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Show Cope With By Melvin S. Burninghan USU Extension area Horticulturist Probably nothing enhances the appearance of our communities com-munities more than thrifty, well-kept lawns. We have a lot of them, but we also have some lawn problems. In hot summer weather we most often see a problem of a burned appearance in lawns resulting from drought. You can go down the streets and see about a third of the lawns that have drought problems caused by insufficient or improper irrigation. irri-gation. Soon after fertilizing you will probably need to water your lawn about every four or five days, and then as the grass becomes semiJormant in the summer, once a week may be plenty often. This will vary with types of soil. Gravely or sandy soil will require more frequent irrigation than clay soil. Some lawns just look unthrifty. unthrif-ty. Often this is a result of mowing too close. The only time we suggest mowing close is the first cutting in the spring. At that time you can lower the cutter bar on your mowing machine down to one-half to three-fourths of an inch to cut off all the old dead stuff. But after that first cutting, if you want a really healthy looking look-ing lawn, raise the cutter bar to about two inches. Leave it that way the rest of the summer and mow frequently. Some people have the idea that they won't have to mow so often if they really scalp the lawn each time they mow. They lower the cutter bar to about a half-inch. That reduces the vitality of the greas and encourages the weeds to grow. In hot weather, avoid throwing throw-ing your grass into shock by letting it get up so high that you cut too much off all at once. When you cut down below the portion of the grass that has been exposed to the sun, you cut into new tender material. mater-ial. Then the sun bleaches and burns the part that hasn't had a chance to toughen. We suggest that if you plan to let your grass be two inches high, mow just an inch off when it's three inches high. That may mean more frequent mowing than you anticipated, anti-cipated, but you can let the short clippings filter down "HERE IT IS.1 FIRE Lawn Problems in Community through the greas and won't have to catch or rake them. In fact, leaving short clippings on the lawn helps put a mulch on the soil surface to keep the lawn cool. Weeds present another very common lawn problem in the community. They thrive best when improper mowing, poor fertilization and other environmental environ-mental conditions encourage them and discourage the desired grass. Sometimes they are unintentionally planted by planting seed that has the undesirable unde-sirable plants in it. Weeds come in many shapes. That's understandable since a weed is any plant growing where you don't want it, whether it's a broad-leafed annual, an-nual, such as the common dandelion, dan-delion, or a broad-leafed course bunch grass such as Tall Feasce. Some lawn weeds may require special attention such as grubbing out or spraying with the proper weed killer. But most of the weed problems will diminish by following these three important management steps for lawn care: (1) fertilize ferti-lize heavily to promote a good thick turf; (2) water thoroughly thorough-ly and not too often; and (3) clip high and often. In fertilizing, remember that lawn grasses require a high nitrogen fertilizer. Nitrogen is the first big number you notice on the fertilizer bag. Phosphate is the second and potash the third. A soil sample sent to the Utah State University Soils Laboratory will indicateyany deficiencies in phosphate. Most Utah soils already have plenty of potash. So look for fertilizers with the biggest number at the front. You see some lawns turn yellow yel-low from putting too much nitrogen on, especially during hot weather. If you put fertilizer ferti-lizer on during hot weather, apply it very lightly and immediately imme-diately water it well. However, it's better to time the fertilizer for cooler periods. Some holiday holi-day guidelines for applications are about April Fools Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. !f your blue grass is thin and needs extra encouragement, ldd more fertilizer in mid-October. mid-October. Insects and animals cause ;heir share of lawn problems in the area. Bill bugs and white yrubs are the main insect offenders. of-fenders. Application of Chlor- DEPARTMENT.'" dane or Diazginon, as directed on the insecticide label, will control them. Night crawlers help aerate lawn soil but the bumps they make on the lawn when it begins to dry are particularly parti-cularly objectionable to some people. Any of a number of formulations can be used to control them. In some areas of the community com-munity gophers burrowing underground, un-derground, making raised tunnels tun-nels and dirt mounds, constitute consti-tute a vexing problem. This seems to be more of a problem in parks and other public grounds than in home lawns. Poison bait or traps set in their burrows will usually remove them. Domestic animal pets also present a lawn problem not uncommon to the community. Dogs are the main culprits, leaving feces to be removed and urine spots that make dis-colorations dis-colorations on the lawn. You can cope with the problem either by keeping them off the lawn or hose the spots to dilute the concentration of salts, etc., that may cause the discoloration. discolora-tion. People are the source of many lawn problems in the community. These are caused by improper management, abuse by heavy foot traffic, or wrong treatments that do more damage than good. An example of the latter is power raking. It has been highly promoted in some areas. It can do more harm than good if it isn't needed. need-ed. Usually, there is no need to power rake at all unless there is lots of heavy thatch that prevents the water from penetration. pene-tration. In that case, the best time would be in the fall or early spring. Lawn problems that stem from people's ignorance or neglect neg-lect require education to correct. cor-rect. .Part of the problem on public grounds stems from frequent turnover and lack of IIIHIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIUIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIII Headquarters CAQVAS Poly-Paulin Tarps&Dams All Sizes Irrigation Boots Garden Tools Tarps Webbing Wrangler Western Wear Rope - All Types, - Work Boots Rain 500 West fain training of caretakers. A neglect neg-lect problem on private grounds is found frequently on vacant lots and rental property where there is no committment to take care of the grounds. Many lovely lawns in communities com-munities throughout the state are proof that lawn problems can be licked with proper management. man-agement. For further information informa-tion On this important topic, contact your local Utah State University County Extension office. Council Tells How To Start Credit History Like it or not, credit is a way of life in America. For those who want to know how to establish a credit history, the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc., offers these guidelines: Open a checking and sav- "Your first case as a Social he a doosie.' For State Read - American Fork THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 1976 ings account in your own name. Obtain and use a couple or credit cards. Make all payments promptly. Establish a "line of credit" at the bank where you maintain main-tain a checking and savings account. If you are denied a "line of credit" or a credit card, insist in-sist upon knowing why. Solar Heat Use Up, Oil Savings Are Small The Federal Energy Administration Admin-istration reports that U.S. output out-put of medium-temperature solar collectors, of the type used to heat homes, increased 400 per cent in the first half of 1975, to a total of 276,000 square feet. However, the FEA points out that the maximum equivalent equiva-lent amount of energy that all 276,000 square feet of collectors collec-tors could absorb would amount to only 108 barrels of oil per clay. The U.S. currently uses about 16 million barrels per day. Some people have tact; others tell the truth. -v Worker going to 9 I 1 Gear |