Lawn protection urged during long summer
LAWRENCE - It's not so easy being green in Northeast Kansas these days. A virtually nonexistent winter led to an early Spring, which could lead to a summer-long drought.
Agents at the Douglas County Extension Office say the volatile weather has caused plants and farm crops to sprout earlier, which isn't a good thing. "They're used to a certain number of days when they're growing, and they're actively doing things, and then over the winter they go dormant and store energy to get through the rest of that year so they had a shorter dormant season," says Jennifer Smith, of the Douglas County Extension Office. "It's kind of like waking up early from your nap.
Out at Pendleton Farms, conditions are leading to a lot of sleepless nights. John Pendleton says he's surprised things aren't worse than they are. He's in the late stages of harvesting peas and green beans, but he's hesitant to plant anything else. "We're watering 24 hours right now," says Pendleton.
The Douglas County Extension Office says right now your lawn needs about an inch of water every week. You can measure that by taking an empty can of tuna, and placing them around your lawn, then turning the sprinklers on. When it's full, you know you've got about an inch of water.