General

December and 2024 in review

December had something for everyone weather wise. If you like it cold there was a few days of that, if you like it warmer there was a lot of that too. We saw some needed rainfall, but nothing extremely heavy or persistent.

2024 was the best year in terms of rainfall and less extreme summer heat and dry spells in at least the last 5 years.

What to expect in January

Home gardeners, it is the month to stay warm, and if you start your own tomatoes from seed it is time to start. If you have winter crops in the ground good for you.   My indeterminate tomatoes I have talked about every month finally succumbed to a frost on January 6th. Seeing as I planted them about March 1 of 2024 that is a pretty good run. I really do think the fall/winter crop was better than the spring. On Sunday as we were preparing for the incoming weather, we picked gallons of both ripe tomatoes we made sauce with and green tomatoes to be fried up. If I would have had more time, we could have pickled some of those green tomatoes too.

Lawn maintenance should be minimal this month.  The frost and cold overnight temps the week of Jan 6th will keep most growth but a few weeds to an absolute minimum.

Action Items

Ants are showing up nearly everywhere-

• Option 1 – Fipronil is a chemical that provides 12 months of protection. It both kills active mounds quickly and remains active for a long time. The downside is it must be applied by a professional licensed applicator. This also treats for fleas and ticks, so if you have pets that’s another benefit.
• Option 2 – Apply a DIY granule insecticide like Amdro, Extinguish Plus, or Once and Done. Then follow up with mound treatment with a dust or liquid. The granule is slow to kill, but acts as a great preventative. The mound treatment gives you fast results.
• Option 3 – I have been trying out a new product in some areas that I didn’t apply Fipronil to at my own home and have been impressed. “Tarrow” is a Borax solution you apply to a piece of cardboard and the workers carry the poison down to the colony.

Municipal Drainage Happenings

December weather was fair, but the early January cold snap has cemented turf grass into dormancy for a while. We are mowing once a month with tractors and twice monthly on shortgrass.

Hunter Soape

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