Dallas firm gets into true spirit of the Xmas

DALLAS — Moore Lawn & Garden and Moore Tree Care employees organized a food drive to help the less fortunate here this Christmas.

“The economic downturn has affected many individuals and we wanted to assist those families in our area, ” said Brenda Scott, Garden Manager for Moore Lawn & Garden. Beginning December 8 employees delivered bags to every client, with each bag containing a letter explaining the food drive and that Moore would pick up the donations when the regular crew came by on the scheduled maintenance day.

“Our very generous clients and employees,” provided more than 950 lbs of non-perishable items such as canned meats, soups, cereals, instant breakfasts, rice and pasta, equaling 850 meals, said Ken Fischer, Director of Moore Lawn & Garden. Employees from Moore delivered the donations to a North Texas Food Bank.

Moore Lawn & Garden and Moore Tree Care have been serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex since 1962 and today are a division of Lambert Landscape Company.

Ruppert Nurseries donates 5% of profits to charities

Ruppert Nurseries pledges to share at least 5% of the company’s budgeted profit, which is budgeted at $300,000 for 2008, with charitable causes in the community each year. A major recipient of donations this year was Easter Seals, but Ruppert has supported at least 50 nonprofit organizations with financial, in-kind or labor donations.

The Easter Seals’ Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Inter-Generational Center in Silver Spring was the recipient of a $100,000 donation from Ruppert Nurseries in 2008. In addition to the financial support, Ruppert employees have helped landscape or spruce up various sites, made friends with Easter Seals clients and attended events in support of Easter Seals.

Other events and organizations that have been supported by Ruppert in 2008 include: Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, Home Health & Hospice, Becca’s Run, D.C. Students Construction Trade Foundation, Friends of the Patapsco, Lions Club Mulch Delivery, Capital Area Food Bank Drive, Waterford Park, American Diabetes Association and more.

Source: Dolan Media Newswire

Where consumers cut back during a recession

Many companies can anticipate the performance of their sectors in a recession. McKinsey research shows that during the 1990 – ‘91 and 2001 – ‘02 downturns, for example, U.S. consumers reprioritized their spending rather than cutting it across the board. Consumer spending dropped in discretionary categories like dining out, personal care products and charitable donations. But expenditures for groceries, reading materials, and other options that substitute for more expensive ones actually rose. So did outlays on insurance, health care, and, above all, education.

Average growth in U.S. consumer expenditures (1990-91 and 2001-02) compared with average growth for entire period (1984-2008); index: average growth for entire period = 0

Increased spending over period average

Education (eg. tuition, textbooks)....................90
Reading (eg. newspapers, magazines) ..............53
Personal insurance, pensions ..........................43
Health care (eg. health insurance, services)........29
Food at home 28

Decreased spending over period average

Entertainment (eg. tickets for events, trips).............-06
Housing............................................................-10
Tobacco products..............................................-13
Cash contributions.............................................-28
Apparel & service...............................................-45
Transportation...................................................-70
Personal-care products & services.........................-78
Food away from home ......................................-110

Source: The McKinsey Quarterly (https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com)

Am I missing something on this phosphorus issue?

Having lived literally within sight of the Great Lakes almost all of my life, I’ve seen what pollution can do to a body of water, especially Lake Erie, which now supplies my drinking and washing water, and provides me, my family and friends with excellent recreational opportunities.

A NASTY LAKE

I saw the lake covered with algae during the summers of the 1960s, and witnessed the decline of the sports fishing industry through 1970s. About that time the federal and state governments began taking serious action to reverse (slow is a more accurate word) the Lake’s decline. They forced communities within the Great Lakes watershed to upgrade their sewage treatment plants and they mandated the removal of phosphorus from laundry detergents, inasmuch as phosphorus promotes the growth of algae. This brings me closer to the point I want to make. And to a question for anyone reading this blog.


Why are some people in the lawn care business so opposed to legislation aimed at restricting the use of lawn fertilizers containing phosphorus near streams, lakes and bays, especially when the legislation, on the surface, seems reasonable?

