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Let’s face it…right now
we’re in no-mans land when it comes to the weather patterns we’re
experiencing. It’s not been this hot and dry for such a long period, as
well as this late into September. Regularly scheduled gardening practices
have been thrown out the window. So I’m getting two major questions thrown
at me at this time. The first is what to do with the dormant lawns at this
stage?
If you’ve been
irrigating all along, normal lawn practices have gone forward as usual. But
if you haven’t been watering and the lawn has gone dormant, and you’ve been
waiting for rainfall to do the early September seeding and feeding, what do
you do at this stage? Well, after putting our heads together with the OSU
extension, we’re suggesting you go ahead and sow the seed and put down the
fertilizer right now, just as though it’s early September. Irrigate if you
can, but if not, wait to see what Mother Nature serves up. The seed will
stay dormant until it gets moisture, and so will the fertilizer. So we are
suggesting you go ahead with the usual seeding and feeding right away, and
taking a chance the weather will change, rains will move in, and will get
the new seed up and growing. If you decide not to seed, we still suggest
feeding the lawn even if its dormant. When the weather changes, and it
will eventually, it’s important to have that nitrogen available to help get
what grass is still alive, re-growing. So right now, feed and or seed
just like you would have done in early September. Fall seeding is much
better than doing it in the spring.
The other question is
whether or not to plant trees and shrubs right now. Well, fall is thee best
time for planting, and although the soil is pretty hard, and you may need to
water before you plant, we still feel you should move forward with your fall
plantings. You would have to water the new plants regularly anyway until it
gets cold, so watering will be the same. So yes, get out and plant as
usual…just be sure to keep things watered as needed, just like you would
have anyway! |
