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Browse by Author: Grady Miller
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Carolina Lawns: A Guide to Maintaining Quality Turf in the Landscape

By: Grady Miller, Charles Peacock, Arthur Bruneau, Fred Yelverton, Jim Kerns, Rick Brandenburg, Richard J. Cooper, Matt Martin

This comprehensive guide offers information on different grasses for North Carolina lawns, as well as how to establish, care for, maintain, and renovate a new lawn.

Tall Fescue Lawn Maintenance Calendar

By: Grady Miller, Fred Yelverton, Charles Peacock, Jim Kerns, Rick Brandenburg, Terri Billeisen Lawn Maintenance Calendars

This factsheet provides instructions on how to properly care for tall fescue grass year round. It includes recommendations for mowing, fertilization, watering, pest control, and renovation.

Bermudagrass Lawn Maintenance Calendar

By: Grady Miller, Jim Kerns, Terri Billeisen, Fred Yelverton, Charles Peacock, Rick Brandenburg Lawn Maintenance Calendars

The following management practices will help you care for your lawn throughout the year. Location, terrain, soil type and condition, age of the lawn, previous lawn care, and other factors affect turf performance, so adjust these management practices and dates to suit your particular lawn.

9. Lawns

By: Grady Miller

This lawns chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook reviews installation and care of turfgrass as well as management strategies for turfgrass problems. This chapter also reviews options for turfgrass alternatives.

Zoysiagrass Lawn Maintenance Calendar

By: Grady Miller, Jim Kerns, Terri Billeisen, Charles Peacock, Rick Brandenburg, Fred Yelverton Lawn Maintenance Calendars

This publication for homeowners and landscapers describes how to mow, fertilize, irrigate, and control weeds in a zoysiagrass lawn.

2022 Top Performing Tall Fescue, Kentucky Bluegrass, and Fine Fescue Cultivars for North Carolina

By: Grady Miller

This factsheet offers information on the top-performing tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass, and fine fescue turf cultivars in North Carolina.

Zoysiagrass

By: Grady Miller TurfFiles

This factsheet summarizes the characteristics of zoysiagrass.

Selecting and Managing Lawn Grasses for Shade

By: Grady Miller, Ray McCauley, Charles Peacock

Turfgrass, trees, and shrubs are desired in most landscapes because they are attractive and useful. Unfortunately, growing turfgrasses in the presence of trees and shrubs can be a formidable task because each plant group competes with the other for the light, water, and nutrients that are essential for survival and growth. Even so, homeowners can take steps to improve the performance of a lawn growing in shade.

Dogs and Turfgrass Interactions

By: Grady Miller, Ray McCauley

This publication answers common questions dog owners may have about lawn care. Topics include what kinds of grasses to use in high traffic areas; how to deal with damage to lawns caused by dogs; dogs' exposure to pesticides; and why dogs occasionally eat turfgrass.

Tall Fescue, Hard (Fine) Fescue, and Kentucky Bluegrass Home Lawn Calendar

By: Grady Miller, James Kerns, Terri Billeisen Lawn Maintenance Calendars

Recommended maintenance practices for a lawn that consists of a blend of tall fescue, hard (fine) fescue, and Kentucky bluegrass are the same as those for a tall fescue lawn. The following management practices will help you care for your lawn throughout the year.

St. Augustinegrass Lawn Maintenance Calendar

By: Grady Miller, Matt Martin, Jim Kerns, Rick Brandenburg, Terri Billeisen, Fred Yelverton Lawn Maintenance Calendars

This calendar contains suggestions designed to help in the care and maintenance of St. Augustinegrass throughout the year. It includes recommendations for mowing, fertilization, watering, pest control, and renovation.

2024 Pest Control for Professional Turfgrass Managers

By: Terri Billeisen, Rick Brandenburg, Lee Butler, Travis Gannon, Kurt Getsinger, Jim Kerns, Grady Miller, Fred Yelverton, Robert Richardson

This annual guide supplies information concerning pesticides that can be used for controlling pests in turfgrasses. Revised for 2024.

Kentucky Bluegrass

By: Grady Miller TurfFiles

This factsheet summarizes the characteristics of Kentucky bluegrass.

Bermudagrass Athletic Field Maintenance Calendar

By: Grady Miller, Fred Yelverton

This calendar offers suggestions regarding management practices for all-season care of a bermudagrass athletic field.

2020 Top Performing Tall Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass Cultivars Across the Transition Zone and North Carolina

By: Grady Miller

This factsheet offers information on the top performing tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass turf cultivars in North Carolina.

Carpetgrass

By: Grady Miller TurfFiles

This factsheet summarizes the characteristics of carpetgrass.

Tall Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass Home Lawn Calendar

By: Grady Miller, James Kerns, Terri Billeisen Lawn Maintenance Calendars

Recommended maintenance practices for a lawn that consists of a blend of tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass are the same as those for a tall fescue lawn. The following management practices will help you care for your lawn throughout the year.

Carolina Athletic Fields: A Guide to Maintaining Quality Turf on Athletic Fields

By: Grady Miller, Matthew Martin, Fred Yelverton, James Kerns, Ray McCauley

A guide to maintaining quality turf on athletic fields, including recommendations for establishing and caring for new fields, maintaining established fields, and managing pests.

Guide to Using Turf Colorants

By: Grady Miller, Drew Pinnix

This publication offers strategies for maintaining green turf during the winter using turf colorants. It discusses considerations for using colorants, different product types for specific uses, application rates and methods, and cost to help you plan winter turf maintenance.

