Saturday, March 5, 2016 An advertising feature of The Topeka Capital-Journal
Yard care
Tips for growing a perfect lawn Page 6 n Jamie Kidd on crabgrass, page 2 n Fixing cracks in exterior walls, page 4 n Blue and white: classic combo, page 7 n Using rocks in landscaping, page 10
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Pre-emergence control best way to fight crabgrass Jamie Kidd Jamie KiDD
UPCOMING PROGRAM
Master Gardener Steve Paige will present “Spring Lawn Care” at 7 p.m. March 31 at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, 1515 W. 10th Ave. Paige will provide handouts on how to care for lawns in the spring and answer questions about lawn care.
jamiehan@ksu.edu jamiehan@ksu.edu
It sure seems like we have had a long winter, don’t you think? I am thankful for the sunshine and the warming days — except now is when my phone starts ringing off the hook with lawn questions, especially about crabgrass. Let me save you a phone call and tell you everything you ever wanted to know about crabgrass in one short article. Call me if you have questions, but here is good information to get you started. Buying crabgrass preventers is a little like buying laundry products. It used to be simple — soap, softener and bleach. Now, there are so many combinations it’s mind-boggling. Bleach that is “color safe” — that makes me think, “Huh?” Crabgrass is a summer annual grass that germinates in the spring and
dies with the frost in the fall. Hot, dry environments, like Kansas summers, encourage crabgrass because cool-season lawns are struggling at that time. Crabgrass often will take over if the lawn is not well cared for. A healthy lawn is always the best weed preventer. Two chemical methods control crabgrass: preemergence, before it appears or slightly after; and post-emergence, after it appears. Pre-emergence products don’t actually keep the seed from germinating. Instead, just after germination, the new plant absorbs the chemical from the soil and dies. With few exceptions, most crabgrass preventers have no effect on existing crabgrass plants. Crabgrass germinates when the soil reaches 55 degrees or warmer for three to five days at the depth of a quarter inch. This happens typically
around May 1, so April 15 is a good date to shoot for if a spring application of product is made. Note: Not all spring weather cooperates with gardeners. A good indicator for timing product application is to watch the Eastern red bud trees; when they begin to reach full bloom, it’s time to apply crabgrass preventer. Dimension and Barricade are the only two products that will give seasonlong control of crabgrass from a single application. In fact, they can be applied much earlier than April 15. Dimension can be applied as early as March 1, and Barricade can be applied in the fall. Both will retain their effectiveness. Because of the way these products work — killing seed as it germinates — new grass seed can’t be planted during the same season.
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Homeowners can choose from four types of tubs By Ed Del Grande Tribune News Service
Q: Dear Ed: We’re planning a new bathroom remodel and want a separate bathtub area. To help us lay out the floor plan and fixture locations, can you please inform us about different styles of bathtubs and how they are installed? — Henry, South Carolina A: Even though removing an existing tub to install a larger shower stall seems to be popular, many homeowners still want to include a bathtub in their bathroom remodeling projects. Basically, bathtubs
can fall into four different categories: n Alcove tubs. This is the standard three-wall install with a finished front apron built into the tub. A shower setup is often included with an alcove tub and is often called a tub/shower unit. n Drop-in or under-mount tubs. These tubs need to be framed in place, usually with four knee walls surrounding the tub. Drop-in models have finished rims and sit on top of the deck. Under-mounts are usually flush with the finished deck. n Freestanding tubs. A free-
Design contest finalists picked The Capital-Journal
Kohler
One example of a free-standing tub is this Reve Freestanding Bath from Kohler.
standing tub is self-supporting with all sides finished. Because they can be placed just about anywhere in the bathroom, freestanding tubs are often used as a decorative focal point. n Corner tub. If you absolutely need to put a bathtub in a corner, these specialized tubs have cornered the market.
