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The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, September 21, 2011, Page 5B
September and October are perfect
for seeding tall fescue lawns
Photo by Sharon Dowdy
Fall is the perfect time to plant or interseed tall fescue lawns in Georgia.
Researchers on the UGA campus in Griffin work to breed new turfgrass
varieties especially for Georgia’s varied growing conditions.
Special to the Ledger
By Clint Waltz
This summer’s drought
and high temperatures hit
tall fescue lawns in Geor
gia hard. As a result, Sep
tember and October could
be months for greater
interseeding, a practice of
adding tall fescue into an
existing stand. To success
fully establish a new tall
fescue lawn or interseed
an existing lawn, consider
the following techniques
and practices.
Grass seeded earlier than
September or October is
subject to heat stress and
diseases. Planting later
leaves the plant vulnerable
to cold weather. Seeding
in December and early
spring is generally not
recommended because
the plant does not have
adequate time to develop
a deep root system needed
to survive Georgia’s hot
summers.
Knockout the weeds first
Preemergence herbicides
are needed to minimize
weed pressure. These
herbicides pose the least
amount of risk to tall
fescue that was seeded
the previous September
and October. Tall fescue
seeded in November and
treated with preemergence
herbicides the follow
ing February has lower
turfgrass quality ratings
and reduced stand density
compared to tall fescue
seeded in October.
Proper soil preparation is
critical for effective seed
establishment. Ridding
the lawn of debris, tilling,
incorporating lime and
fertilizer and smoothing
the surface are all neces
sary prior to seeding.
Add amendments, like
organic matter or topsoil,
for soil improvement and
till thoroughly into the
existing soil. After initial
preparation is completed
and the area is properly
leveled, collect a soil sam
ple to obtain soil fertilizer
recommendations. Submit
soil samples to the local
University of Georgia
Cooperative Extension
office (www.extension.
uga.edu). If starter fertil
izer and lime are recom
mended, incorporate 3 to 4
inches into the soil. Tilling
deeper is always better.
Buy high quality seed
To ensure you plant
high- quality pure seed,
search for the blue certi
fied seed tag on the bag.
In the retail market most
tall fescue seed is avail
able as a blend of several
tall fescue cultivars. Single
cultivars are also available
but often at a higher price.
The ideal seeding rate
for tall fescue is 5 to 6
pounds per 1,000 square
feet. To minimize skips
and gaps, divide the seed
into two equal portions
and broadcast half in one
direction and the remain
der at a right angle to the
first direction.
The seed can be lightly
raked into the upper quar
ter-inch of soil or pressed
into the seedbed with
a roller. Apply a straw
mulch to retain moisture
for improved germination
and prevent erosion.
Keep the seedlings moist
After seeding, keep the
upper 1 to 2 inches of soil
moist, not wet, for uniform
germination. This usu
ally means daily water
ing of about one-tenth to
one-quarter inch for the
first three weeks. As the
seedlings develop, irrigate
less frequently but wet the
soil profile deeper. Under
good conditions tall fescue
seed will germinate in 5 to
10 days and be ready for
its first mowing between 2
and 3 weeks.
Begin mowing at a
height of 2 inches. As the
seedlings mature, raise
the cutting height to the
2.5- to 3-inch range. Once
mature, the lawn can be
maintained between 2 to
2.5 inches, but a height of
3 inches is suggested dur
ing the summer months.
Use a mower with a sharp
blade and mow often
enough so no more than a
third of the leaf height is
removed in a single mow
ing. Do not mow a grass,
especially young seed
lings, when it’s wet.
Do the math
If the lawn needs reseed
ing, estimate the percent
age of tall fescue loss and
multiply that number by
the establishment seeding
rate of 6 pounds per 1,000
square feet. For example,
if 50 percent (0.5) of the
stand is lost, reseed with
0.5 x 6 = 3 pounds per
1,000 square feet. Spring
reseeding is less success
ful because of the shorter
establishment time before
summer heat and moisture
stress.
Seed-to-soil contact is
necessary to assure suc
cessful reseeding. First,
mow the lawn at a height
of 1 to 1.5 inches. Disturb
the soil by coring or verti
cal mowing before and/
or after seed distribution.
(Equipment for this task is
available at rental or gar
den centers.) Reseed thin
areas at 2 to 6 pounds per
1,000 square feet. Getting
the seed below the existing
turfgrass canopy and to
the soil surface improves
germination. Apply a
starter fertilizer at 1 pound
of nitrogen per 1,000
square feet. Lastly, keep
the soil moist as discussed
for new lawn establish
ment.
Successful seeding
depends on proper soil
preparation, good soil-to-
seed contact and proper
water management.
(Clint Waltz is a Co
operative Extension turf
specialist with the Univer
sity of Georgia College of
Agricultural and Environ
mental Sciences.)
Sustainable community innovation grants available
Special to the Ledger
By Candance M. Pollock
Do you have a great idea
for a project that combines
sustainable agriculture and
your community but no
money to money to ahead?
Apply for funding through
the Southern Sustainable
Agriculture Research &
Education Sustainable
Community Innovation
Grant program. Grants
fund a variety of innovative
projects that successfully
link sustainable agriculture
with sustainable communi
ty activities to increase and
support farms, businesses.
families and communities.
Proposals for the 2011
SARE Sustainable Com
munity Innovation Grants
are now open. Project
maximums are $10,000
for up to two years of
activities that are intended
to increase knowledge,
build capacity and make
connections between farms
and rural communities to
benefit people who live in
those communities.
