Your soil should NOT be all clay, it should be loamy to sandy. I have a customer in Smithfield with a Fescue/Bluegrass lawn with this beautiful loamy soil... Back in the days in the Clayton/Smithfield area, there used to be a lot of farms growing different types of crops and amending the soil over the year. Take some soil samples and send those out for analysis to see what it is lacking and what the pH is. In regards to grass type, Centipede is NOT cold hardy in your area, I would not try to plant it again. Zoysia or Fescue/Bluegrass should work well for you, providing that you water the lawn in between rainfalls and perhaps use some fungicides to prevent fungal diseases. If you are goig to go the Zoysia route, you might go with the following: Zenith Zoysia, Meyer Zoysia, El Toro, or Compadre - those are medium bladed types. If you desired a fine bladed type, you can use Cavalier, Emerald, or Zeon. But I must warn you, those fine bladed Zoysia types tend to build up thatch very fast when over managed (ie. over fertilizing and watering) A combination of Fescue and Bluegrass will probably do best in your site, providing that you water during the summer months when it does not rain. This setup will give the longest green period of any grass available in your area. Also, the deep dark green colour that many homeowners want. Give it a try, buy a few pieces of Fescue sod and see how it goes from there. Remember, you get out as much as you put in when it comes to turfgrasses. Let me know if you need more help. I'm up in Raleigh, but I do have a customer in Smithfield and can easily service your lawn should you decide you don't want to mess with it any more.

Do not use a dremel tool or any other kind of grinding device to attempt to sharpen your reel. Reel grinding is a very complicated procedure. If you try to grind your reel by hand the reel and bedknife will NEVER mate together properly again. I don't know what mower shops are pushing these "reel sharpenings" but grinding the reel is something that should rarely if ever need to be done to a homeowners walk-behind. Learn how to frequently and competantly adjust your reel to bedknife clearance. Backlap twice a season if you want to. Unless you damage the edge by running something over that is very hard, or your cut is streaking, you should never need to have your reel ground.

This story reminds me alot of myself, planting a little bit of home here in the mountains of Pennsylvania through my fig trees. I really like this story. Very ambitious and I wish Lina and Stathis the best of luck. This is the ambition and the strenghth and patience i admire in people. Good for them.

My heart goes out to Tim's family. I was hopeful that Tim would once again have a miracle and have more time. According to what I read online, he was buried yesterday. The family is asking for donations to their church. When my dad passed we'd asked for donations to local blood banks in his name, which is something anyone can do to honor Tim. I don't doubt that while Tim was going through his leukemia he used a lot of blood.. and if it was anything like when my dad needed it, blood is in short supply and some days very hard to come by. There were days my dad & I would wait for hours for a bag to be pulled out of thin air. If you are able to donate blood or platelets you may be saving the life of someone's loved one. I wish I could personally thank everyone that donated blood that my dad got. For those that want to leave Sarah & family a message, you can go to the link below. It's his page at the funeral home. Tim's obituary at News record.com GREENSBORO On this day we don't mourn the death of a man but celebrate the life of a hero. Timothy Wayne Carter, of Greensboro, passed away Monday, January 21, 2008, at the age of 50, at Wesley Long Hospital. Funeral services will be held 7 p.m. Thursday, January 24, at First Baptist Church of High Point, 405 N. Main Street. Tim spent his entire life thinking of everyone but himself. One of Tim's biggest hobbies included touching the lives of others. Tim started with the District 13 Fire Department Station 55 in Greensboro, N.C., in 1980 and later joined Stokesdale Fire Department Station 12 in Stokesdale and then finally retired from Pinecroft-Sedgefield Fire Department Stations 22 and 24 in Greensboro. Tim was also one of the original members of G.A.S.P- The Guilford Association of Scuba Personnel, where he was a rescue scuba diver for many years. Included in his many devoted years as a fireman, Tim also possessed a certification as an Emergency Medical Technician, level D. Aside from spending time saving lives, Tim worked for Pepsi Cola Bottling Company for 18 years as well as working as a photographer for the Kernersville News and Record. To forever cherish his memory, Tim leaves behind his loving wife of 13 years, Sarah Clapp Carter; his sister and best friend, Vickie Carter of Belews Creek; his two daughters, Shauna Carter and her son, Timothy Jorden Carter of Belews Creek and Jennifer Carter and her son, Landon Xavier Carter of Yanceyville, who were the joy of his life. He was preceded in death by his mother, Lou Carter Whitener; grandmother, Victoria Carter and aunt Flora Owens. Visitation for friends and family celebrating Tim's life will be held from 6:30 until 9 p.m. on Wednesday, January 23, at Cumby Family Funeral Service, 1015 Eastchester Drive in High Point. The family would like to thank Dr. Peter R. Ennever and his staff from the Oncology Department at Wesley Long Hospital for their diligent efforts in Tims's fight against Leukemia. The family would also like to thank Dr. Gwynn D. Long, Dr. Tanya Helms and Dr. Nelson Chao with the Duke Medical Center Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Team in Durham. This wonderful group of doctors and nurses made it possible for Tim to spend a few more years with his family and beloved grandsons. All their efforts helped make his transition to Heaven more peaceful and pain free. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the First Baptist Church of High Point Music Ministry, 405 N. Main Street, High Point, NC 27260. Arrangements by Cumby Family Funeral Service in High Point. Online condolences may be made at www.cumbyfuneral.com Published in the News Record on 1/23/2008.