Well, this weekend I mowed my yard for the first time this spring-hard to believe for March!  For two weeks I’ve been advising people to wait on fertilizing or applying crabgrass preventer on their lawns.  It’s hard for me not to stop my vehicle everytime I see someone using a lawn spreader right now and ask them to wait!  It’s too early to apply pre-emergent herbicides and fertilizer.  Wait another month (till at least April 20) before the first fertilizer of 1 lb/1000 sq. ft is applied.  At that same time, pre-emergence herbicides can also be applied.  Wait to overseed Kentucky bluegrass lawns till April 1 and Fescue lawns till April 15.  You can check out a calendar of recommendations for all things concerning your lawn at the following site:  http://turf.unl.edu/lawncalendars.cfm.  When overseeding winter-killed areas, core aerate or power rake the lawn prior to overseeding to encourage seed to soil contact for better germination.  Also, don’t apply herbicides to areas where you have overseeded as this will affect the germination of new seedlings.

A timely meeting for lawn care has been scheduled and you can learn more by attending a Lawn Care for Home-Owners meeting Thursday, April 12 from 5:30-7:00 p.m.  There is no charge and light refreshments will be provided.  Learn about fertilizer labels and timing, calibrating your lawn spreader; irrigation timing for lawns; and calendars for lawn care maintenance.  Please RSVP to the Clay County Extension Office at (402) 762-3644 or jrees2@unl.edu.

Garden:  It’s been hard for me to resist the temptation to remove the winter mulch I had on my perennials and flower beds but in the event of frost which still is a good possibility, it may be good to leave it on awhile longer if new growth has not occurred.  Kelly Feehan, UNL Extension Educator from Platte County advises if new growth is beginning to occur on your herbaceous perennials, to rake the leaves/mulch into a nearby pile.  This allows the new growth to get acclimated to sunlight but allows the mulch to be raked back onto the growth in the event we end up with a cold snap.  

I know some people have planted peas and potatoes.  Check out the Vegetable Planting Guide that Gary Zoubek, UNL Extension Educator in York developed for suggested vegetable planting dates for our area:  http://york.unl.edu/water-environment.  Thursday, April 5^th, Backyard Farmer returns for its 60th season on NET1 at 7:00 p.m.!  Also,  on Thursday, April 19^th, we will have a workshop on Container Gardening Fun at the Clay County Fairgrounds from 5:30-7:00 p.m.  More information to come!  Please RSVP to jrees2@unl.edu or (402) 762-3644.