ERC Resource & Referral Inc., doing business as Child Care Aware of Eastern Kansas, has selected two finalists for the Designers’ Showhouse Design-A-Room Contest. As finalists, Topekans Kaitlyn Snow and Meg Heston each will design a bedroom. Snow will design, decorate and accessorize the southwest bedroom in the home. She is a 2015 graduate of Washburn University, where she majored in art. Part of her plan for the room includes creating an original painting. Heston has been selected for the northwest bedroom in the home. Heston and her husband are raising a blended family with five children ranging in age from 7 months to 19 years. Heston’s husband builds cus-
tom furniture and will be creating an original piece for the room. Heston also will showcase her talent with various paint techniques. Snow and Heston will join a team of designers and craftsmen participating in the 2016 Designers’ Showhouse that includes Jan Hutt, of Jan Hutt Interiors; Leslie Hunsicker, of Leslie Hunsicker Interiors; Jan Davis, Monica Parsel and Susan Anderson, of Carpet One Floor & Home; Caroline Bivens; Donna Steinman and Natashia England, of M. Street Interiors; Dan Brungardt, of Home at Last; The Oroke Women; Juan Perez, of JCD Inc.; Michelle Butler; and Topeka Landscape. The Designers’ Showhouse will be open for public tours April 23 through May 15. Visit http://east. ks.childcareaware.org for additional information.
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Cracks in walls could indicate foundation issue By C. Dwight Barnett Tribune News Service
Q: I have some settling issues with several cracks over doorways and two small areas on my outside bricks. I don’t know how serious this is or what to do. I was planning on selling my house this spring, but now I am worried that fixing this will be a huge expense. I would appreciate some advice. A: One of the first things I like to do when performing a home inspection is to walk around the home looking for cracks in the brick or stone that could
likely indicate a foundation or settlement problem. Brick and stone walls are naturally very rigid and will crack when under minor stress. When I see horizontal cracks above windows and doors, I then check to see if there is a steel lintel, an L-shape piece of steel used above a window or door opening to support the bricks above. If there is a steel lintel and it is exposed to the weather, it will start to rust. Rusting causes the steel to expand. The expansion of the
steel causes the bricks to lift and a horizontal crack forms. This is not a major concern. I then check for stair-step cracks at window openings. This may be a sign of foundation settlement, which may or may not be a major concern. When a brick wall is under stress from foundation settlement, the cracking can be either below the window or above the window or both, but it is the window opening itself, which is virtually a hole in the brick wall, where the stress is relieved. I often use the example
of cutting a hole in a piece of paper and then pulling on the paper until it tears. It will tear toward the hole in the paper until the stress from pulling is relieved. I usually find stress cracking at a window near a corner of the home. I then check the wall around the corner from the window for signs of settlement cracking. Here the crack might be vertical, because the wall has rotated out and away from the wall. I also check the trim at the very top of the brick at an outside corner to see
if the wall has pushed the trim’s corner apart. This is a sign of corner settlement. Simple stair-step cracking is common unless the wall has rotated from settlement. In my findings, the major reason for settlement cracking is dewatering of the soils and is found more often on homes on a hill or steep slope or where the downspout drains have been redirected away from the foundation. Stair-step cracking also forms in periods of extended droughts. If in doubt, contact a licensed and qualified home in-
spector to check the wall, foundation and soils. You can find qualified home inspectors at the American Society of Home Inspectors at www. ashi.org. Be sure to interview anyone you call to ensure that they have prior experience in construction or engineering. C. Dwight Barnett is a certified master inspector with the American Society of Home Inspectors. Write to him with home improvement questions at C. Dwight Barnett, Evansville Courier & Press, P.O. Box 268, Evansville, Ind. 47702 or e-mail him at d.Barnett@insightbb.com.
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Grass choice, seeding, fertilization key to creating great lawn By Dustin Lemmon Special to The Capital-Journal
This is the year, the year you’re finally going to get your lawn to look as lush and pristine as your neighbor’s. There will be no weeds, no dead patches — and you’ll mow it with pride. The only problem is figuring out where to start, and unfortunately you’re already a little behind as autumn is the best time to lay down fertilizer and weed preventatives. That doesn’t mean you have to wait and let another dispiriting summer go by.
Choosing your grass
Jamie Kidd, horticulture agent for K-State Research and Extension in Shawnee County, said there are two main types of grass locally from which people can choose — warm-season (Bermuda) and cool-season (Kentucky bluegrass). Cool-season grasses will start to color up early in the spring, and unlike warm-season grasses, never get all that brown in the winter, she said. If you’re trying to figure out which one you already have, look at your lawn now. If it’s green, it’s likely a cool-season variety. “The warm-season grasses are not going to green up until it’s hot — June or July,” Kidd said. Those hotter months when the warm-season grasses flourish are also when your cool-season varieties will go dormant. They will pick back up though in September, she explained. “It’s really a choice between what time of year you want your grass to be green,” Kidd said. Both types of grass spread by using runners under the ground and should fill back any bare
spots. They also handle traffic well, which means they shouldn’t suffer much wear and tear from romping children or dogs. Nathan Gisi, owner of LawnCrafters Lawn Care in Topeka, said you’ll also want to choose your grass seed mixture based on the amount of shade or sun your lawn receives. Ryegrass, for example, will do well in areas of shade.
