Friday puzzle unrolled

I knew this one was pretty easy, but I have my reasons (below).  Gold stars to KB, Jim, John, and Dave for correctly identifying rolls of sod (and they do seem thin, Peter):

Yes, sod.  I dislike instant lawns; they never look good for very long, at least in my part of the country.  And getting rid of sod (as we have in our landscape) is a nightmare with that *%&$^ plastic mesh in which the grass is embedded.  It breaks up into little bits that are constantly coming to the surface.

I don’t have an axe to grind about lawns; my philosophy is that if you want a lawn and can afford to maintain it well, more power to you.  But what’s wrong with the old fashioned way of seeding a lawn?  Sure, it takes a few more weeks to "grow your own", but seeded lawns look more natural and last much longer.

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Linda Chalker-Scott

Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott has a Ph.D. in Horticulture from Oregon State University and is an ISA certified arborist and an ASCA consulting arborist. She is WSU’s Extension Urban Horticulturist and a Professor in the Department of Horticulture, and holds two affiliate associate professor positions at University of Washington. She conducts research in applied plant and soil sciences, publishing the results in scientific articles and university Extension fact sheets. Linda also is the award-winning author of five books: the horticultural myth-busting The Informed Gardener (2008) and The Informed Gardener Blooms Again (2010) from the University of Washington Press and Sustainable Landscapes and Gardens: Good Science – Practical Application (2009) from GFG Publishing, Inc., and How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do from Timber Press (2015). Her latest effort is an update of Art Kruckeberg’s Gardening with Native Plants of the Pacific Northwest from UW Press (2019). In 2018 Linda was featured in a video series – The Science of Gardening – produced by The Great Courses. She also is one of the Garden Professors – a group of academic colleagues who educate and entertain through their blog and Facebook pages. Linda’s contribution to gardeners was recognized in 2017 by the Association for Garden Communicators as the first recipient of their Cynthia Westcott Scientific Writing Award. "The Garden Professors" Facebook page - www.facebook.com/TheGardenProfessors "The Garden Professors" Facebook group - www.facebook.com/groups/GardenProfessors Books: http://www.sustainablelandscapesandgardens.com

2 thoughts on “Friday puzzle unrolled”

  1. I agree that seeded lawns look more natural from the start, Linda. Still, sod has its place. I know of one amazingly beautiful sod lawn that has been in place for several years now. In 2006, the local pro football stadium here in MA had just been converted to artificial turf, but international soccer matches there required that real grass be used for the playing surfaces, so sod was brought in. When the soccer tournament was over, an entire stadium’s worth of sports sod — the kind with a full two inches of rooting soil — was going to be dumped. A contractor friend learned of it, and for the cost of carting it away, he got enough sod to cover his one-acre backyard. After final loaming and grading, the sod turned what had been a giant muddy construction site for the entire previous year into smooth, jewel-green play area for the dogs and kids. It gets pretty heavy wear, but still looks wonderful four years later. (Not sure what it would have cost, though — that much soil and rooting area doesn’t come cheap, either in carbon or dollars!)

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  2. I believe you are talking about Gillette Stadium. I remember Tom Brady had a horrible game vs. the Jets. The next home game they put in artificial. I don’t know if he’s lost a regular season game at home since then.

    http://www.greentechitm.com/

    You do have this option for athletic fields and golf courses I do believe. I’ve been to a short course where the owner spoke about Lane Stadium at VA Tech.

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