FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF OCT. 2, 2000:
I see some crabgrass rearing its "ugly head" in my lawn. Is there anything that will kill the crabgrass without killing my lawn? There is too much crabgrass to dig up. Can you help me? Bethel Dopf, Cambridge, Idaho
A number of herbicides will kill your crabgrass without killing your lawn, but they’re best applied in the spring before the weeds emerge, says Don Morishita, University of Idaho weed scientist. Benefin, bensulide and pendimethalin–which are often combined with weed-and-feed fertilizers–will all prevent your crabgrass seed from germinating next spring. If you wait until the crabgrass emerges, you can still use DSMA, MSMA, Dimension or Acclaim Extra, but these herbicides work most effectively when applied to small, actively growing plants–not the mature plants that are in your lawn right now.
According to Morishita, gardeners can also control crabgrass with corn gluten meal. Again, you’ll need to apply this corn-milling byproduct in the spring before your crabgrass seedlings emerge, or before soil temperatures reach 55 degrees Fahrenheit. It kills crabgrass by preventing seedlings from forming roots. Corn gluten meal also offers pre-emergent control of dandelions, plantain, common lambsquarters and other weeds.
Once you’ve gotten rid of the crabgrass, prevent recurrences by maintaining a thick, healthy lawn through proper mowing, irrigation and fertilization. "Crabgrass will have a difficult time growing and surviving in a thick turf," Morishita says.
Readers who aren’t sure whether they have crabgrass should look for a light-green, prostrate weed whose finger-like seedheads began projecting in late summer and are continuing until frost. Individual plants have the potential to produce thousands of seeds each.
We recently bought a home that has a small pond in the backyard. The previous owners told us that the water lilies would overwinter. Is there something special we need to do?
Your water lilies are probably hardy varieties, because tropical water lilies will not survive outdoors in Idaho–even in deep ponds, says Michael Colt, University of Idaho extension horticulture specialist. Hardy water lilies can spend the winter on the bottom of the deepest section of any pond that doesn’t freeze solid.
At the end of the growing season–sometime in October–remove the foliage, leaves and stems so they do not decompose in the water. Position the container in the lowest part of the pond.
"There are other ways to overwinter hardy lilies, but before you attempt to do so, either dig your pond deeper or treat the hardy water lilies like annuals and buy new ones every year," Colt says.
On our way to the football game, we like to stop at the deli for some fried chicken. How long can it sit in the car without going bad?
If you buy hot chicken, you’ll need to serve it within two hours, says Sandy McCurdy, University of Idaho extension food safety specialist. Two hours is the longest that perishable foods like chicken can be safely kept at room temperature. If you want to store your fried chicken longer, you’ll need to hold it at or above 140 degrees Fahrenheit or at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. In between those two temperatures, many organisms that cause foodborne illness thrive.
Because thermal containers can’t be counted on to keep chicken at a minimum of 140 degrees, McCurdy recommends buying cold chicken and storing it on ice until half-time.
What should we do with used household batteries? Hauling such tiny items to the hazardous waste collection site seems like a lot of hassle for a little benefit. How much of a problem is it to just slip them into the trash?
Every year, more than 15 billion household batteries are produced and sold worldwide, says pollution-prevention expert Heather Cataldo, program coordinator for Idaho GEMStars. When these batteries are hauled to landfills inside trash bags, earth-moving equipment can easily break them open. That releases the cadmium, lead, lithium, mercury, nickel, silver and corrosive electrolytes inside.
Household batteries can also start leaking on their own, and they can explode when heated or burned.
"People say, ‘What’s one little battery?’–but it all adds up," says Cataldo. "How many are going to be tossed out this year?"
The metals in household batteries can be reclaimed and used in other products. "From the standpoint of environmental protection, recycling batteries is the best alternative," says Cataldo. But finding a recycler to handle them may not be easy, so–at the very least–do save them for a household hazardous waste collection day.
Using rechargeable batteries will increase each battery’s life and reduce the total number of batteries in your household’s waste stream. Environmentally friendly nickel-metal hydride rechargeable batteries are succeeding nickel-cadmium products, which have been banned from landfills.
Where possible, Cataldo recommends simply plugging your appliances into wall outlets–or buying solar-powered products as they hit the market.
[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.]