A RECENT EXAMPLE

Let’s take a look at recent legislation in Annapolis, MD. That city regulates the use and sale of fertilizing containing phosphorus to limit runoff into the Chesapeake Bay. The law applies to home lawns, parks, cemeteries and golf courses. It also forbids the application of lawn fertilizer when the ground is frozen or where it will run onto any impervious surface, such as parking lots, sidewalks and roadways, and not be collected or applied to the turfgrass.

That said, there are exceptions that allow the use of phosphorus-containing fertilizers:

— on turf or lawn areas where soil tests performed within the last three years confirm that the phosphorus levels are deficient
— on newly established turf or lawn areas during their first growing season.
— on gardens, including vegetable and flower, trees, shrubs, and indoor applications, including green houses.
— on yard waste compost or other similar materials that are primarily organic in nature and are applied to improve the physical condition of the soil

OH NO, NOT AGAIN

Lake Erie improved dramatically through the 1980s and 1990s because of the above-mentioned actions (and others). The recreational boating and sport fishing industries boomed as a result. Unfortunately, researchers and other knowledgeable experts are telling me the Lake is going back the other direction again.

I don’t know how large a role that lawn fertilizers are having on the quality of Lake Erie, not a clue. But it seems to me that limiting the use of phosphorus-containing fertilizers on soils that are tested and already have sufficient phosphorus for plant health is reasonable and I don't see any reason to kick about it.

Now my question — Am I missing a key element of this issue, the reason why lawn care applicators sometimes oppose this type of legislation? — Ron Hall

How the Brits view the landscape biz in '09

Source: Horticulture Week, which covers the Green Industry in Great Britain


"It is hard to say exactly what the outlook is going to be for 2009 but if I'm honest I'd say there is going to be more of a slowdown.

"It is still busy at the moment but without a doubt there has been a slowdown in enquiry rates. A certain sector of the market in smaller projects has fallen away. The larger private contracts are still there but they are going to be hard-earned. I don't know whether projects like the Olympics will help.

"In a recession, people will spend more on their gardens - but the early part of the year will be difficult. January to March will see a big slowdown." - Robin Templar Williams, managing director, Robin Williams & Associates

"The recession is going to be worse than people think and next year will be tough. I think the outlook is pretty bleak.

"Housing is obviously the worst hit - it's fallen off a cliff. Commercial will be hit but not as hard, and grounds maintenance clients will be looking for savings, particularly in local authorities. I don't think the weaker companies will survive. I think it will be a short, sharp shock and by 2010 or 2011 we'll see recovery because there are major capital schemes that will boost the economy - roads, Crossrail, the Thames Gateway and the Olympics." - Neil Huck, senior contracts manager, Ground Control

"It is going to be tough for all sectors of the industry. But it is an opportunity for professional businesses to look at how they do business. It is about sharpening up and looking at systems of working and labour.

"I think it will be short-term pain and long-term gain because it will get rid of a lot of the dross in our side of the industry. Contractors will have to be careful how much credit they give people and everyone will have to raise their game.

"For the past five years it has been too easy and, in this sharper market, to look at all your costs is a good thing." - Mark Gregory, director, Landform Consultants

"I think that, paradoxically, once people understand they are in a recession they are more likely to treat their house as a home and invest in enjoyment of that.

"That includes investing in their gardens rather than trying to sell their house.

"It can be hard as an individual garden designer to gauge how the industry is going to look next year but I have already had enquiries from landscapers looking for work to build my designs.

"They are obviously feeling the pinch in other areas - there is a seasonal aspect to that but it's clear they are nervous." - Peter Thomas, chairman, Society of Garden Designers.

Click on the headline to register and receive HortWeek's weekly enewsletter. It's a quick, informative read.

New Cowboys stadium will be incredible!

How bot dem Cowboys, eh?

Apart from the New York Yankees, what other team is ready to plunk down a cool $1 billion for a new stadium, in this case $1.1 billion. For that price, the stadium better get lots of use, and it looks like it will. It's already being touted as perhaps "the most used stadium ever built." In addition to being the home field for the NFL Cowboys, the Stadium, designed by HKS Architects, is going to host the 2011 Super Bowl, the 2010 AT&T Cotton Bowl, the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, the 2014 NCAA men's Final Four basketball tournament, maybe even World Cup soccer and NCAA lacrosse.