Seeding and fertilization
Grass will germinate when the soil 3 to 4 inches deep is between 40 degrees and 55 degrees, Kidd said. Typically, this means waiting until the daytime temperature highs reach the 60-degree mark. You should fertilize your lawn three times a year in May, September and November. If you only do it once, choose November so it “goes into winter with it and wakes up with it in the spring,” she added. When choosing a fertilizer, Kidd recommended applying one pound of actual nitrogen on 1,000 square feet of lawn. You also can put down crabgrass preventatives in the spring, although it is best to do it in the fall. Gisi said crabgrass and dandelions are the two most common weed problems he sees in the spring. Some invasive species, like clover, also can be eliminated through fertilization, as the appearance of clover means your soil is low in nitrogen. If you do have to spray weeds, Gisi recommends spot treatment when possible. If you have a lot of weeds, you can spray the whole lawn, but it will stress your grass.
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Dandelions and crabgrass are the two most common weed problems facing homeowners in the spring. If you have to spray to eradicate weeds, spot spraying is recommended.
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Lawn: Water also crucial to grass care
Combo of blue, white not just design crush By Mary Carol Garrity Tribune News Service
Sometimes, we have design crushes. Our passion for a piece of furniture, an accent or fabric ebbs when something new catches our eye. But then sometimes, we fall in love for life. That’s me with blue and white. What’s so irresistible about this classic color combo? It goes well with everything. Like a pair of jeans and a crisp white shirt, blue and white make an ideal foundation on which to build so many different looks. I love it with pink, red, yellow, green, orange, black — pretty much every color in the rainbow. When I lived in my Atchison home, I used lots and lots of blue and white Asian porcelain pieces in my decorating. The house just called for a more formal treatment. But now that I’m in my snug little cottage, I’m bringing in blue and white in a more casual way, through relaxed fabrics or old dishes. Whatever your style, you can find unique blue and white accents to bring it to life.
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If my house caught on fire, I might be tempted to run back in and rescue my blue and white transferware dishes. In my formal dining room in Atchison, they were the base of some grand table settings. Now, in my cottage, where the dining space flows into the kitchen, we are a lot less formal when we entertain. My blue and white dishes are just as perfect for a dressed-down French country look. Thanks to the versatility of blue and white dishes, you can go as formal or as informal as you want. Blue and white also makes a statement. We like to raise the drama level in a room by creating a powerful display, an exciting focal point for the space. One of our favorite techniques is amassing a collection of similar objects so they create a visual exclamation point. Blue and white porcelain pieces are ideal for this because they come in so many different patterns, shapes and sizes that you will have no trouble finding pieces that are unique and interesting yet harmonize. Just make sure you vary the heights and
Watering and mowing
It is best if a lawn receives about an inch of rain per week, Gisi said. In drier months, he advises watering your lawn for one hour, two to three times a week. “The worst thing people can do is water for short periods every day,” he said. “It promotes short root growth.” As for mowing, both Kidd and Gisi suggested keeping the grass longer — 3 inches or longer — in the summer months when there isn’t a lot of rain. In the spring and fall, you can keep it down around 2 inches. “If you let it grow too tall, that can stress the plant,” Kidd said, adding the same can happen if you cut it too short. Gisi said cutting the grass too short also will cut some of the moisture out of the grass.
Soil testing
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Like a pair of jeans and a crisp white shirt, blue and white make an ideal foundation on which to build so many different looks. sizes of the pieces so the display is intriguing. Even just a touch transforms.
You don’t have to drench a room with blue and white to achieve a beautiful look.
K-State Research and Extension will be offering a limited number of free soil tests through a grant the agency received recently. Once the grant money runs out, it will cost owners $10 per test, Kidd said. To get a soil test, bring in a sample from your lawn. The test will help determine the fertilization level of your soil and help you decide what you may or may not need to apply to your grass. It usually takes seven to 10 days to receive the results. To learn more about the soil tests, contact the Shawnee County Extension office at (785) 2320062.
