Lawns, Gardens & Landscapes

Your landscape includes your lawn, trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetable garden, and groundcovers. The lawn is likely a prominent part of your landscape. While the lawn may need watering and frequent care, it adds beauty to the community and a well-maintained lawn offers many benefits:

absorbs rain water runoff
decreases soil erosion
promotes neighborhood pride
reduces the urban heat island effect
increases property values
provides space for recreation and relaxation

Thursday, July 21, 2022

Gaps and Overlaps in Lawn Irrigation

Dry spot due to lack of overlap in irrigation

All lawn sprinkler systems, whether they are in-ground or above ground, have flaws. Some of the biggest are gaps and overlaps.

Actually, a well designed irrigation system, or the use of above ground spray heads utilizes overlaps in the form of “head-to-head coverage”. This involves water from one head spraying all the way to the adjacent head and vice versa. Since twice as much water is applied near the head as is at the end of the water stream, an even amount is applied if the system has good head-to-head coverage.

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Nitrogen Fertilizer for the Lawn, Not the Street

Fertilizer spilled on concrete. Photo by Brad Jakubowski, Penn State University

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Irrigation Audits Helpful

Lawns need about one inch of water per week. During the hottest part of summer, they may need one and a half inches. Do you know how much water your irrigation system applies? Lawns require uniform watering so one area is not under watered while another is overwatered. Do you know if your system waters uniformly? Lawns are best watered deeply but infrequently. Do you know what this means and if you’re watering program meets this recommendation?

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Landscape Irrigation

Currently most of southeast Nebraska is in the ‘Moderate Drought’ level on the drought monitor. As we move into the spring and summer we could see the drought continue and irrigation will be critical.

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Getting Your Lawn Ready for Summer - Aeration

Many Nebraska soils have high clay and silt content making them prone to compaction. Foot traffic from both human and pets, equipment and vehicles are all common causes of soil compaction. Look for the following as signs of potential soil compaction in your landscape.