By Carolyn Applegate
Nebraska Extension Master Gardener
Have you ever wondered how high or low you should set your lawnmower when cutting your turf? Here’s a tip to help determine your turf mowing height. Mowing at 3 to 3.5 inches is recommended all summer. Also, avoid removing more than one-third of the leaf height at one time, or your grass could become stressed and more prone to disease and weeds.
Speaking of weeds. A weed is any plant growing where it isn’t wanted. Even trees and shrubs can become weeds. Trees can pop up in the most inconvenient places, from fence lines, right next to a home’s foundation, planters, and even in the middle of the lawn. There are many ways to control unwanted trees mechanically (such as digging, hand pulling, or mowing) or chemically by using a herbicide. Be careful with desirable trees and herbicides to avoid an exposed root surface coming in contact with the herbicide.
Maintenance planning can be done for severe weather events. When dark clouds form, gardeners keep an eye on the sky for rain and hail. Protecting your plants can be vital to their survival. Hail netting, burlap sacks, buckets, or pots are helpful. Temporary supports hold the cloth off the plants, such as tomato cages, or other sturdy supports such as long sticks, poles, or PVC pipes, as hailstorms usually come with strong winds in addition to the force of the hail.
If your plants get hail-damaged, all is not lost. They will often survive. If the damage is minor, with holes in the leaves, nothing needs to be done except to provide good basic care for the remainder of the season with deep irrigation when summer conditions turn dry. When major damage occurs, it is best to remove the debris and stems that have been completely broken off and allow the foliage that is torn to remain on the plant.
Your plants are not the only ones that can be damaged. What do you do when high winds damage your trees? For example, trees split down the middle are difficult to brace adequately and should be removed by a professional arborist. Trees leaning from root breakage usually do not survive. If a leaning tree does survive, it often becomes a hazard due to the potential damage if it falls. Removing and replacing it with a well-planted, healthy tree is probably better.