The retractable roof stadium will have three different Matrix synthetic fields being installed by Hellas Construction, Austin, for three different sports -- one for the Cowboys, one for college football and one for soccer. The Matrix trademarked field is an advanced version of the RealGrass surface that the Cowboys have played on at Texas Stadium the past eight years.

"This is the only stadium in the NFL that has the option to have as many different kinds of fields as they want and can change out for every event," said Reed J. Seaton, CEO of Hellas Construction, which is installing the fields.

The new field is unique in several other ways, including its "roll-up" design. The field can be rolled up in strips and stored under staging areas along the sidelines at field level. In other words, one field can be rolled up and another laid down, reportedly within a day's time.

The Stadium, which will seat 80,000, with the possibility of expansion to 100,000, is to be done in August, and the Cowboys will play its first home game there in September. Although the Stadium is yet to sell naming rights, some folks are referring to it as "Jerry World," in reference to team owner Jerry Jones.

It replaces Texas Stadium, which opened in 1971, as the Cowboys home.

Click on the headline and see the video of the new stadium being built.....It will blow you away!

Can Canada's ag community stand by and watch?

OTTAWA, CANADA- Author and Ottawa Citizen columnist Dan Gardner was the guest speaker Wed., Dec. 3, at a national agricultural conference co-hosted by CropLife Canada and the Grain Growers of Canada.

Gardner, author of Risk: The Science and Politics of Fear, will talk about why - at a time when the world population is the healthiest and safest it has ever been - people worry about things they don't need to worry about and don't worry about the things they ought to. He will also talk about how that applies to chemicals and the huge gap between what chemical experts know and what the average person worries about.

"Mr. Gardner's book is very thought-provoking. As an industry that has been under attack recently, we thought our audience would be interested in hearing more about how fear can drive people to behave in ways that really don't make sense," Dr. Lorne Hepworth president of CropLife Canada said.

Following this year's keynote address, CropLife Canada will be commenting on draft regulations to ban the sale and use of some pesticides in Ontario. The association is highly critical of the government for failing to articulate scientific criteria, arguing that citizens are safer with science-based regulations.

"The agricultural community cannot stand by quietly as the Government of Ontario ignores the fact that these products are rigorously reviewed to ensure they will not harm people, animals or the environment before they are permitted for sale. It's a dangerous precedent that could have dire consequences for agriculture because it contributes to heighten and unmerited perceptions of risk."

CropLife Canada is the trade association representing the manufacturers, developers and distributors of plant science innovations - pest control products and plant biotechnology - for use in agriculture, urban and public health settings.

Dallas plans first fully sustainable urban square block in U.S.

The City of Dallas will host a full-day "Design Charrette" Friday, Dec. 5, to examine the necessary framework and community impact of what will become the first fully sustainable, urban square block in the United States. The Charrette, attended by community design and urban planning experts from across the nation, will be held at City Hall from 8:30 am until 5:30 pm.

The outcome of the day will include a series of recommendations, which will in turn structure an international design competition to create the actual block. That competition, which kicks off in January 2009, will invite architects and planners from around the world to translate the needs of the Dallas Community into structural designs for the future city block.

"The goal is to create the first fully sustainable block downtown," said Brent Brown, Dallas architect and founder of the Building Community Workshop (http://www.bcworkshop.org). "And by sustainable, we mean a place that is socially, economically and environmentally healthy. We'll take the first step in that effort on Friday."

Hosted by the City of Dallas, San Francisco-based Urban Re:Vision (http://www.urbanrevision.com) and Dallas' Building Community Workshop, the Charrette will look at the common city block in an uncommon way, examining the impact of this particular city block's development on the City of Dallas and its surrounding area. In rethinking the city block, experts will re-assess the potential value of available resources like water, waste, and air and how to strike the delicate balance between economy and equality.

"Our job on December 5th is to explore how pivotal the city block is in the urban landscape, and how it can be used as a catalyst for a whole new way of living," said Stacey Frost (http://www.urbanrevision.com/biography/stacey-frost), Founder of Urban Re:Vision.

"This process is one that puts real people first and promotes sustainability." Potential requirements, barriers, and changes will be examined in an effort to pave the way for the implementation of the proposed site. This examination will also serve to aid both site-specific, and regional decision-making.

