Lawn and Landscape Irrigation

Lawns and landscapes can be designed and maintained to be water conserving, prevent runoff of fertilizers and pesticides and good looking. To develop a landscape that is water efficient, build the landscape with good landscape soils, create water zones within your landscape, choose well-adapted water saving ornamentals and turfgrasses, and utilize the correct irrigation equipment for your landscape. Read on for more information to help you design and manage your landscape for water efficiency.

December Tree To-Do's

Though December traditionally brings weather conditions during which outdoor plants enter winter dormancy, there are still many considerations to act upon in the landscape. Due to the diversity of plantings and locations in the state, some of the following will apply now and others in future years.

Improve Soil Structure

Fall is a good time to incorporate organic matter like compost into soil. Increasing soil organic matter improves soil structure and adds nutrients. This in turn improves plant growth, efficient use of water, and water infiltration into soil to reduce runoff.

Correct Plants for the Location

‘Right Plant, Right Place’ is a very important aspect of planting and it is never too early to start thinking about landscape changes for next year. As you clean up and refresh mulch or water, start assessing your landscape and what did and didn’t work. There are some very important plant requirements to keep in mind when planning a new garden or adding to an established garden.

Uses of Compost in the Landscape

Compost is used as a soil amendment to improve the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils. Over time, yearly additions of compost will improve your landscape or garden soil in many ways including the water holding capacity of sandy soils and water percolation in clay soils. 

Irrigation for Maintaining the Landscape

As we move into the heat of the summer, we need to remember proper irrigation practices for our plants. It is just as easy to overwater as it is to underwater plants. And remember that irrigation practices differ among all different types of plants.

Landscape Mulch for Water Conservation

Mulching landscape beds and gardens is a waterwise practice. Conserving soil moisture, controlling weeds, mitigating soil temperature extremes, and improving soil health are key benefits.

Fungi Can Develop from Improper Irrigation

Fungi can be very problematic for our plants, and there are a lot of different fungi. In plants, there is a disease triangle that leads to plant diseases. For disease to develop, you must first have a pathogen, a susceptible host, and a favorable environment. Pathogens are common in the environment and just waiting for the right weather to occur and a susceptible host to infect. The environment can sometimes be altered by our plant management practices, such as overwatering or underwatering and improper irrigation practices can lead to more disease problems. That’s why it's so important, whenever possible, to choose disease resistant plants for our landscapes – both turf, fruits, vegetables and ornamentals.

Drought Tolerant Plants

With ongoing drought, conserving water in home, business and public landscapes is important. One way to conserve water is selecting drought tolerant plants. As a rule, a drought tolerant plant is one that can survive on average rainfall with little or no supplemental water once established.

Outdoor Water Management in Turfgrass Areas

As we are ending 2023, the temperature high and/or low could be consistently at or less than 32°F with a possible chance of snow precipitation. For turfgrass areas in December, the process of dormancy for both warm and cool-season grasses has already occurred. In regards to water use in dormant lawns in cooler temperatures, December is not the time to use irrigation in grass areas. The Photo above is from Pioneer Underground Lawn Sprinklers. https://pioneerunderground.net/sprinkler-winterization-omaha/

Efficient and Effective Tree Watering

Drought conditions have led to stress in established trees and difficulty starting young trees. With the need for supplemental watering, correct irrigation practices are important to tree health and efficient water use. Fall is tree planting time and an important time to water established trees in the absence of adequate precipitation. Whether a new tree or an established tree, correct watering is important. Too little as well as too much water can lead to tree stress, a decline in growth, and water waste.

Boost Landscape Appeal with a Curb Strip Garden

Many urban landscapes have a forlorn narrow planting strip between the curb and sidewalk, otherwise known as a “hell strip”. Healthy curbside plantings help filter and absorb rainwater, preventing landscape fertilizers and other pollutants from entering storm drains.

Avoid "Set it and Forget it" With Turf Irrigation Systems

Tall fescue tolerates dry periods better than KBG due to a deeper root system that uses moisture deeper in the soil. However, it does not have the physiological ability to go dormant to avoid dying from drought. If tall fescue begins to turn off color from a lack of water, it requires irrigation.

Keep Those Veggies and Fruit Crops Hydrated!

Warm summer temperatures prompt vegetable crops to grow and thrive. Keeping garden vegetable crops hydrated is crucial for these plants thriving as water is essential to the photosynthesis process, plant growth, and production. When water availability is reduced, carbohydrate production in the plant, the building block of plant nutrition, decreases significantly. That decrease leads to reduced growth, vigor, and crop production potential. Here are some very simple tips to help provide the needed moisture levels in vegetable and fruit crops.

Watering New Plants

One of the most important factors in getting plants off to a good start is watering. Overall, the best guidance is to water to the bottom of the roots and to keep the roots of new plants moist, not soggy or dry. Inserting a screwdriver into the soil will help with determining the moisture content by gaining a sense required to push it in and also to feel the soil particles that stick to the blade. If they feel muddy, then water is likely being applied too often; if it’s dry and powdery, then it needs to be applied more frequently.

Water Conservation in the Vegetable Garden

There are so many decisions to be made when it comes to vegetable gardening. Selecting the right location, determining what to plant, even how many plants you might need. One topic that might not have crossed your mind is how to make the vegetable garden more water conscious. Conserving water in the vegetable garden may sound more difficult than it really is.

Managing Chlorosis in Trees

Eastern Nebraska tends to have high soil pH, also known as alkaline soil, which can cause problems for some plants, like river birch, pin oak, big-leaf hydrangeas and blueberries to name a few. Alkaline soil changes the availability of certain plant nutrients in the soil, often making them less available, resulting in deficiency symptoms.

Separate Plants by Irrigation Needs

When we plant a garden or flower bed, we think about sunlight preferences, color and bloom times most often, but there are other factors to think about including water requirements for the plants. All plants need water to survive, but they differ greatly in how much they need. Some plants are best planted along a pond edge or other very wet location because they like swampy, over irrigated locations. Where other plants require dry, well-drained soil. There are even some great plants used in rain gardens and similar areas that actually do well in both wet locations as well as dry conditions to overcome the changing environment when water collects during rain events and dries out between rains.

Beneficial Fungi and Tree Health

Tree health is often a reflection root health. Good practices to improve root health include properly applied organic mulch, good water management to avoid overwatering but providing water as needed during dry periods, and avoiding root damage from construction or changes in soil grade. The Image shows thin white fungal mycorrhizae on the roots of a slash pine by Paul A. Mistretta, USDAForest Service, Bugwood.org

Avoid Traffic on Frozen Turf

As I walk around my yard with my dog, I wonder about the impacts it has on my turf for the spring. Walking on frozen turf can have detrimental effects. During the spring and summer, we can walk on our lawns and turf fields with no damage. During the growing season, turf plants can recover from traffic through active regrowth. However, during the winter the turf is dormant and cannot recover from the damage until the spring.

Drought and Fall Irrigation

Currently, most of the state is in at least a moderate drought, with many areas affected by severe, extreme, and even exceptional drought conditions. The Farmer’s almanac is calling for a cold, dry winter, again, so moving into that with drought conditions already could be devastating to our plants.