SUNBURY – If you want your lawn to still look better during dry weather, don’t cut it as low.
While everyone’s lawn is brown now, your green grass will last longer if the grass is taller…That’s some advice from Thomas Butzler, horticulture educator at Penn State Cooperative Extension, with the area under a drought watch.
“You may need to raise the mower deck so that our leaf blades are about two and a half to three inches long. It’s a taller look, but those leaf blades are creating shade over that soil surface and it slows down water over the soil surface,” he said,
Butzler says the rain from the last few days should help our area pull out of the drought-like conditions. When it comes to helping your garden weather a drought, Butzler says increasing the top layer of organic matter and mulch should help.
“This is adding leaves to your compost pile, putting compost or manure into the garden, and so forth. You can increase the water-holding capacity in your garden. If you do that, your vegetable plants will be able to handle that drought-like period.”
Butzler says planting hardier plants can also help your landscaping and garden through dry spells and help last through the fall and winter. He says you may also want to consider adding more water to trees and shrubs so that soil can harden properly for the fall and winter.
You can hear more tips wherever you listen to podcasts or by clicking HERE.
