Yard & Garden

Tree leaves, grass clippings, plant stems, spent flowers, fruit and vegetable scraps, straw, hay, sawdust, choped or shredded tree and shrub prunings, coffee grounds and eggshells.  Branches and twigs larger than one-quarter inch in diameter should be put through a shredder or chipper before composting. If you have access to manure, it can be used, too.

Do not add meat scraps, bones, grease or dairy products to the compost pile because they will cause odors and attract rodents. Do not use weeds that have gone to seed or diseased plants. Home composting is unlikely to attain a heat level high enough to kill all seeds or disease organisms.

Garden Compost

6 Common Composting Questions

Uses of Compost in a Landscape

Either spring and/or fall. Grass should be actively growing so it can recover and grow out of any damage done to plant crowns during the process. 

Eastern Nebraska

• mid- April to late May
• mid-September to late October

Western Nebraska

• May
• September

Cool Season Lawn Calendar - Eastern Nebraska

Cool Season Lawn Calendar - Western Nebraska

If your lawn is thin, overseeding may be needed. Provide good seed-soil contact through aerification. If seeding can’t be done before May 15^th, then wait until fall to overseed.

Careful selection of a preemergent herbicide is necessary for your seeding to be successful. Mesotrione and siduron (Tupersan) are the only preemergent chemicals that can be used on lawns while seeding. Both kill germinating crabgrass and foxtail, but will not kill germinating Kentucky bluegrass or tall fescue seeds.

Mesotrione is the active ingredient in Scott’s Turf Builder Triple Action Built for Seeding and is one of the most common homeowner products in stores for new seedings. If any other preemergent was used – including prodiamine, benefin, balan, dithiopyr – germinating grass seeds will be killed along with weed seeds.

Eastern Nebraska

• Spring: April 25-May 15
• Fall: August 15 - September 15

Western Nebraska

• Spring: April 25-May 15
• Fall: August 15 - September 5

Cool Season Lawn Calendar - Eastern Nebraska

Cool Season Lawn Calendar - Western Nebraska

Establishing Lawns From Seed.

Yes. Insects are no longer actively feeding, so insecticide applications now will not be effective. On small plants, hand pick bags from now until early next June and discard them in a sealed plastic bag. 

Plan to apply an insecticide to control next year’s small larvae in mid to late June. Bacillus thuringiensis, BT, is available at nurseries and garden centers as Dipel or Thuricide. It’s very effective at controlling the insects without damaging other beneficial insects. It also has very low toxicity to birds and mammals.

Bagworms

These bulbs should be planted in late September through early October when soil temperatures fall below 60 degrees. This allows  a root system adequate time to develop before the ground freezes. A well-drained soil is essential for the survival of bulbs.

Spring Flowering Bulbs

Fall is the best time of year to plant new trees, from early September through late October. Fall's cooler temperatures and increased rain allow trees to establish their root systems quickly, giving them a jump-start on spring growth. Tree root growth continues late in fall, until soil temperatures drop below 40°F.

But growing healthy trees, that will provide beauty, shade and wind protection for your property long-term, means getting them off to a good start by avoiding common problems at planting.

What Problems?
More than ever before, tree experts know that half the battle in long-term tree success is addressing potential problems before the tree is in the ground. What problems, you ask? Isn't the tree I bought in perfect condition to be planted? Maybe. But increasingly the horticulture industry recognizes that production methods we use to grow trees in containers or in the field can cause problems for trees down the road

The two most common production-related tree problems are stem girdling roots (SGR) and planting depth. These problems can kill a tree but they do it slowly, sometimes over the course of many years. Stem girdling roots, in particular, are often a slow killer, due to the time needed for roots to grow in diameter and begin compressing the trunk.

Both problems, unfortunately, are very common and are serious contributors to general decline in tree health. Affected trees grow slowly and are often stunted. Trees that are planted too deeply often take several years to become firm in the ground, if they ever do. Affected trees are much more susceptible to secondary stressors, like drought, disease or pest problems. Trees are killed by these secondary problems much more easily due to their lack of vigor.

​Fall Tree Planting: Grow Healthy Trees by Avoiding Common Problems at Planting

Fall Tree Planting: Planting Depth is Critical to Tree Success

Fall Tree Planting: Eliminate Stem Girdling Roots Before Planting

Good Planting, Care Techniques Get Trees off to a Good Start