Kidd: Dimension, Barricade two preventers still effective after 60 days Continued from 2 If you need to plant grass seed in the spring — fall is the better time — here are a couple options: Tupersan can be applied while seeding. It will allow the grass seed to germinate while preventing crabgrass and various other weeds. The drawback is it must be reapplied in eight weeks and isn’t overly effective as a weed preventer. I prefer to allow grass seed to germinate, and two weeks after it emerg-
es from the soil, apply Dimension. Dimension is one of the rule breakers because it can kill crabgrass at germination and in its very young stage, when it has two to three leaves. Dimension also is the best choice when treating a lawn that was planted last fall. It is kind to young tall fescue, perennial ryegrass and Kentucky bluegrass seedlings. Note: Products that contain Dimension and Barricade may use the common name rather
than the trade name. The common chemical name for Dimension is dithiopyr. A product with this in it is Turf & Ornamental Weed & Grass Stopper by Hi-Yield. The common chemical name for Barricade is prodiamine. This is found more often in a weed and feed product like Fertilome’s All Seasons Lawn Food + Crabgrass Preventer. It is best for your lawn’s health to apply preventers in April and fertilizers in May, so using Barricade in the fall is a good idea.
Other pre-emergence products on the market are: Balan, or benefin; Treflan, or trifluralin; Halts, or pendimethalin; and Team, or benefin plus trifluralin. Each of these products should be applied about April 15 and again six to eight weeks later for effective control. Crabgrass preventers don’t last forever. Micro-organisms and natural processes gradually break them down. Most preventers are fairly ineffective after about 60 days, with the
exception of Dimension and Barricade. Post-emergence products are limited, and crabgrass is more difficult to control after it emerges. Quinclorac is the chemical to look for, and it can be found in products called Drive, Weed-B-Gon Max + Crabgrass Control from Ortho and All-in-One Lawn Weed and Crabgrass Killer from Bayer. Read the labels, but most can be applied after new grass has been mowed at least two to three times. Don’t attempt to control
crabgrass with herbicides after mid-July because crabgrass plants are usually too large to control effectively. It is better to simply tolerate the crabgrass until it dies with the first frost. If your lawn is healthy, there is little reason to spend money treating the whole yard for crabgrass. You may only need to treat the edges of sidewalks and driveways. Jamie Kidd is a horticulturist with K-State Research and Extension in Shawnee County.
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Service Directory
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Rocks in gardens can prove to be assets By Maureen Gilmer Tribune News Service
Got rocky soil? Don’t complain. You’re lucky to have a free on-site supply of creative material that won’t decompose, rust or break down. Rocky ground has long been the bane of gardeners who over a long time gradually weed out the rocks to create clean planting spaces. The most important tools for this job: a pick axe and an 18-pound pry bar. Sustainable gardens are those made of local materials, preferably recycled ones that cost little to buy or can be gathered for free. All those rocks in your soil are useful, but only if you take the time and effort to
separate them and store for future projects. Sure it is hard work, but it is great exercise, too. Failing to remove them can impede drainage, limit root depth and make digging a simple hole a daylong effort. Rocks can be divided into two types, which influence what they are best used for. First is natural field stone, which is any kind of broken rock chunks with sharp, angular edges. The second type is cobbles, rocks rounded by water with no sharp edges. Field stone stacks easily; cobbles don’t. Before removing rocks from your excavations, designate a storage area where you can collect them in piles of two or more differ-
ent sizes for easy retrieval. Over time, rain washes these piles clean, or wash yours with a jet hose to remove residual mud and debris. Rocks have many uses around home and homestead. They improve naturalistic landscaping, solve problems with erosion and allow raised, well-drained planting zones for succulents and cacti. Here are simple and useful ways to improve your yard or property using rocks excavated from your own soil: n Dry stone curb wall. The wall has no foundation or mortar but uses stacked rock to create low partitions. They can hold back soil, separate planting areas and create planting
terraces and other linear applications. n Rock garden mounded. The traditional rock garden in England is created on a south-facing mound of earth or slope stabilized with a wide range of stone. These should look like an alpine rocky outcropping that allows you to raise the grade so succulent plants have adequate drainage. n Gabion. A gabion is a box or container made of welded wire mesh that is filled with small rocks to create a column, wall or partition. Used often in Europe, this age-old method is being rediscovered as a recycled structure using local materials.
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Rocks are used in this succulent garden to create elevated pockets filled with porous, well-drained planting areas in heavy clay soil. n Edging. The simplest of all uses for rocks is bed edging. Field stone can be lined up with the flat sides facing out for a tidy, more easily maintained edge. Cobbles can be un-
stable due to their rounded shape and must be partially buried to stabilize. Anchor them in a shallow trench, then pack in the soil where needed so they won’t roll if stepped on.
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