Perennial weed can be pulled, sprayed

Q: My neighbor and I have patches in our yards of sparse, light-green grass that grows faster than the rest of the lawn. Even during the recent dry spell, this stuff kept growing. What is it, and what can we do about it?

A: Your grass sounds like yellow nutsedge, a perennial weed that's also called nutgrass. The weed-control products typically applied to lawns as part of routine lawn maintenance won't kill it.

The Ohio State University Extension has a fact sheet on yellow nutsedge control at http://ohioline.osu.edu. (Click on "Yard and Garden" and then "Lawns," and scroll down to the lawn care section.)

If your lawn has only a few nutsedge plants, you can pull them by hand, the fact sheet says. Be sure to get the entire root system, and check for regrowth regularly.

For larger infestations, you'll need to apply a special herbicide or have a professional treat your lawn.

Do-it-yourselfers should look for a product designed for nutsedge or nutgrass control, such as Monsanto's Manage Turf Herbicide or Ortho Crabgrass Killer. Ideally, the herbicide should be applied in spring or early summer, when the plants are young, the fact sheet says.

Follow the directions carefully, and avoid mowing the lawn three to five days before and after each treatment. Don't water the lawn for at least 48 hours after the product is applied.

What's new

Krylon has a new spray-on finish that produces the high-end look of stainless steel without the high price.

Krylon Stainless Steel Finish can be used on surfaces including wood, metal and glass, both indoors and outdoors. The paint is infused with flakes of stainless steel for an authentic-looking appearance.

It can even be used on most appliances, but not high-heat appliances such as stoves.

The product is available at hardware stores and home centers for around $5.75 to $7.75.

On the shelf

For most of the 20th century, the Cleveland Public Schools ran a garden program that was emulated by schools across the United States and as far away as Japan.

Joel Mader, a retired English teacher with the school district, looks back at the innovative program in the book "Cleveland School Gardens."

The gardens started in 1904 as a way of beautifying vacant lots and evolved into outdoor classrooms where children learned about science and developed a respect for nature. The undertaking grew to the point that by 1970, horticulture centers had been established throughout the city to serve the schools. Some of those centers live on as neighborhood gardens, even though the program ended in the late 1970s.

The book tells the story of the garden program in more than 200 photos and captions.

"Cleveland School Gardens" is part of Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series. It sells for $21.99 in softcover.