Grass

Curtis Raines describes himself as "just a dumb old farmer" who's not afraid to ask an obvious question: Why grow corn for fuel when it could be used to feed hungry people? "That just doesn't make a lot of sense to me," Raines said. The 64-year-old Oklahoma Panhandle farmer is growing a 1,000-acre plot of switchgrass, billed as the world's largest of its type, to test whether the native plant can replace corn in making ethanol.

WHILE you might want to think twice before installing 1,000 square feet of sod in the front or back yard, laying 100 feet in a worn parkway or play area is not much harder than rolling out a green carpet. You can bring the sod home yourself since 100 feet will fit in the back of even a compact SUV, avoiding delivery times and charges. Simply find a nursery that will order some for you, then pick it up on the weekend. A few, like Hashimoto Nursery in West Los Angeles, even keep sod on hand.

New research centers in California, Tennessee and Wisconsin will try to develop new ways of turning switch grass, poplar trees and other plants into fuel under a $375-million plan announced Tuesday by the Energy Department. The three centers will team up with universities, national laboratories and private companies. Each will receive $125 million to research new biofuel technologies over five years. The centers will be located near Berkeley, in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and in Madison, Wis.

MOLASSES tables. Couscous cabinets. Beer chairs. Well, not exactly. But sorghum, a tall grass grown around the globe for these and other foodstuffs, is now being crafted into tables, cabinets, chairs -- even countertops and flooring. A sorghum-based board is sold in the U.S. under the brand name Kirei, pronounced KEE-ray, which means "beautiful" in Japanese. It was developed in Japan in the mid-'90s and is produced exclusively in northern China.

HOMEOWNERS know that in one field of life, nothing less than perfection is acceptable. The rules of the lawn are very clear: no bare patches, Fido-induced brownouts, weeds, anemic blades or lusterless shades of green. The quest for perfect grass is grueling enough that some might sell their souls to get it. Deberoh Gruver did, and she couldn't be more delighted. The Riverside teacher's lawn is perfect 365 days a year.

It is the day of the USC-Notre Dame game, and we are still struggling with the shame and confusion of Grassgate. The story ran in this paper Tuesday. It said that a Trojans football player had injured his knee in the USC-Notre Dame game last year at South Bend because the Irish had allowed the grass on the field to grow too long. They had done so, it said, because that was the only way they could slow the Trojans' speedy running backs.

Will sedum be the new sod? Altman Plants, a San Diego County-based operation that is the largest cac- tus and succulent grower in the United States, is developing mats made of small succulents as an alternative to thirsty grass. You can't walk on the mats, but who wants to step on something so attractive? The mats could be thrown up on bare hillsides, where they would require no more than biweekly watering. Developers could use them for green rooftops. And big box stores theoretically could sell them rolled up and ready for plopping in the front yard -- instant low-water ground cover.

Re "A grass that's always greener," Column One, Sept. 28 Let the grass die and good riddance, I say. The cost in dollars and the negative impact on the environment from the weed killers and fertilizers that we dump on our lawns is just too high to justify. And really, is grass all that beautiful or interesting to look at anyway? Native plants are far more interesting and ecologically friendly than any grass will ever be. Michael Sievers Valley Glen, Calif. :: Maybe the problem is that we think we "need" lawns.