By Kathy Tando
University of Nebraska, Master Gardener
May 22 – Here comes summer and for most of us that means lawn care. Knowing when to fertilize water or treat for weeds, insect damage or diseases can be daunting. Do any of these things at the wrong time or improperly can cause damage to your lawn or at least not maximize your efforts. Research based information and guidelines are at your fingertips. Enter Panhandle Bluegrass calendar extension in your search engine and get a complete schedule.
May 23 – Looking for advice on landscape or other gardening information? Caution just because it is on the internet doesn’t mean it’s factual. For researched advice put your topic in the search engine followed by the word “extension.” This will bring University articles to the top of your search. If you don’t find an article for UNL, choose a state close to our growing conditions. Get great researched information not some antidotal questionable guidelines.
May 24 – Thinking of using landscape cloth for weed control? Consider some drawbacks. Our Nebraska winds bring in topsoil and weed seeds. When the weeds grow on top of the landscape cloth their roots go down into the cloth and become more difficult to remove. Or the winds remove the mulch and you have patches of black cloth showing. Stay tuned and we will explore some better alternatives for weed control.
May 25 – Okay, so landscape cloth isn’t as great as once thought. So, what can we do to suppress weeds in its place? Consider using non-waxed cardboard under your mulch. Cut the cardboard to suit your space and overlap the edges. It suppresses weed germination and unlike landscape cloth really does disintegrate with time. Layers of newsprint or brown wrapping paper can also work although more fragile to add mulch on top.
May 26 – In considering options for weed suppression in your landscape beds vs. landscape cloth consider a pre-emergent. As always read the labels because different products are designed for different uses. Also, some products are designed to provide coverage for different time periods. If you do not use the product per the label you are breaking the law and probably wasting your money and perhaps polluting the environment.