Grant proposal deadline
is 11:59 p.m. Eastern Stan
dard Time, Oct. 3,2011.
Announcement of awarded
grants will take place in
December. To download
a call for proposal, go to
ww w.southernsare .org /
Grant s/Apply-for-a- Grant.
Priority areas for this
year’s grants include stra
tegic planning efforts, food
assistance and security
activities, local leadership
development, and farmer/
consumer linkages. To
learn more about projects
that were funded in 2010,
log on to www.southern-
sare.org/News-and-Media/
Press-Releases/Sustain-
able-Community-Innova-
tion-Grants-Awarded.
SARE is a competitive
grants program funded
by the ELS. Department
of Agriculture to promote
research and education
about sustainable agri
culture. Southern SARE
is administered by a host
consortium consisting of
the ETniversity of Georgia,
Fort Valley State ETniver
sity and the Kerr Center for
Sustainable Agriculture in
Oklahoma.
(Candace Pollack is the
public relations coordina
tor for the Southern Region
Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education
program.)
Sustainable Agriculture
Research & Education
Image credit: SARE
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education
program
The Army Reserve’s secret weapon: education
(ARA) - In a tightened
economy, states are faced
with cuts to higher educa
tion, and tuition is on the
rise in all 50 states. At
the same time, having a
postsecondary degree and
credentialed job skills is
ever more important to
finding a job. Within this
framework, the Army
Reserve has found itself
playing a greater role in
educating soldiers who
also comprise an important
part of America’s civilian
workforce.
The Reserve sees to it
that new enlistees begin
to leverage the Army’s
educational benefits before
they even don a uniform.
Through a partnership
with more than 1,950
colleges and universities,
the Concurrent Admis
sions Program helps future
Reserve members - at their
time of enlistment - create
a plan to attend college and
obtain a higher education.
As of July 2009, more than
179,000 Army soldiers had
signed a “college referral
and intent to enroll’’ form
to pursue a college degree.
Reserve members are
eligible for the program on
enlistment.
The military training that
most soldiers receive also
can play a substantial role
in advancing a civilian ed
ucation. Reserve members
actually earn academic
credit as they serve. That’s
because approximately
94 percent of the Army’s
Military Occupational
Specialties match civil
ian jobs that are subject
to licensure and certifica
tion - and 93 percent of
enlisted soldiers serve in
these specialties. To take
advantage of that overlap,
the American Council
on Education works with
the Army to translate
that military training into
academic credits which
soldiers can apply toward a
college education.
Members of Selected
Army Reserve also have
access to the Montgomery
GI Bill (MGIB). In fiscal
2011, qualified members
are eligible for up to
$12,132 over 36 months to
cover educational ex
penses. Soldiers assigned
to critical skill positions
or critical units may be
eligible for even more - an
additional payment of up to
$24,732 over 36 months.
Additionally, the Reserve
offers tuition assistance -
up to $4,500 per academic
year - to qualified mem
bers of the selected Re
serve to cover the cost of
approved courses. In fiscal
year 2008, the Army spent
more than $215 million on
soldiers attending classes.
Once a soldier has
obtained a higher educa
tion, the Reserve’s Loan
Repayment Program helps
eligible members pay back
as much as $10,000 for
qualifying loans - includ
ing Stafford, Perkins and
other common types of
student loans. Soldiers in
certain specialties may
qualify for repayment ben
efits of up to $50,000.
The Army Reserve works
hard to reinforce its ranks
with the best and brightest,
and is dedicated to engag
ing top-notch individuals
from a broad cross-section
of America. That’s why its
career paths are as flexible
as the Army Reserve itself
- with options designed to
suit the varied needs and
goals of everyone from
high school or college
students to active-duty
soldiers to current Reserve
members.
For high school grads,
many Reserve units of
fer an Education Career
Stabilization program,
which defers soldiers from
mobilization and deploy
ment to provide them with
an uninterrupted path to
a college degree. Depend
ing on a student’s indi
vidual requirements, ECS
students can tap into many
of the college benefits
detailed above.
College-bound Reserve
members, for their part,
also have access to schol
arships for the venerable
Army ROTC program,
which provides instruc
tion on management and
problem-solving while
training to become an
officer. In 2008, the Army
endowed approximately
$283 million in college
scholarships to more than
16,600 ROTC cadets.
Every day, these educa
tional opportunities help
provide the foundation
for soldiers’ successful
military - and civilian - ca
reers. These programs have
helped the Army Reserve
to fill its ranks with highly
educated
experts in
transporta
tion, logistics,
supply chain
management,
law enforce
ment, public
safety, health
care, telecom
munications,
information
technology,
engineering,
civil affairs,
finance,
legal services
and human
resources, to
name a few.
Members
of the Re
serve never
stop learning.
Throughout
their careers,
soldiers contin
ue to sharpen
their abilities
through ongo
ing tactical,
technical,
physical and
leadership
development
training.
All of these educational
opportunities help ensure
that the Army Reserve
remains an essential and
integral component of
the overall Army - a fully
functional, combat-ready
organization prepared to
face challenges at a mo
ment’s notice. More than
ever, this mission requires
the right people with the
right skills.
The Army Reserve is a
force of professional men
and women who possess
the skills and training to
serve America twice - as
world-class soldiers, and as
top-flight employees in the
civilian workplace.