After the scourges of summer, many of us replanted or renovated the turf around homes and throughout the landscape. As the winter sets in, there are a few steps to take to increase the odds of survival and regrowth next spring. Perhaps the most important “to do” is to keep the soil moist…not soggy…
Author: johnfech
John Fech is a horticulturist with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and certified arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture. The author of 2 books and over 200 popular and trade journal articles, he focuses his time on teaching effective landscape maintenance techniques, water conservation, diagnosing turf and ornamental problems and encouraging effective bilingual communication in the green industry. He works extensively with the media to extend the message of landscape sustainability, making over 100 television and radio appearances each year.
Winterize Garden Tools
Garden tools are important – they make the job easier, and they’re not inexpensive. If you’ve been gardening for a while, or even just taking care of the lawn and a few perennials, you’ve probably accumulated a collection of several important pieces. A few minutes of care will pay dividends. No matter the tool…
Yellow Needles on Pines
Holy cow! Look at my pine tree – it has lots of yellow needles on it! Is that a problem? What’s wrong? These are common questions/comments that we get at this time of year. In terms of the question of “is that a problem?”, it depends on where the needles are and which type of…
Post Frost Weed Control
So, it frosted. In some areas, it was a hard frost with temperatures down in the 26 degree F range, and in others, plus/minus 30 degrees. At this point in October, the question is: Is it a good idea to apply a post emergence herbicide to the lawn, considering the recent frost? The answer? It…
Late Fall Fertilizer Timing
For the past 5 years or so, our recommendation has been to lightly fertilize turfgrass stands in the Halloween timeframe to bolster root growth heading into winter. That recommendation still stands, however, due to recent extended periods of cool, wet weather, we’re encouraging that an adjustment be made for this year. Instead of strict adherence…
Cleaning up the Garden
Cleaning up the garden, aka “garden sanitation” is not a sexy topic, but an important one in terms of future pest control and productivity. So, what are the things to clean and to leave alone? After all, you’re not going to advise us to scrub the dirt with a scouring pad are you? Good…
Lawn To Do Late September
What’s there to do in late September in the lawn? Plenty. First, keep mowing. There’s a natural human tendency to slack off or give up being a tender of the landscape in mid fall; fight it. Continuing to mow will encourage expansion of turf grass plants, fill in voids and chew up falling tree leaves. …
Pollution – Who Wants It?
This seems like an easy question to answer – No one, right? Well, this is probably true, but really, it’s more like some are anti-pollution and some are well…apathetic about it. Right here, smack dab in the middle of Pollution Prevention Week aka P2 Week, my goal is to try to convince the folks who…
Lake Friendly Lawn Care
Preamble: “Lake Friendly” lawn care is very similar to “regular” common sense lawn care. The difference is two-fold – 1. The presence of an obvious target, and 2. Heightened sensitivity of the owners of the site. That said, the practices that will prevent pollution are: Encourage infiltration, not runoff. Seven ways: -soil modification -core aeration…
Fall is For Planting
A term in the green industry – an oldie, but a goodie – is “Fall is For Planting”. The term sort of begs the questions: Planting what? And why? Good questions, because some things are more suited than others. In short, the items for planting are: trees, shrubs, turf, perennials, some veggies and even transplanting…