Just want to clear up an inaccuracy here: "He urged me NOT to pull any more even in flower beds because PULLING THEM SPREADS THE NUTSEDGE!! He said the seeds are in the "nut" at the base of the root system, so when you rupture/disturb the nut by pulling, all those seeds spread all over and get in the lawn too. I can't believe I've been inadvertently spreading it!!!" Seeds of nutsedge, Cyperus rotundus or esculentus, are NOT contained in the nutlets! They will be located in the flowerheads that form at the top of the plant. But they are not the problem as purple nutsedge seldom produces any seed and yellow nutsedge seeds have minimal germination viability. An established plant will produce multiple nutlets as well as a rhizomatous root system. Sometimes as many as a hundred or more. That's how the sedge multiples and why pulling is so ineffectual - unless the soil is very loose and friable, it is almost impossible to get all the roots and all the nutlets out and any single remaining tuber (nutlets) will regenerate as a new plant. So disturbing or rupturing the nutlet does not spread any seeds. But it is easy to spread the tubers while in the process of physical removal. Any tilling, plowing or even just routine cultivation of a planting bed can spread the tubers. Any tuber left in place will rapidly form a new plant. Control is not a once and done. It will generally take repeated applications of a dedicated sedge killer or a broad spectrum herbicide. Same with manual removal of the topgrowth/starving the plant via denial of photosynthesis. Most sources state a 2-3 year period of focused control methods before a 90% elimination of any remaining tubers.

The average person looking at a wing cross-section would think it pushed down, not lifts up. Common sense would fail them there. And not wanting to be disagreeable, but I think common experience (emperical results), not common sense, guides most good gardening. We often don't know specifically why something works, at least in any rigorous sense, but we know what has worked reliably for others and ourselves. Reasonable, common sense solutions can sometimes lead us astray. Common sense might easily have all our pear pruning in the dormant season (as with most other deciduous fruits): practical experience shows that some summer pruning is often more effective. Common sense had us removing lawn clippings from the lawn ("leads to thatch buildup"): actualy experience (experiment) shows that leaving them is best apparently and has nothing to do with thatch. It is often hard to figure out when to defer to authority (whether university or neighbor) and when to go with the gut, with common sense. Fortunately in gardening, experimenting and failing occasionally has little risk.

I cut up the African blue basil for potato salad and lots of other stuff. It's good, though not as good as regular sweet basil. Thai basil is a whole different plant. Looks different, tastes different. Still a great one to grow, though. But my favorite basil of all is spicy globe basil. It makes the prettiest little globe shaped plants, bright green, small leaves, and it tastes great. A bit more peppery than regular sweet basil, but just as good. Basil is my favorite herb! To grow and to eat. Katkin, even the leaves on African blue basil have a bluish cast to them. They aren't the bright green of Thai basil. If yours looks slighty "rusty" with a bluish cast, it would be the African blue, I think. Marcia

If you live in the Katy area of Houston your kyllinga itâs probably a flatsedge. Green kyllinga (kyllinga brevifolia) resembles smallflower umbrella sedge (cyperus difformis). Umbrella sedge is a rice field weed that grows alongside the rice crop. The entire Katy area used to be a rice field, and its residential communities are full of dormant difformis seed. Kyllinga is an invasive ornamental. It responds to halosulfuron (Sedge Hammer). In contrast, umbrella sedge is a crop weed with a history of exposure to agricultural herbicide. It exhibits a wide range of immunity, including an immunity to halosulfuron. I treat umbrella flatsedges with sulfentazone based herbicides (like Bonideâs Sedge Ender). I apply in the early Spring, when the sun is less abundant and the sedge is actively re-growing root stock. This mitigates risks to my Saint Augustine and encourages the uptake of herbicide into the weedâs root zone. Houston water is quite hard, so I add a surfactant. I use an inexpensive spreader-sticker product from Bonide, but Iâve heard Palmolive works fine. Wait several days before mowing or watering to give the herbicideâs time to absorb. The most effective âgreenâ alternative would be to till the land repeatedly, waiting for the sedge to grow, just to smother the young plants with so additional tilling. Over time, the rootstocks and seeds exhaust themselves of carbohydrates, leaving a rich, sterile soil. Unfortunately, my home owners association frowns on this approach. So Iâm stuck taking a chemical approach. Yet . . . my own lawn is far from perfect. Symptoms: 1. Long yellow-grey runners of Saint Augustine, that cannot penetrate certain areas in the lawn, away from sprinkler heads. 2. A few lush areas of thick green lawn, by the sprinkler heads. 3. Indicator weeds: Flatsedge, wild garlic, and powderpuff mimosa. 4. Three visible patches of grey slime mold with more mold in the beds. 5. Predictable reemergence of chinch bug damage, near the hot concrete. Iâm getting mixed signals. The grass looks healthier at low points: against the back of the house, against the A/C slab, in between the homes, and at the side walk in the front yard. This indicates water and/or fertilizer is collecting and providing the sod a much needed boost. Everywhere else, the lawn looks overwatered: yellowing and graying of solons, invasive marsh weeds and compacted soil. The live oak looks nitrogen deficient and has shown signs of chlorosis. It seems to me that the ground is almost impermeable. Water and fertilizer pool in the low areas, while the higher grades (in Houston an 8 inch slope constitutes a grade) dry out, harden and are washed clean of nutrients. My response has been to fertilize frequently and water frequently, but this is unsustainable due to fungal concerns. My builder did a sloppy job grading the surface. He did not bring in any viable topsoil, and the grass was installed with very little of its own. It seems to be a highly susceptible cultivar. I saved my lawn, with a biphenthrin spray, while others succumbed to chinch bugs very first year. How their lawns are looking far better than mine. The fertilized with an atrazine based "weed and feed" so they never developed the flatsedge concerns. Now Iâm wishing I had let it all die then, before the HOA became more aggressive, and I'm considering using atrazine next year despite the ground water concerns. I want to go organic but this is untenable given my current soil and lawn problems. So, I began spraying the soil with milk and beer and J&J shampoo. No phenomenal changes in the soil or the fungal outlook. Iâm considering installing a more hardy cultivar, in sparse plugs, with the anticipation of it out competing the existing sod. I would like to core aerate and top-dress with slightly sandy compost. Any advice on this operation, specifically in Houston area clay? Should I get Media soil activator in the interim, or use a foliar spray? Who can I call to test my soil needs and prescribe my best path forward, preferably someone who wonât sell a service? Any tips on automatic sprinkler settings and no-nos?