Q. I have a problem that I am hoping you can help me handle. My "lawn" is being crowded out by either crabgrass or Bermuda grass. I'm not sure what the difference is between those types of grasses, but one of them is definitely taking over! The one I have turns brown in the fall/winter. Do you have any miracle cures you can share with me? A. Sorry, but I don't have any miracle cures. The fact that you made a point to note that this mystery weed turns brown in the fall/winter told me all that I needed to know. Since it turns brown in cold weather, you are the victim of Bermuda grass. And I'm sorry to say, that this is extremely bad news!
Bermuda grass grows like a weed and has deep roots. It is virtually impossible to dig up. The best you can probably do is to "green it up" during fall/winter by overseeding the lawn with annual rye grass. This will grow in the winter and mask the Bermuda's brown. If it's a small area that is being attacked by Bermuda, you might try spraying with a contact killer like Round-Up or Finale. Then, you can reseed with regular grass seed in early spring. However, I'm not sure you'll be successful in killing all the Bermuda. If you spray several times, you might have better odds.
Crabgrass is another bothersome weed, but -- at least -- you can keep it under control by treating its seeds in February. That's when you need to use so-called "weed-and-feed" products that fertilize and also kill crabgrass seeds BEFORE they germinate.
Q. This past summer I planted long-neck gourd seeds early in the spring. One plant did very well. Small gourds came up from the blooms and got to about 2 inches long, but then dried up and disappeared. It was planted where it received lots of afternoon sun. Can you give me any reasons why these gourds never matured?
A. Gourds are related to the pumpkin, melon and squash families. They are grown more for their decorative and utilitarian qualities rather than their edible ones. For instance, you may have seen gourd birdhouses and such. It sounds like you did everything right. Gourds need to be planted early in the spring/summer season in the hottest part of the garden. They are very long season, requiring 140 days to mature.
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