Grass

Fieldwork has been going at a dizzying pace. Corn and soybeans are being planted, while barley and alfalfa are being chopped and ensiled for next fall and winter's feed. Harvesting grass hay is next on the to-do list. Even though there are many types of grass that grow in our area, we predominately grow four types of cool season perennials for hay and pasture. These grasses are orchard grass, fescue, timothy and brome grass. Bluegrass is also grown here, but is used almost exclusively for pasture.

The city of Hagerstown has billed the state of Maryland for $637 because it had to bring in workers to cut grass and weeds around the former armory on Tuesday, officials said Thursday. Grass and weeds had grown to 3 to 4 feet high and mulberry and maples trees were 8 to 10 feet high between the fence and pavement, said Marc David, the city's code enforcement officer. The crew ended up filling two small dump trucks, David said. A five-member crew spent three to four hours chopping and mowing the weeds, trees and grass along the sides and behind the 328 N. Potomac St. building, he said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A program offering practical management assistance for alfalfa and grass forage producers will be held soon, the Franklin County Extension office said. The program will be from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, Dec. 15, in the local Extension office at 191 Franklin Farm Lane. The program will also be held from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Dec. 12, in Lebanon, Pa. Topics to be discussed include forage establishment, soil fertility challenges, pest management, plant development and harvest strategies.

Stephen White mows his grass Wednesday at his home near Marlowe, W.Va.

Graydon Munn, 1, works hard Wednesday morning mowing the grass that has grown from the recent rain in Hagerstown.

Cruising on the grass along Park Place in Hagerstown Friday afternoon are friends Brenden Gordon, 1, front, and Amante Caldwell, 2.

Jeremy Jaworski dashes through a field of grass and dandelion heads Thursday at Clear Spring Park.

Spring is just around the corner, and with a few warm days, we will all be itching to get outside and do something. We all know spring is a time of birth and rebirth, planting and sowing, as well as the flowering of trees and bulbs that have been slumbering in winter’s cold. However, we need to be cautious as spring approaches. You are probably thinking, what is there to be cautious about? Spring is for celebrating. That’s true, but what we need to do is work with nature and not against it. Now is the time when I get many calls about pasture renovation.

Libbie Whipp, a member of the grounds maintenance department at Rose Hill Cemetery in Hagerstown, cuts grass Monday afternoon in one portion of the 110-acre cemetery.

Dave Neibert, a Washington Township, Pa., employee, blows leaves in a pile at Red Run Park on Monday. Workers were clearing the leaves in order for grass to grow.

Four people who have been charged with setting a number of fires across Washington County were arrested after one of them called deputies to his Williamsport home, where evidence was found linking him to the investigation, according to court documents. The statement of probable cause obtained Wednesday from Washington County District Court alleges that Tyler William Murray, 20, of 16615 Coney Court, called authorities to file a complaint that someone had tried to break into his vehicle and set his trash can on fire.

About 22 acres of prairie grasses, the kind that once covered the Great Plains and even parts of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, will be scorched in a controlled burn at the National Conservation Training Center this spring. The acres to be burned represent about a third of the more than 60 acres planted in prairie grasses at the 500-plus acre Fish and Wildlife training center off Shepherd Grade Road, said Phil Pannill, NCTC land manager. This is the third year that a section of the grassland has been burned off, he said.

Thirty-two bluegrass bands performing on three stages, 76 barbecuers competing for a state title, food concessions and a beer garden add up to a weekend of music, the aroma of wafting grilled meat and Pickin' in the Panhandle. Officially called Pickin' in the Panhandle, West Virginia BBQ & Blue Grass Festival, the event began Friday at the Lazy A Campground. Organizers predict crowds of 8,000 to 10,000 patrons through Sunday. Large and small RVs and tents began to fill the fields that make up the large campground.

The 2013 Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack is chock full of tidbits from each of the almanac's departments. Here are some of them: Design for living department: “Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.” This is a quote from Mark Twain. Farm and garden: If you are having trouble growing grass in less-than-ideal conditions, try these tips: Mow at a higher level than you do for sunny parts of the lawn.  Water only in the morning hours, frequently and thoroughly.  Make sure the grass is dried out before watering again.  Go easy on the fertilizer, as in this case, more is not better.  Discourage people from walking on those parts of the lawn.

The days are getting shorter and the temperatures will begin to slowly drop as summer gives way to autumn. Fall evokes the memories of the harvest. Fields yielding bushels of corn and soybeans with many a porch or lawn decorated with straw bales, corn shocks and bright orange pumpkins. But fall is also a time to sow, as well as reap. The cooler temperatures and the autumnal showers are the best time to establish the cool-season grasses that cover fields, lawns and fairways. While I won't deal with the latter two, grass is grass.

A grass fire was reported on the eastbound side of the median strip of Interstate 70 Monday morning about two miles east of the Mapleville Road (Md. 66) exit (Exit 35), a supervisor for Washington County Emergency Services said. The fire was put out at 7:08 a.m., and traffic is moving smoothly on I-70 in both directions. Police responded to the call at 6:38 a.m. Monday.

Spring is just around the corner, and with a few warm days, we will all be itching to get outside and do something. We all know spring is a time of birth and rebirth, planting and sowing, as well as the flowering of trees and bulbs that have been slumbering in winter’s cold. However, we need to be cautious as spring approaches. You are probably thinking, what is there to be cautious about? Spring is for celebrating. That’s true, but what we need to do is work with nature and not against it. Now is the time when I get many calls about pasture renovation.

A rental truck pulling a car on a trailer caused several brush fires Tuesday morning along Interstate 70 near Clear Spring, according to a spokesman with the Clear Spring Volunteer Fire Department. The fires were caused by sparks coming from three blown out tires on the car trailer, Sgt. Kerrington Gray said. The truck and trailer, which were traveling west on I-70, started causing the fires at about the 17-mile marker, Gray said. The driver of the truck stopped at about the 15-mile marker and called authorities when he realized what had happened, Gray said.

"This is to the caller that called in Sunday's paper about the high grass. Well, I think the county needs to ride down Hogmaw Road because there's a house on Hogmaw Road that the grass is well over a knee-high length limit. ... There's a quite few number of distressed properties in Washington County where people still own the property but choose not to mow the grass. Can we please get somebody to come out in South County and ride around and look at these distressed properties? And I feel bad for the neighbors that have to live around this.

Jeremy Jaworski dashes through a field of grass and dandelion heads Thursday at Clear Spring Park.