All Gardens
Great & Snm
by
York Co.
Horticultural Agei
Tom Becker
i
\
MOWING BASICS
For millions of Americans, the
primary rite of spring is mowing
their lawn and then becomes four
months of weekend labor.
Mowing may be a thankless
chore, but it reaps benefits if done
correctly, says Peter Landschoot,
associate professor of turfgrass
science in Penn State’s College of
Agricultural Sciences.
“Those who want a nice lawn
often are overly concerned with
fertilizing and watering,” he says.
“But proper mowing also is an im
portant step toward obtaining
strong, vigorous grass that resists
disease and weeds.”
Here’s a few basics:
• Check your mower blades.
You want to cut precise, clean cut
If you haven’t had your blade
sharpened in a year or two, it
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probably needs it
• Many lawn and garden centers
sharpen blades or buy an extra
blade and put it on while the ori
ginal is being sharpened that
way you can change the blade
halfway through the season.
• Make sure your mower is ad
justed to the proper height Two to
three inches is ideal. You’re not
saving yourself time by cutting
your grass shorter. Actually a
lawn mowed shorter than two
inches is more susceptible to heat
disease and drought stress.
• Use this rule of thumb to plan
your mowing height, you
shouldn’t take off more than one
third of the leaf blade at one time.
Otherwise, you may scalp the
grass and make it more vulnerable
to stress.
• A lawn’s growth rate deter-
mm
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mines how often you mow. Dur
ing spring it may require mowing
more than one time a week. By
June, gwolh slows down so you
won’t need to mow as often. Dur
ing dry, hot conditions, there’s
usually no need to mow because
the grass is growing extremely
slowly.
• Sometimes prolonged periods
of rain make it impossible to mow.
In that case, when the sun comes
out, cut the grass with the mower
blade at its highest setting. You
can mow again a few days later
with the blade lowered to the de
sired height
Should grass clippings be left
on the lawn or composted? An es
timated 20 percent of what goes
into landfills is yard debris such as
tree leaves, hedge prunings, and
grass clippings. Recycling grass
clippings is not only civic
minded, but it’s also beneficial to
the lawn and saves the work in
volved in raking or bagging. Con
tact your Extension office for in
formation on “recycling” grass
clippings and backyard compost
ing.
If you leave the clippings on the
lawn, you can cut down on ferti
lizer needs by as much as one
third. Clippings break down easi-
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come in for a demonstration
R.S. HOLLINGER & NORMAN D. CLARK
SON INC. 4 SONS
o’. Mam Street, PO , Box 27,
Mountville, PA u
717 9BR Honey Grove 17035
717-285-4538 717-734-3682
PIPERSVILLE
GARDEN CENTER
Pipersville, PA
215-766-0414
LINCOLN SUPPLY & '
EQUIPMENT CO. REIFF FARM SERVICE
Somerset, PA Shippensburg, PA
814-443-1691 717-532-8601
Food Allergy Workshop
LEESPORT (Berks Co.)
Allergies and food intolerance can
cause adverse reactions to food
and even be life-threatening.
A seminar, “Do You Really
Have A Food Allergy” will be held
at the Penn State Cooperative
Extension of Berks County on
May 20, 1 p.m. to 2:IS p.m.
Registered dietitian Brenda
Daelhousen will explain how to
Medicinal Usage
WESTMINSTER, Md.
"Kitchen Pharmacy with Common
Wild Herbs” is the program slated
at the Carroll County Cooperative
Extension in Westminster on June
6, from 10 a.m. to 1 pjn.
Pharmacist and herbalist Lynn
jrfmmalce will lead a weed (herb)
walk and instruct participants on
how to prepare infusions, tine-
, . . .. 11 . .. natural fibers will be held at Clear
ly m tr° g en and other Mills> Duisburg. on Sat
nutrients back into the sod. iO t m.tolp.m.Thc
Any queshons concermng this will done like the
article be to Tom mcthodtypicalof i Bth century
Becker at (717) 840-7408. with tradition.
WOODS v
LOADERS
MESSICK'S
Elizabethtown, Pa
717-367-1319
Abbottstown, PA
717-259-6617
infl,
diagnose allergies and intolerance,
how to cope and get adequate
nutrition, and other helpful infor
mation.
Advance registration is
required. Send a check for $1.50
made payable to Berks County
Cooperative Extension Special
Account and mail to Food Allergy
Seminar, Berks Co. Ag Center,
P.O. Box 520, Leesport, PA
19533.
tuies, and medicinal use of safe
herbs.
Cost is $25. Class size is limited.
Registration is required. Call Lisa
Spence on Monday or Thursday at
the extension office (410)
woj/il 1
Indigo Dyeing
DHJLSBURG (York Co.) A
workshop on indigo dyeing of
inn
7 Models to choose from.
Whether your tractor has two wheel or four
wheel drive and falls within the 11 to 200 HP
range Woods has a DUAL loader to fit your
needs
Fast-D-Tach attaches to your tractor in minutes
Available in tractor matching colors
WOODS
• 48 to 84 inch cutting width
•Tip Speeds to 16,162 RPM
• Shear pm shock protection
standard, optional slip clutch
• Choice of Tailwheel (solid core or
laminated)
WOODS
RD 7200
The RD7200 Rear Discharge Finish Mower
is the newest addition to the Woods line of
3 point hitch finish mowers.
• V-Belt Drive with 3 blades
• Industrial Quality Blade Spindles with Tapered
Roller Bearings
• Floating 3 point hitch
• Stagger Mounted Caster Wheels
• Available for 20 to 40 HP, 540 BPM Category
Tractors
• 72 Inch Cutting Width
WOCSS
ECKROTH BROS.
FARM EQUIPMENT
New Ringgold, PA
717-943-2131
D.W. OGG
EQUIPMENT CO,
Frederick, MD
301-473-4250
Westminster, MD
410-848-4585
f, »*ay ».
ILL
Orefield, PA
610-366-2095