Continuing drought in Nebraska brings yard and landscape headaches

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Scott Evans says endurance for his yard’s green-up this yr is working skinny.

“Mom Nature does not comply with a calendar,” he quipped. “She’ll inexperienced up the crops when she desires to.”

Nonetheless, there’s issues it’s best to know as folks begin to assume extra about garden and panorama care, he mentioned. Evans is the Horticulture Program Coordinator for the Nebraska Extension Douglas-Sarpy Counties Workplace.

Virtually all of Nebraska is in a drought, in accordance with the Nationwide Built-in Drought Info System. A lot of western Iowa is experiencing a drought, too.

“It is a long-term drawback,” 3 Information Now Meteorologist Mark Stitz mentioned.

Omaha was behind common in rainfall by greater than 9 inches final yr, Stitz mentioned. Snow does not ship a lot moisture over the winter months, he mentioned, and snowfall was half its typical this yr.

“That is the time we actually have to make up a few of that moisture,” he mentioned. But it surely’ll take quite a lot of rainfalls.

Evans mentioned this yr’s green-up is a smidge behind.

The very first thing Evans prompt should not be a shock: watering. He mentioned it is a good suggestion to begin with crops that had been added in 2022 earlier than shifting on to extra established panorama crops. He warned it is simple to over water.

“We do not take into consideration watering our landscapes throughout the winter,” Evans mentioned. “We should always, particularly when we do not have that precipitation. Our impacts we will begin seeing are on the general well being of our crops, particularly our evergreens … these can actually be impacted by winter droughts and coming into spring in a drought. We will begin seeing some yellowing.”

On high of watering, he mentioned it is simple to moisture the moisture of your soil. He mentioned to take an 8-10 inch screwdriver and stick all of it the way in which within the soil earlier than pulling it out slowly.

“If it (the soil) is dry, does not come out, or (the screwdriver) is de facto arduous to get within the floor, we must always in all probability go forward and get some water on it,” he mentioned. If it is too moist, he mentioned, the screwdriver would come out muddy.

He mentioned it is vital to convey endurance, too. Evans mentioned it is a few weeks too early to think about fertilizer. You do not wish to power one thing earlier than it is prepared, he mentioned.

“We’re actually excited to be exterior,” Evans mentioned. “However let crops break that dormancy on their very own. Do not be too fearful about issues proper now … Give your crops somewhat little bit of time. Issues are only a bit gradual.”

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