In the desert landscape west of Casa Grande, there’s an oasis of green that uses little water, thanks in part, to the turf being grown and cut in the Valley.
Jimmy Fox of Evergreen Turf has been providing sod for Valley homes, businesses, golf courses, and sporting facilities for twenty years. He knows a thing or two about grass, including St. Augustine, Paspalum, and Bermudagrass.
Bermudagrass, Fox says, is the company’s best-selling utility grass in the Valley.
It can withstand the brutally dry conditions that Arizona deals with regularly, thanks in part to the roots.
“Bermudagrass roots have been found about five to six feet in-depth, so if you get a good rain and that rain goes through the soil, it's able to grab that water all the way through,” Fox says.
There’s a new breed of it that may change the game. Evergreen Turf is the only Arizona company with its hands on it too.
A study by the University of Georgia shows that “TifTuf” bermudagrass uses 38 percent less water than other similar grasses while still maintaining its green color.
Fox and his crew have been testing out “TifTuf” for three years, and he backs up the findings, saying that it’s drought-tolerant along with being cold-tolerant.
Since it takes three years to get a new variety of grass in full production, Evergreen Turf will be distributing “TifTuf” on a limited basis for now. It should have more in its inventory by next summer.
Until then, Fox says that we need to do our part in keeping our lawns responsibly green.
"The best thing we can do is use grass for its best use, be efficient, and responsible with the way we water that grass and we'll continue to need grass in our recreation spaces for as long as we have people moving here," Fox states.
