The Zeon® sod helps make our teaching farm an even more inviting place to visit and creates easy-to-follow walkways for foot traffic to prevent soil compaction in the planting areas. Great for a an outdoor classroom used by children!
Roswell, GA (PRWEB) July 27, 2015
Usually, gardeners work hard to keep grass out of the garden, but not at the new Whole Foods Market educational farm in Roswell, GA. Beautiful Zeon® Zoysia sod from NG Turf is exactly what they needed to make the garden both beautiful and functional.
Last week, NG Turf delivered 18 pallets of proprietary Zeon® sod to line the walkways and borders of the 1.5 acre teaching farm at the Whole Foods Market regional office at 1180 Upper Hembree Road in Roswell. Howley Landscape installed the sod on site.
“Zeon® Zoysia is a great choice for use in a busy garden like the one at Whole Foods,” says NG Turf president, Aaron McWhorter, “It tolerates heavy foot traffic very well. It requires little watering, better allocating irrigated water to nurture the growing fruits and vegetables. In fact, our Zeon® is so hardy, it is the sod chosen for the 2016 Olympic golf course in Rio de Janeiro.”
Zeon® Zoysia is a proprietary sod varietal licensed by McWhorter through the Turfgrass Group. Co-founded by McWhorter and Ken Morrow of Sod Atlanta, The Turfgrass Group’s mission is to identify advancements in turfgrass breeding and bring the most genetically pure, high performance sods to market through certified growers around the world.
Amanda Musilli, the Mission, Culture & Higher Purpose Coordinator for Whole Foods Market, is eager to share this new teaching farm with local schools and communities.
“On our teaching farm you'll find 720 tomato plants, 400 strawberry plants, and 400 pepper plants. There are also sweet potatoes, asparagus, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, rutabagas, kale, Swiss chard, collards, an active beehive, and more,” Musilli says.
“Installing Zeon® Zoysia between the planting beds and around the borders of this garden was perfect,” Musilli adds. “Its bright green hue is strikingly beautiful against the dark rich soil of the planting beds. Plus, it is easy to maintain and has a soft, dense texture that just begs to be walked on with bare feet. The sod helps make our garden an even more inviting place to visit.”
From a practical standpoint, these grassy paths create easy-to-follow walkways for foot traffic to prevent soil compaction in the planting areas – a key feature when you consider that many of the garden’s visitors will be energetic elementary school students.
Musilli continues, “Our outdoor classroom is nearly complete. We'll be able to start offering both student and adult programs as the new school year starts.” Scheduled class topics include gardening 101, cooking from your garden, how to make salsa with fresh vegetables, and how to pickle cucumbers.
The educational farm is part of the Whole Kids Foundation, which has awarded over $16 million in garden grants to schools across the United States and Canada. The Whole Foods Market Foundation seeks to teach kids to learn to love fresh, nutritious, whole foods through hands-on garden experiences and in-school salad bars. To learn more about this program, please visit their website http://www.wholekidsfoundation.org.
Check out this unconventional, but very effective, use of NG Turf’s Zeon® Zoysia yourself! Volunteer opportunities are currently available at the Roswell Whole Kids Foundation Educational Farm on Upper Hembree Road from Tuesday through Saturday at 9 am. Gardening classes, cooking classes, and educational programs for school and community groups will begin soon. You can find more information about their programs and special events on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/wholekidseducationalfarm.
About NG Turf
NG Turf is a family-owned and operated turfgrass grower with over 2,500 acres at six locations across Georgia. Members of the Urban Ag Council, the Georgia Green Industry Association, and certified by GCIA (the Georgia Crop Improvement Association), their 10 proprietary varieties of sod include Zeon Zoysia, TifGrand and TifWay Bermuda, Rebel Supreme Fescue, and TifBlair Centipede. Founded in 1985, NG Turf has become Georgia’s premier sod grower and supplier for landscape professionals, golf course developers and superintendents, athletic field managers, municipalities, and homeowners. http://www.ngturf.com
About The Turfgrass Group
The Turfgrass Group, founded in 1997 by Aaron McWhorter (NG Turf) and Ken Morrow (Sod Atlanta), is a Georgia-based turfgrass licensing company committed to identifying advancements in turfgrass breeding technologies, natural resource management, and environmental stewardship. The Turfgrass Groups licensed cultivars include: TifBlair Centipede, Zeon Zoysia, Jamur Zoysia, and T-10 Bermuda. http://www.theturfgrassgroup.com
