Lawns, Gardens & Landscapes

Fall and winter gatherings are upon us and that often means a bustling house full of family, friends and preparation of tasty recipes in the kitchen. All of these things should make for joyful times, but they can potentially have a stressful impact on your private water well and onsite wastewater systems. This time of year also has a greater impact on municipal systems as well, so following the best daily practices below is a good idea for municipal customers, too. 

It is hard to believe that it is already fall! This means it is time for a fall inspection of your well, water treatment, and onsite septic systems and performing necessary maintenance when necessary. If you haven’t completed your annual water quality testing yet, order a test kit to collect your water samples for nitrate, total coliform, and any other contaminants of concern in your area. Taking the time to follow the Well & Septic Owner’s Checklist helps protect the health of your family and our groundwater resources.

If your property is currently under a water restriction or is just in a period of heat and drought, it’s prudent to implement some commonsense practices when watering lawns, vegetable gardens and landscape plants. For various reasons, some communities restrict water application.  Regardless of whether your local authority has placed limits on watering amounts and frequency, several techniques can be helpful.

Often, we do not think of snow and ice as potential stormwater runoff, but they definitely are. With increasing warm spells throughout the winter causing multiple freeze-thaw cycles where the snow and ice begin to melt and shrink, winter precipitation acts as rain does, picking up and transporting contaminants from sidewalks, driveways, rooftops, roads, parking lots, and agricultural fields. Ice melt salt, pet/animal waste, fertilizers, vehicle exhaust/oils/fluids, and litter are some of the common contaminants picked up as ice and snow melt away.

It can be cold and dreary in Nebraska in winter and most people want some green around to fight off the winter blues.  November brings on a whole new set of growing conditions for our tropical houseplants indoors, both for ones that have been brought indoors after a summer outside as well as those that are year-round fixtures inside.  For winter success, consider these 5 factors.

Nitrogen is an essential plant nutrient. Like most things, too much of a good thing is not good. I recently visited with a gentleman who told me when he purchased a shade tree he was told to fertilize it once a week through the growing season. I’m also asked if trees need to be fertilized. The client is often asking because their lawn service is offering to fertilize their trees at the same time they fertilize the lawn.

Mid-late spring or early summer is the prime time to conduct a private well maintenance check. Winter can be especially hard on outdoor systems; surfaces and landscaping that are subject to the elements. Getting in the habit of inspecting and maintaining your well system in the spring and the fall is a good habit to get into. It will help ensure everything operates efficiently and can potentially save you from shelling out money for costly repairs.

INSPECTION