Greg Smith was Rotarian of the Day last Tuesday and he introduced as his speaker, Master Gardener Jackie Pogue, pictured at right. Jackie spoke to the club about winter conditions in Oklahoma and how best to prepare the yards and gardens for the coming spring and summer weather. She said now is the time to use pre-emergent for crabgrass and henbit. Mulching around trees and bushes, but not right to the bark of the tree but to leave room for the bark to breath and not allow fungus and disease to get started. Mulch is ok all the way to the dripline but not piled up on the trunk.
Oklahoma lawns, especially central Oklahoma yards need compost, and usually nitrogen. Due to highly alkaline conditions, fertilizer blends probably are not needed, rather straight Urea nitrogen is favored above the 10-20-10, etc. Again and again, she emphasized the importance of compost in our lawns as most already have enough alkaline salts from sulfates and potash. Bermuda does not need weed and feed. It only feeds the weeds and Bermuda grass is not ready to take on the fertilizer until the weather is much warmer. Save your money. Spray broadleaf weeds with weed-b-gone if necessary.
Soil samples sent to the County Extension service are the best bet for credible information on what the yard needs. By the way, for winter damaged trees, a certified BONDED arborist is best for clearing branches from large trees around the house. A pruned tree is a damaged tree, never completely healed but to the extent most diseases are kept out. However large heavy pruning opens lots of avenues for disease. Be careful. A timely topic and several questions were answered during the presentation.