FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF SEPT. 3, 2000:
My lawn is infested with annual bluegrass. How can I keep it from getting so bad that I have to renovate the lawn?
Your best bet is to make some changes in your regular lawn maintenance practices, advises Don Morishita, University of Idaho extension weed scientist.
For example, take advantage of the fact that turfgrasses can defend themselves against drought by slipping into dormancy, while annual bluegrass cannot. Try parching annual bluegrass out of your lawn by watering deeply at the first sign of drought stress—not before. Wet, but do not saturate, the root zone to 1 inch below the bottom of the root system.
You can also try shading out annual bluegrass by raising the cutting height of your mower. Cutting low favors annual bluegrass, while cutting higher allows turfgrass to outcompete the weed. Remove grass clippings to reduce seed numbers: an individual plant of annual bluegrass can produce more than 360 viable seeds!
Avoid early spring nitrogen applications, which encourage annual bluegrass. Instead, apply a complete fertilizer in the fall or later in the spring.
Because annual bluegrass is well adapted to compacted soils, anything you can do to avoid soil compaction will give the turfgrass an edge. Use a lightweight mower, and aerate as often as feasible—but don’t aerate while the weed is germinating unless you can follow aeration with a preemergence herbicide. Annual bluegrass starts germinating in late summer as soon as soil temperatures at the 4-inch depth drop below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on the severity of winter, it can germinate into late fall or winter.
Several herbicides are registered for annual bluegrass control in turf, including Dimension, Prograss, Barricade, Team and others. Most should be applied before annual bluegrass germinates. "When using herbicides, it’s very important to learn as much about the product as possible and always apply it according to label instructions," Morishita says.
We have very tall ceilings and would rather not change light bulbs several times a year. Should we consider switching to the new compact fluorescent tubes?
Definitely, says pollution-prevention expert Heather Cataldo, program coordinator for Idaho GEMStars. Not only do the new compact fluorescent tubes last up to 10 times as long as incandescent bulbs—an estimated 10,000 hours or 6.8 years—but they’ll slash your light bill to a fraction of its size.
The compact fluorescents—which can generally be screwed into the same sockets as incandescent bulbs—are substantially more expensive to buy, but they’re far less costly to run. According to the Alliance to Save Energy, a 100-watt incandescent bulb costs only 75 cents initially, while a comparable 23-watt compact fluorescent will set you back $11.00. But three years later, you’ll have changed that incandescent bulb five times and spent altogether $39.54 operating that fixture, while the compact fluorescent alternative will have cost $19.06 and still have 3.8 more years to go!
If that’s not enough reason, the compact fluorescent tubes will also keep your air-conditioning costs from overheating because—unlike incandescents—they don’t waste 90 percent of their energy as heat.
Today’s newer compact fluorescents are practically indistinguishable from incandescents in light quality, Cataldo says, although some do take longer to reach full brightness. "For people concerned about energy efficiency, they’re the way to go."
When is the best time in fall to plant spring flowering bulbs?
Delay planting until soil temperatures have fallen below 60 degrees Fahrenheit, but give the bulbs as much time as you can to put down sufficient roots before the soil freezes, says David Maas, University of Idaho extension educator.
Because it will supply tops with nutrients and water come spring, a well-developed root system is critical, Maas says. So is allowing a 10-13 week chilling period while soil temperatures are below 40 degrees Fahrenheit: without it, bulbs don’t initiate flowering.
Once you’ve planted your bulbs, cover the bed with 2-3 inches of mulch to prevent frost heaving. Don’t forget to water during the fall if the bed becomes dry.
As the blooms fade in the spring, remove the flower stems with a hand pruner but let the foliage die naturally. The foliage produces stored nutrients for the following year. To provide some color in the bare spots, interplant with annuals.
Some of my home-canned jars did not seal. Can I safely re-can them, and how can I make sure they seal this time?
If you discover the unsealed jar within 24 hours of canning, you can safely re-can the food, says Sandra McCurdy, University of Idaho extension food safety specialist.
Remove the lid, check the jar sealing surface for tiny nicks, change the jar if necessary, add a new treated lid and reprocess using the same processing time. McCurdy attributes imperfect seals to a half-dozen causes:
[READERS: Do you have a question about your home, yard or garden? Send it to HomeWise, University of Idaho Ag Communications, Moscow, ID 83844-2332 or e-mail it to homewise@uidaho.edu. Mention of proprietary products or firms does not constitute endorsement by the University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System or imply approval to the exclusion of other suitable products or firms.]