Guide to Fraise Mowing Bermudagrass

By: Ray McCauley, Grady Miller

This publication discusses the practice of fraise mowing to remove thatch from Bermudagrass. It covers considerations for turfgrass managers, such as costs and debris, and explores specific uses, effects on aesthetics and soil physical properties, and recovery rate.

St. Augustinegrass

By: Grady Miller TurfFiles

This factsheet summarizes the characteristics of St. Augustinegrass.

Creeping Bentgrass

By: Grady Miller TurfFiles

This factsheet summarizes the characteristics of creeping bentgrass.

Water Requirements of North Carolina Turfgrasses

By: Grady Miller, Drew Pinnix, Garry Grabow, Charles Peacock

Water is an essential component for plant growth. In turfgrasses it comprises 75 to 90 percent of the fresh weight of the plant, and irrigation is a key cultural practice in turfgrass management. Only 1 percent of the water absorbed is utilized for metabolic activity. By considering the factors that contribute to water loss, turfgrass managers can devise effective irrigation plans for specific sites.

2024 Sod Producer's Report for North Carolina

By: Grady Miller

This publication reports the results of an annual survey of sod growers in North Carolina to determine and track relative inventory levels and project price changes for the year.

Irrigation Water Quality Problems

By: Charles Peacock, Grady Miller, Matt Martin

This publication offers information on water quality challenges in irrigation water.

Moss Control in Turf

By: Grady Miller, Fred Yelverton, Jim Kerns

Infestations of moss in turf are associated with unfavorable conditions for growing healthy, dense turf. This publication offers control options.

Fine Fescue

By: Grady Miller TurfFiles

This factsheet summarizes the characteristics of fine fescue.

Landscape Irrigation Auditing Made Simple

By: Garry Grabow, Grady Miller, Drew Pinnix

This publication discusses how to ensure efficient supplemental water management to maintain turfgrass growth by evaluating irrigation system performance. Completing an audit of an irrigation system provides the information needed to set irrigation controllers to deliver the proper amount of water.

Landscape Management Calendar

By: Barbara Fair, Steven Frank, Matt Martin, Grady Miller, Joe Neal

This poster-sized landscape management calendar is a guide to keeping your landscape healthy with sound management practices. It discusses proper establishment and maintenance practices as well as monitoring and targeted treatment of pests.

Carpetgrass Lawn Maintenance Calendar

By: Grady Miller, Jim Kerns, Terri Billeisen, Fred Yelverton, Charles Peacock, Rick Brandenburg, Matt Martin Lawn Maintenance Calendars

This factsheet provides instructions on how to properly care for carpetgrass year round. It also includes information on fertilization and integrated pest management.

Organic Lawn Care: A Guide to Organic Lawn Maintenance and Pest Management for North Carolina

By: Grady Miller, Jim Kerns, Terri Billeisen

This guide to lawn maintenance for North Carolina contains information on establishing a new lawn, maintaining it, and controlling lawn pests using organic methods. It also provides information on renovating an existing lawn.

Water Quality and Professional Turfgrass Managers

By: Grady Miller, Ray McCauley Water Quality & Turfgrass Area Development

Although groundwater and surface waters are rarely polluted by turfgrass pesticides, turf managers should consider the potential for environmental contamination when choosing a pesticide.

Caring for Your Lawn and the Environment

By: Deanna Osmond, Grady Miller

This factsheet provides information on how to keep a lawn healthy and attractive and how to protect the environment by reducing runoff and trapping pollutants. Fertilizer facts and rates, a mowing guide, and watering recommendations are included.

Buffalograss

By: Grady Miller TurfFiles

This factsheet summarizes the characteristics of buffalograss.

2015 Turfgrass Pest Management Manual

By: Grady Miller, Emily Erickson, Dan Bowman, Rick Brandenburg, Travis Gannon, Jim Kerns, Charles Peacock, Robert Richardson, Thomas Rufty, Leon Warren, Fred Yelverton

This guide is designed to help turf managers identify the major turfgrass pests found in North Carolina and better understand their life cycles, symptoms, and biology.

Centipedegrass

By: Grady Miller TurfFiles

This factsheet summarizes the characteristics of centipedegrass.

Water Quality and Professional Lawn Care

By: Grady Miller, Raymond McCauley

Lawns are ecosystems that impact surface and groundwater systems. The grasses found in lawns clean the environment by absorbing gaseous pollutants and intercepting pesticides, fertilizers, dust, and sediment. Irrigation water properly applied to lawns remains on site to recharge water supplies. In addition, grasses release oxygen and reduce glare, noise, and summer temperatures. Proper management practices need to be developed and followed to protect this environment. The purpose of this publication is to provide you with management strategies to preserve and protect water resources.

Water Quality and Sprayer and Spreader Calibration

By: Raymond McCauley, Grady Miller

Proper application of pesticides and fertilizers, which protects water quality, is possible only with a sprayer or spreader that is accurately calibrated. Pesticides applied with equipment that has not been calibrated may be misapplied by more than 10 percent. That may lead to repeat applications, damaged plants, excess cost, and contamination of the environment.

Water Quality and Commercial Lawn Care

By: Grady Miller, Matt Martin, Raymond McCauley Water Quality & Turfgrass Area Development

This publication describes the best management practices (BMP) to reduce sediment and keep nutrients and pesticides applied to turf from contaminating North Carolina's water resources.

Baseball Field Layout and Construction

By: Grady Miller

Knowing a few basics and having some appropriate tools is all that is necessary before you can build your own baseball field. These illustrated instructions can be used to set up a baseball field on a relatively level, open area of ground.

Maximizing the Durability of Athletic Fields

By: Grady Miller

Durable athletic fields begin with sound construction and careful planning. Good management practices can increase a field's durability. The basic concepts presented in this guide can help field managers extend the usability of athletic fields.