Quotation of the Week: "The sun, with all those planets revolving around it and dependent upon it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do." — Galileo

Grass Substitutes for Problem Areas

Sometimes, despite a gardener's best efforts to improve the soil and care for the grass, a lawn fails to thrive.  Insufficient light is often the cause of the problem. Other times the location is too hot or steep to keep well watered and fertilized. On such sites a gardener is well advised to consider low maintenance alternatives to turf grass. The following plants are excellent choices for difficult locations: For Shade: Campanula: Spreads quickly and is beautiful to behold. Vinca Minor: Best choice for dry soil; has periwinkle blue flowers Pachysandra: Spreads quickly through underground runners but is not invasive; thrives in acid soil Lily Turf: Ideal for use around ponds and the edge of streams; best with well drained soil and light feeding. Baby Tears: An evergreen, emerald-green creeping ground cover with tiny leaves. It is a soft, velvet-like carpet growing 2.5cm (1") high. This must be kept moist. Sword Fern: A tough fern that tolerates some sun and looks good through winter. This can look more like a shrub than a ground cover Hosta (hardy cultivars): Lush yet elegant appearance; dozens of varieties and easy care make hostas a popular choice for shade. This can look more like a shrub than a ground cover. For Sun: Thyme: Thyme is low growing and rugged. It requires a minimum in watering, loves loose sandy soil and as an added bonus, it blooms. Most low growing varieties, under 2 inches, take light foot traffic and therefore are great between stepping stones in those sunny warm areas. Sedum:This is a large group of hardy and tender succulent annuals and perennials. Sedums are very easy to propagate as almost any tiny leaf or piece of stem that touches the ground will root. Trailing Gazania: 12" high perennial from South Africa. It is a perennial that flowers in the summer and requires little water.
	Camapanula
	Pachysandra
	Sedum
	Vinca
	Hosta
	Thyme

Roger Herrera
California Certified Nursery Professional

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You probably have heard of Two Buck Chuck at Trader Joe's.

Now Green Thumb has TWO BUCK BAYER. We have purchased the final production run for 2005 of this great lawn care product from Bayer.

After instant and mail-in rebates your price is $1.97. Limit 3 bags.

Basic Lawn Care

A well maintained yard (including lawns) can add 15% to your home's value. Lawns help muffle noise, moderate temperatures, reduce dust and pollen, control erosion, improve soil, improve air quality by reducing CO2 levels, cushion the legs, and, though some may disagree, help keep dirt out of the home. Maintaining a healthy, vigorously growing lawn is the best way to prevent a severe disease outbreak in a turfgrass. A 2,500 square foot lawn contains about two million turfgrass plants, each requiring optimum amounts of water and fertilizer, the right mowing regime, and an aerated, well-drained soil. About 75 to 85% of common lawn diseases can be avoided altogether just by optimizing these practices to avoid stressed grass, which is much more susceptible to disease outbreaks than healthy grass. Proper Watering Water as infrequently as possible, but make sure you water enough. Watering infrequently but deeply will encourage the roots of the turf to go deep. Water for as long as possible to get deep soil penetration (up to 30 minutes). It may be necessary to cycle irrigate if runoff occurs after just a short time. To cycle irrigate, water until runoff occurs, then stop and wait for the water to penetrate (usually 1 to 2 hours), then repeat. Water as early as possible - first thing in the morning. Do not water between 4 pm and 4 am. Do not water areas in the shade as frequently as the areas of your lawn that receive full sun. Fertilization Timing, amount, and type depend on the turf you have and your soil type. Turfgrasses are heavy feeders. A regular regimen of fertilization will keep your lawn green and healthy. It is generally not a good idea to feed during the hot months of summer. By applying a lawn fertilzer now you can keep your grass green and healthy all summer long. We recommend Bayer Triple Action Lawn Fertilizer. It can be used with all turfgrasses. Mowing It's very tempting to set the lawn mower very low so that you don't have to mow as often. Don't do it. If your lawn looks like astroturf, you are mowing it much too short. Lawns mowed at 2-3" tend to have deeper roots, fewer weed problems, and look much better. On any given mowing, you should be removing about 1/3 of the grass blade. Of course there are a couple of exceptions such as Hybred Bermuda and Bentgrass, which prefer a shorter buzz. Spot care If there are brown spots in your lawn bring in a sample of the problem the size of your palm of your hand with a couple of inches of soil. We can help rule out fungus and insect problems. It could be a simple case of the soil being too compacted. Aeration is one solution. If it is very bad (dead turf) remove the turf, turn over the soil and amend with a Kelloggs Amend. If you reseed cover the area with Kelloggs Topper. The seeds must be kept moist continuously for the first two weeks or they will die. Marathon Grass is a great brand to use because of its deep rooting system and durablilty. If that sounds like too much work stop by and get some sod. We carry it instore every day except Sunday and Monday. Drop ship orders from the Southland Sod Farm are available for those of you needing more than 200 square feet.

What You'll Need: 1 pound fusilli, cooked and drained 2 cups fresh asparagus, diagonally cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1 cup fresh green peas 2 teaspoons olive oil Cooking spray 1 medium yellow bell pepper, cut into julienne strips 1 small red onion, thinly sliced 4 garlic cloves, minced 2 cups fresh cherry tomatoes, cut in half 1-1/4 cups chicken broth 2/3 cup whipping cream 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper 1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese 1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil Step by Step: Cook pasta according to package directions, adding asparagus and peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain and place in a large bowl. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, onion and garlic; saute for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes; sauté for 1 minute. Stir in broth, whipping cream, salt and red pepper; cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Add tomato mixture to pasta mixture; toss to coat. Sprinkle with cheese and basil. Serve immediately. Yield:  8 servings