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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
When we think of stormwater runoff we often think of rain. Snow melt during winter can also become stormwater runoff and carry pollutants to surface water. During winter the ground is usually frozen and melting snow cannot infiltrate into soil as a light rainfall will do. Depending on the amount of snow, this can lead to increased runoff during winter.
Phosphorous is an essential plant nutrient. Phosphorous can also lead to impaired water quality in surface water like lakes and ponds. Applying phosphorous responsibly is important to turfgrass growth and to water ecosystems.
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?
Plant roots grow in soil pore spaces. Pore spaces are also where oxygen is found. Just as plant roots cannot grow without water, they cannot grow without oxygen. Soil pore space is important to plant growth and efficient water use.
Soils with good structure have adequate pore space making them well drained while still having good water and nutrient holding capacity. Ideal soils have 50 percent soil particles and 50 percent pore space. An important aspect of good soil structure is soil aggregation.
When it rains in July and August, we are almost always thankful for the moisture. And yet this valuable resource is often directed off of properties and out of town as quickly as possible via downspouts and storm drains.
Stormwater runoff is rainwater that does not soak into the ground. It flows from rooftops, streets, parking lots, sidewalks, driveways, bare soil, sloped lawns, and other areas.
The lawn fertilization season is just around the corner. For a healthy turf and to help protect water resources, following the traditional four step program may not be the best route to go.
A well-managed turf holds soil in place and acts as a filter for potential water pollutants. However, fertilizing more than is needed, at the wrong time of the season, or misapplying fertilizer can result in nutrient runoff with the potential to degrade water resources.
Rain gardens have been a landscape feature for a while now. This has helped us determine which plants are proving to do well in the bottom of rain gardens.
Rain gardens are shallow depressions located where they collect rainwater from a slope or downspout. Their purpose is to make the most of rainfall when received by soaking it in and reducing the amount of runoff during rain storms.
During winter, dry landscape plants that are not covered by snow or moistened by winter moisture could pose a potential fire hazard. This is especially true following dry summers and falls.
The dry tops of ornamental grasses left over winter. Dead conifers killed by insects or diseases. Dry tree leaves accumulating in yard corners and more. These could all become tinder and fuel for a carelessly discarded cigarette or possibly an electrical short.
Soils with good structure and those that not compacted help expand root systems. Roots hold soil in place to reduce erosion, a leading cause of water pollution. Soils that are not compacted allow for increased infiltration of rain and irrigation water.
Soil management is important to healthy plants and healthy ecosystems. Following are a few tips for improving residential landscape and garden soils and why it is important for root systems and plant health.
When planning gardens, people may think about pollinators and select plants to benefit them. Another trend is using rain gardens to catch and hold rainwater. Water and pollinator conservation are two goals achieved with rain gardens.
Rain gardens reduce irrigation needs and can decrease the amount of rainwater running off of a property and carrying pollutants to surface water. Rainwater is a valuable resource. Consider collecting some of it with a rain garden that is filled with plants to benefit pollinators.
There is still time to plant shade trees this fall, but know that fertilization and the addition of root stimulant products have been shown to have little or no effect on how quickly a tree establishes.
However, the unnecessary use of these products could lead to an increase in nutrients in surface water that can impair water ecosystems. Fertilizer and root stimulant products are not recommended unless a soil test indicates they are needed.
Water is essential to life and has no substitute; hence, water-wise practices that conserve and protect water resources are something we all need to use.
During the growing season, it is estimated 40 percent or more of water use is for landscape irrigation. In many cases, the water used for this purpose is water that has been treated to drinking water standards. Plants do not need drinking quality water like we do.
During the lawn fertilization season, use responsible practices to help keep nutrients out of streams, rivers ponds, and lakes.
For those who live in town, it is important to know that most curbs and storm sewer systems drain directly into surface water. As rainwater flows over surfaces like pavement and bare soil, it collects materials such as soil, plant and animal waste and fertilizers, which contribute nutrients to surface waters.
When it rains, do you know where rainwater from your property goes? Does it spread out and soak into the lawn or landscape beds to recharge soil moisture and benefit plants; or does it run off into the street and down a storm drain where it often transports pollutants to surface water?
As we move into winter, store lawn and garden pesticides correctly and securely. Read and follow the label for safety and to help prevent accidental poisoning or spills that could contaminate storage areas or water resources.