Topics will include: energy systems, transportation, the natural and developed environment, community, the economy and technology.

Additional groups involved include Downtown Dallas, The Real Estate Council, Central Dallas Ministries, The Institute for Urban Policy Planning, Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture, Enterprise Foundation, Fannie Mae Foundation, Vision North Texas and others. Participants from outside the Dallas area include representatives of the Biomimicry Institute, Architecture for Humanity, ARUP, Organic Architect, United States Green Building Council, and others.

Along comes a robotic mower that's also a security guard

OK, here’s a question for you — which will come first:

A robotic mower that can be used for daily commercial mowing?
Or
We land a man on Mars?

We ask that because we’ve seen or read about more than a dozen units designed and built by university students over the years, mostly in competitions. And we’ve also seen several attempts at producing and marketing robotic mowers that can be used by commercial cutters. But all have fallen far short of exciting grounds professionals or landscape maintenance companies. Yes, there are several neat little robotic mowers that would probably do quite well for a homeowner, although even these look more like novelties than work machines.

Now comes two students at Louisiana State University’s department of computer science with their AgBot, a prototype robot that can be used for multiple tasks, such as mowing, seeding, fertilizing, and since it’s also equipped with a night vision camera positioned atop a 360-degree swivel, a high-frequency alarm system and a motion sensor it can double as a night watchman.


Click on the headline to see the students putting the AgBot through its paces.

Big Canadian retailer to stop selling "cosmetic pesticides"

Rona Inc., a big Canadian retailer that sells home improvement and garden products, says it will quit selling cosmetic pesticides (pesticides used on home landscapes and lawns) by next July, reports CBC News.

Taking these products off its shelves will cost it $20 million in annual sales, out of total revenues exceeding $6.3 billion (Canadian) at nearly 700 stores, including about 75 big-box stores.

The use of pesticides on home lawns and common properties, which started out with the small community of Hudson in Quebec Province winning a 10-year legal battle to institute a pesticide ban in 2001, has blossomed into a national issue.

Here’s a rundown from the CBC of what’s happening within provinces where cosmetic pesticides have become an issue:

— British Columbia: 22 communities have introduced controls on pesticides.

— Ontario: In April 2008, Ontario announced plans to ban more than 300 pesticides by 2009, but will allow them to be used to control pests in farming and forestry.

— New Brunswick: The communities of Shediac, Caraquet, Sackville and St. Andrews have outlawed cosmetic pesticides.

— Nova Scotia: The Halifax Regional Municipality is the only region to have issued a ban on cosmetic pesticides in the province.

— Prince Edward Island: The province is considering introducing a ban on the use of cosmetic pesticides.

— Quebec: In April 2006, Quebec introduced a province-wide ban on the sale and use of pesticides on public, private and commercial land. The ban does not apply to golf courses and farmlands.

Leaves raked onto curbs adds to phosphorus loading

Below is some timely information that appeared in a recent enewsletter from the Cornell University turfgrass team. In light of the actions by some communities to ban the use of fertilizers containing phosphorus, regardless of what soil tests reveal, we thought it was interesting. Phosphorus runoff, of course, promotes algae and plant growth in streams, rivers and lakes, and none of us wants to do anything to degrade the environment.

The Cost and Waste of Leaf Collecton

Many communities throughout the Northeast and Midwest spend enormous amounts of tax dollars on the collection of fallen leaves. In fact some communities around New York City such as Scarsdale will spend in excess of $1.25 million dollars annually on leaf collection. In these challenging economic times one might consider better use for this money and the science is there on several fronts to support alternatives.

First and foremost bringing the leaves to the curb increases the risk of phosphorus contamination of surface water bodies. Several monitoring studies have found that P loading of lakes and streams peaks during periods of leaf drop suggesting that the leaves are releasing the P as they degrade. Bringing the leaves to the curb awaiting collection is simply increasing the P pollution problems as much as depositing P fertilizer on paved surface essentially bypassing the natural filtration capacity of turfgrass areas.

Of course the regulating of P-based fertilizer is well known and yet there is little discussion of this existing practices effect on water quality. So, if we do not collect the leaves and bring them to the curb what should we do with them?

