a fertilizer like 15 5-10 or 16-4-8 (containing a slow release form of nitrogen), apply five to seven pounds per 1.000 square feet every four to six weeks begin ning in April and continuing until the first of September. Zoysia grass requires the same type of fertilizer but less. Apply live pounds of lo-4 X (or equivalent) per I.(MM) square feet in April. June and August. Remember thai your soii must have the proper base fertility anil soil pi I to receive optimum results from these recommendations. Soil lest kits and a soil analysis can be obtained free from any North Carolina Cooperative Extension of fice. Healthy, vigorous lawns of hybrid bermuda grass and /.oysia grass grow. This means your iawn wili ac cumulate thatch. Thatch is a layer of dead organic matter between the soil and the living mat of turf grass. Grass clippings do not significantly contribute to thatch huild-up; rather, the clippings are just an accumula tion of dead stems and roots pro duced by healthy grass. In order to maintain the perfect lawn, plan to core aerify and/or ver ticut your lawn every two years to remove excessive thatch (although annual verticutting and aerification is preferred). If thatch is not re moved. healthy stands of hybrid hermuda or /oysia grass are quickly (within two to four years) thinned by disease, insects, drought and cold weather. Verticutting and aerifica tion are best performed during the growing season (May through Sepii: 11 lit-1) when ilie law n tail rapidly recover from this harsh culti vation practice. Weed, insect, disease and pest (critter) management practices may be required for the perfect lawn even it you have done everything else |iist right. Stay tuned for more on managing the "perfect law n". Send your garden questions ami comment* to Tlte Plant Doctor. P.O. liox I()'), Bolivia, N.C. 2X422. r BOB JOHNSON BRUNSWICK ^ FURNITURE DOCTOR WOODCRAFTER "Quality Furniture Restoration" Repairs ? Staining ? Refinishing Custom Pieces ? Mirror Resilvering 6900 Ocean Hwy., Hwy. 17 S. (North of 904 Crossroad) 579-0944 a Why not send a Balloon-A-Gram? BIRTHDAY BOUQUETS ? THANK YOU GET WELL ? HAPPY ANNIVERSARY GOURMET COFFEE & MUGS . _ SINGING TELEGRAMS & PHOTOS TAKEN ? . * Now taking ^ JJOUQUCl^ Valentine orders! o/io occh 7 DAYS A WEEK 0^lfc_OD\) I s/ "THEY FLOAT A LONG TIME" fiese?CLes! | ? w mJ&? u Whole Bottom Rounds $139 ?" Hn'dt.t.m SoWr ???? Choim)*?x ?<?? Lb. Sliced FREE! 20 Lb. Avg. USDA Inspected Untrimmed Florida "Packaged" Temple Oranges/ "Packaged" Scedles Navel Oranges Chicken Thighs Lb. Tyson/Holly Farms Grade A Small & Jumbo Pack Western Anjou Pears 79 <5 Lb. Kiwi Fruit o> m TVson/HoIly Farms ? USDA Inspected Beef Grade A Split | *3v| Bottom RoundjC^ ? i Chicken Breasts -L ? ^Lb. Roast#^% ? Lh A'enspecled 2 49,? ^,$1.50,^ LD. Round Roasts ? ^ Lb. -V\^f Jls Rib-End ^ ^ n New Crop (-| PRIME PSfest & 2.59Lb Pecans 3.99 Thr prmr nh c4 j**i r iliei LAJ. 10.5 Oz. Microwave Orville Redenbacher' rupuui ii All flavors 12 Pack/12 Oz. Cans #AT//?fl 6 Oz. All Flavors Food Lion T*^ Lay's ^ -j , . ? 12" All Flavors Gold. Potato Chips Tombstone Re $3.?9 Each % Original Pizzas 99 \ $2.09 %> ? BMCOBM ag 31.39 Mi 14.5 Oz. With Peanuts L 24 Pack/12 Oz Cans 'thisad1 Pi pntPr'Q repsi. 7-Up. Mtn. Dew, Diet A ImIIIVI O (SA) Mtn. Dew Mixed Nuts j&3 Pepsi Cola $099 % $595 F^]3M lEK5^ 2 Liter - Pepsi. n v Jp Ml. IVw _ _ & Dirt 1. 15 good ;dn Wednesday, Jan. 26 thru Tues., Feb. 1, 1994. We Reserve The Right To Limit Quantities. ?o~
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Jan. 27, 1994, edition 1
13
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