November in Review
November weather returned us to our normally scheduled programming after the extended warm spell. By that I mean many days in the 70s with a few bounces back into the 80s. Also, we saw some sporadic rain which helped us recover from that weird fall dry period.
What to Expect in December
Home gardeners, you should be starting to benefit from your fall planted cool season crops. My indeterminate tomatoes are producing the most they have all season; we discussed how to do this a few months back. The frost will take them out sometime, maybe tomorrow maybe in January. I am going to grow my homegrown tomatoes until they do, and when frost is eminent, we will make fried green tomatoes with the unripe fruit.
Tired of mowing your lawn? You should get a good break now; our grasses are not dormant since we have not had a frost yet. But they know it is time to shut it down for the season. You may need a cut every 2 weeks to deal with some weeds but the weekly mowings are certainly done for a bit.
Action Items
- Enjoy fires in the fireplace or outdoor fire pit on cold evenings.
- Hot chocolate
- Relax and enjoy this holiday season
- Watch out for reindeer droppings in your yard following Christmas day
Municipal Drainage Happenings
November brought a break in the drought and perked up our turf since we had moderately warm temperatures. We are mowing once a month with tractors and twice monthly on shortgrass.
Districts that were treated with a pre-emergent herbicide look clean, those that did not elect for that have noticeably more weed pressure.
Overall, this has been the best year for turf in the past 5 years. No extreme freezes, consistent moisture for most of the year. Only a 45–50-day dry period and it was during 90-degree temps of September and not 100+ temps of July or August.
I am looking forward to another great year in 2025
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Hunter Soape