4 - Sunday, April 9, 1989 — West Vancouver Villager

Best defence against weeds,

is a healthy,

MRS. B. of West Vancouver writes: ‘‘Not long ago, I read
in your column in the Friday edition of the North Shore
News, that one should not use ‘Weed ’n Feed’ on the lawn.
Why not? What should we do to keep the weeds down?”’

At the risk of sounding rude for
the sake of quickly getting to the
point, which is something of which
I am constantiy being reminded,
not that I am admitting to having a
problem, it’s just that...

Right, the point. Take better
care of your grass. As I have said
in previous articles, the first line of
defence against the attacks of
weeds and moss is a heathy lawn.

The weed killers found in those
products designed to eliminate
weeds in turf grass, namely 2-4-D,
Mecoprop, and Dicamba are
potentially dangerous compounds.
Why use them unnecessarily?

If you have a few weeds here
and there, why spread toxins ev-
erywhere along with your fertil-
izer? The use of liquid weed
killers, spot-applied to areas in
need, is a more environmentally
sound practice.

Better still, why not reduce the
risk of weed problems by adopting
reasonable approaches to lawn
care and climinate the need for
these chemicals altogether? Here
are a few suggestions:

Liming every spring and occa-

- sionally in the fall with dolomite

lime will help counteract the
tendency of our soils to become
acid. |

Take advantage of the free soil-

moss

well-cared-for lawn

susceptible to invasion.

Our soils are prone to compac-
tion from foot traffic and even
falling rains. Aerating your turf
once every two to three years will
reduce compaction thereby allow-
ing the soil to breathe, water and
fertilizers to penetrate and the
roots of the grass to grow freely.

Moss is tough to control even in

THE ROOT

OF THE

MATTER -

GEOFF TOBIASSON

testing sessions which are held at
the local garden centres, or better
yet, purchase your own PH testing
kit.
You can then gauge precisely
how much lime you will require to
keep it in its preferred 6.0 to 5.0
PH range.

Keep thatch and moss under
control by de-thatching the lawn
every two or three years. Thatch
thins out the lawn, making it more

Gardening lectures

IT'S NOT too late to catch the last
three lectures in the West Van-
couver Recreation Centre’s spring
gardening series.

The Wednesday evening lectures
are informative and geared to
make your gardening season a suc-
cess.

Planning and preparing a
Vegetable Garden, Wednesday,
April 12, 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., will

show you how to plan your garden
considering soil, location and area
size.

Pick up tips on preparation for
planting, fertilization, and ongoing
maintenance.

Principles of Garden Design,
Wednesday, April 19, 7 p.m. to 9
p.m., will give you basic landscap-
ing ideas to increase the value of
your property.

W. Van Volunteer

IF YOU have even one extra hour
to spare this spring consider volun-
teering for fun, work experience
and sharing skills. Listed below is
a sampling of the volunteer oppor-
tunities available in West Van-
couver. :

DRIVER for local health society
needed to take office papers over
to downtown district office, retur-
ning with other office documents.
Mileage reimbursed. ~

BE A SECRETARY. An art
therapy centre requires an office
worker for half-day per week to
perforra general office duties. The
volunteer should be over 24 years
and have a background in office
work. Training provided. Six-
month commitment.

ARTISTIC. ORGANIZED
CLERICAL worker is needed by a
local arts council for office work.
Duties include typing, filing, an-
swering phones and updating
membership lists. A background in
office work and au interest in the
arts would be helpful. Time com-
mitment required is 10 to 2 p.m.
Mon., Tues., Wed., and/or Fri-
days. Orientation provided. Loca-
tion Klee Wyck.

ORGANIZED CHEERFUL
team captains to organize the area
for meal. deliveries,
drivers, make up route lists and

some. banking. Once every six

weeks would be helpful.
OUTGOING COM-
MUNICATIVE PEOPLE are in-
vited to become teain members of
-@ group ‘who visit. care - facilities
with: ‘recreational . and - entertain-

ment |. activities... Emphasis" is on:

one-to-one visiting. {f you are a

i.e. phone -

mature adult, have good com-
munication skills and enjoy seniors
phone today about this opportuni-
ty. Hours are afternoons or even-
ings. .

a healthy lawn. An application of
iron sulphate-based moss killer
each spring should keep it under
control.

An added benefit here is the
provision of a bountiful supply of
iron which your lawn needs in
order to produce chlorophyll.

Feed the lewn well. This does
rot mean dumping toxic levels on
during a burst of gardening en-
thusiasm in the spring and then

offered

Bring specific dimensions and
questions to share.

Gardening for Small Spaces,
Wednesday, April 26 from 7:30
p.m. to 9:30 p.m., will give you
ideas to brighten up your porch,
patio or flower box.

All lectures are $5 and require
pre-registration.

Call 926-3266 iu> more informa-
tion.

Helpline

If you are interested in these or
any other volunteer opportunities
please call Joan at 985-7138 at the
Volunteer Centre, a participating

member agency of the United Way.

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sys
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Acyl. 6 cyl. & B cyl

Plus Free Brake & 20
point Safety Inspection
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Imports & Domestics
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1439 CLYDE AVE, WEST VAN.

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926-7181.

allowing it to starve the rest of the
year. Three to four applications of
a quality lawn food spaced out
from March to September wili do
the trick nicely.

A common mistake made by
homeowners in this area is insuffi-
cient water during the hot months
of the summer and early fall.

They are either fooled by the
fact that we live in a quasi cain-
forest or foolishly think they can
teduce the amount of work by
allowing the grass to go dormant.

Either way, the grass will gradu-
ally yellow, become thin and allow
weeds and moss to take a foct-
hold. | would much rather drag the
hose around the yard than face a
weed or moss-infested lawn with a
handful of poisons.

Cut the grass frequently and a:
the proper height. Get it down to
one or one and a half inches dur-
ing the hotter months.

Allowing the grass to grow too

long will force it to thin out closer
to the ground. The next time you
mow, you will expose the roots to
the heat of the sun. This can also
cause severe thinning and therefore
the encroachment of weeds.

Lastly, sprinkle a little extra seed
over a freshly cut lawn around the
end of April or the beginning of
May. Let the grass grow a little
longer than normal to allow the
seed to germinate.

This will help your turf maintain
the desired look of a lush, healthy,
well-maintained lawn and in doing
so will enable it to choke out weeds
and moss before they can get es-
tablished. ;

Geoff Tobiasson will. answer
readers’ garden and houseplant
questions in his column. Send your
query to The Root of the Matter,
West Vancouver Villager, 1139
Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver,
V7M 24.

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Franchises available 986-4385