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Soil & Water Management

Digging into Dirt, Part 3: The Soil Water Connection

As strange as it may seem, I’d like to start the third blog in our soil series thinking about water. Soil is our economic base, but water is our lifeblood. And the reality is that soil and water are directly connected.     The earth’s surface covers about 197 million square miles.  (As a reference …

Digging into Dirt, Part 2: What Kind Is It?

If I were a soil scientist (and that does take a huge stretch of your imagination), I would be presenting you with a list showing the taxonomy of 12 different soils, all having totally unfamiliar and unpronounceable names. Each soil group would be determined by one or two major characteristics chosen for how the soil …

Digging into Dirt

My husband and I spend quite a few dinner times tossing around blog ideas. When I found out that we were scheduled to attend a soil conference, I couldn’t resist throwing out a few potential titles. I offered a few real gems like “Let’s Talk Dirty” and  “I’ve Got Dirt on You.”  By the third …

Planting in a Changing World - Part 2: Climate Change

Gardening has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My mother had beds of iris and grew roses in her St. Louis back yard, my father had a thriving vegetable patch in the former ash pit of our home and my grandmother always had annuals blooming next to her kitchen …

A Dry Fall Threatens the Landscape

Kansas City and the surrounding areas are currently experiencing what the state climatologist is calling “abnormally dry conditions.” Entering into the month of December, the area has consistently seen warmer than usual temperatures combined with rainfall amounts averaging 4.5 inches below normal. These near-drought conditions can cause stress to turf, trees and broadleaf evergreens. In …

It's Time For A"Long Winter's Nap"-- For Your Yard

With the temperatures staying so warm this fall — 70 degrees on December 2nd here — I’ve postponed some of my usual end of season yard tasks.With the weather so consistently warm,  I was afraid that I would do more harm than good by following my usual routine. To be on the safe side, I’ve checked …