More than a decades worth of research consistently shows that mulching the leaves effectively into the turf canopy so that they are not in clumps on the surface has no negative effect on turfgrass performance.

Furthermore there is some evidence that leaf mulching can reduce weed problems such as dandelion (see ShortCUTT Week 29; September 29, 2008). While the mechanism of this is not completely understood I suspect of we continue to study this issue more benefits will come to light. In the end, simply mulching the tree leaves into the turf is the most cost effective and environmentally friendly practice to implement at this time of year.

Source: Cornell Turfgrass Short CUTT, Week 32......click on the headline, which will take you to the Cornell Web site where you can sign up for Short CUTT. It's a great source of information about turfgrass in the Northeast and New England.

Maybe we should ban deer

Here's a quote for you. It came from the Edmonton, Canada, Journal newspaper. The object of the article is weed & feed, you know that combination of fertilizer and weed killer that many of us have been using on our home lawns for decades.

See if you think this sentence in the article is a bit — just a wee bit — over the top:

"The problems associated with the spreading of weed-and-feed granules are well- documented, encouraging gross over-application of pesticides containing a nightmare of toxins linked to a long list of terrible ailments affecting humans and wildlife alike."

OK, so this isn't related, but I thought it was interesting anyway: Last year car-animal collisions (mostly deer) killed 223 motorists or their passengers in the United States. Where's the "ban the deer" movement?

Having won the lawn care fight, is foresty & ag next?

In spite of rigorous pesticide testing procedures by the Canadian government (among the most rigorous in the world), Ontario Province will almost certainly pass a province-wide ban on the use of almost all commercially available chemical lawn care pest controls this coming spring.

Jeffrey Lowes, Director of Government & Industrial Relations, M-REP Communications, says a recent survey suggests that when the ban is implemented it could cost the Province anywhere from 3800 to 9100 jobs.

Says Lowes: “The Ontario Government is unable to recognize their policy is based on the false claims of the activists. The same activists are now in the process of targeting the agricultural sector . . . They have already held planning meetings on how to target the forestry industry. Given their success and support by the Liberal’s, the damages caused by these groups will continue.”

Click on the headline to view a recent conference focusing on the use of pesticides in agriculture, sponsored by the Canadian Cancer Society.

North Georgia: more menacing, but it gets less mention

You can't help wondering about life's ironic twists, even the small ones.

For example Anaheim, CA, averages a mere 14 inches of rainfall annually. Anaheim was the site of the Irrigation Association Conference and Exhibition this past Nov. 2-4. To everyone's surprise, two of the three mornings of the event, it rained at the Convention Center there.

Meanwhile, I'm talking with Ed Klaas, president of the Georgia Irrigation Association at the event, and he's telling me that Atlanta and the rest of north Georgia, which averages more than 50 inches of rain annually, is still in a drought. In fact, Lake Lanier, the manmade reservoir northeast of Atlanta and the city's primary source of drinking water, is at a record low. It's lower in fact than last December when the local news media was writing almost daily about the lingering dry spell and its affect on the region, and especially on the Green Industry there.

The Atlanta drought, which continues, is now old news. Even the media says so in a recent article in the local press. Click on the headline for the latest on the drought. — Ron Hall

Long arm of the law nabs long-ago lawn offender

If you don’t mow your lawn, the long arm of the law will track you down and put you in jail, which begs the question: Is there a statute of limitations for not mowing your lawn?

MyFox Atlanta reports Amy Parker, a resident of Gainesville, GA, was arrested this past Friday because of a complaint and a fine arising from not mowing her yard four years ago. Apparently a neighbor complained, resulting in the violation.

Parker, according to the article, still owed $35 (apparently an “office fee”) after paying the $290 fine for not keeping her lawn mowed. She paid the fine but says she didn’t know about the “office fee.”

The law certainly hadn’t forgotten. And, counting up penalties, that fee had risen 10-fold to $325, and a judge (and this is tough for me to believe) signed a warrant for her arrest.

Parker ended up spending four days in jail until her husband could pay the fine, said Fox News

Reminds me of the parking ticket I failed to pay in Fremont, OH, back in the day (way back in the day). I forgot about the ticket, which I think was just a dollar or two. I might have tossed it or I might have forgotten to pay it; I don’t remember.

But I do remember that I had forgotten about it until weeks later when a deputy sheriff came knocking on my apartment door with a warrant.

That one unpaid parking ticket cost me a morning in court, a day of work and a $16 fine, which was a lot of money for me then. (After reading about Amy Parker, I now consider myself pretty darn lucky I didn’t get some serious jail time.)

Click on the headline to see a video of Amy Parker, who seems like a nice person, in her own defense.


— Ron Hall

Huge new source of fresh water discovered in Oregon mountains

While the U.S. Southwest looks to a future of continued population growth and development but no substantial increase in fresh water supplies — indeed projections are for a reduced supply of fresh water due to climate change — a huge underground reservoir of fresh water has been discovered in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains.

The stockpile stores close to seven years’ worth of Oregon rain and snow and is like to become increasingly precious, given the West’s continued growth.

The U.S. Forest Service and Oregon State University say the water has been collecting in cracks and fissures in the young (less than 1 million years old) volcanic rock in a large swath of Oregon and northern California.

The cache of water is being described as “one of the biggest groundwater known in a mountainous region anywhere on the planet” — in effect a huge sponge.

Click on the headline to read more about the underground discovery courtesy of oregonlive.com.

Plant breeder Crystal Rose-Fricker gets props from the Crop Science Society of America

If you plant turfgrass, renovate it, fertilize it or mow it, you owe the small fraternity of U.S. turfgrass breeders a big thanks. These are the folks that love working and improving the most valuable landscape plant in the United States. Without them, you’d be out of a job.

Mitch Lies, a reporter who often writes about turfgrass for the Capital Press in Salem, OR, in the heart of the nation’s turfgrass production region, wrote a recent excellent article focusing on Crystal Rose-Fricker, plant breeder and president of Pure-Seed Testing.

In the article she points to the development of Aurora Gold, a turftype tall fescue with natural tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate, as one of her most gratifying projects. Not only is she talented, she’s persistent. It took her 10 years to develop Aurora Gold.

Click on the headline to read about Crystal Rose-Fricker’s work and the well-deserved recognition she recently received at the recent Crop Science Society of America meeting.

How do you steal 120 tons of road salt?

Tovar Snow Professionals, headquartered in the west Chicago suburb of Elgin, IL, recently discovered that somebody made off with 120 tons of road salt from its Aurora storage facility, according to the Chicago Tribune. That's enough salt to fill six semi-trucks. The salt, as any snow management professional will tell you, has become an expensive commodity. The value of the stolen salt was listed at $32,000, according to the article, which is available by clicking on the headline above.

Florida landscaper decides to grow his own fuel

Tired of those high prices at the pump? Brian Shank, president of Clermont Scapes, a landscape company based in Groveland, FL, was.

He says he's planting a 22-acre crop of a desert-native plant known as jatropha to make biofuel for his equipment.

According to an article posted at gas2.org, he figures he can get about 1,000 gallons of biofuel per acre per harvest from the jatropha, which offers significantly more energy bang for the buck than the same amount acreage planted in corn.

Click on the headline for the article and the comments it generated.

The unexpected kindness of strangers

Just about the time you’re thinking that everybody is out for themselves and don’t give a crap about anybody else, something happens to recharge your faith in people’s kindness and generosity.

An article on tampabay.com by talented reporter Erin Sullivan brightened our day recently.

Briefly: Joseph Prudente, a 66-year-old grandfather, was jailed without bail on Friday Oct. 10 because he wasn’t keeping his lawn in good shape. Apparently it was brown and not being taken care of, which didn’t sit well with the homeowners’ association where it was located. It seems Prudente had fallen on hard times and didn’t have the money to care for the lawn.

The next morning Andy Law, who lived in a nearby community, read about Prudente being hauled off to the slammer, and it really ticked him off. He rounded up some equipment, and other folks, including a Pasco County commissioner, started showing up and fixing the lawn. By 6 p.m. the volunteers had replaced the brown grass, fixed the sprinkler system and planted flowers.

The next day, the sheriff, after a brief court hearing in which a representative from the homeowners’ association confirmed the lawn had been improved, let Prudente out of jail.

Click on the headline for Erin Sullivan’s article. It will gladden your day.