NU Horticulturist Offers Lawn and Garden Tips for Travelers
LINCOLN, Neb. — Add one more task to your vacation planning list: find someone to take care of the lawn and garden.
Having a friend or neighbor tend the lawn and garden is the best way to ensure that plants stay healthy and well-maintained, said John Fech, a University of Nebraska extension horticulturist in Douglas and Sarpy counties.
Caretakers should water plants every two or three days and pick ripe fruits and vegetables when necessary.
"If you let plants produce without picking the ripe fruit, they continue to ripen, become overmature and plants eventually produce less fruit," Fech said.
The lawn also should be mowed at least once a week to prevent turf stress and heat damage when people return from vacation and are forced to remove more than one-third of the total leaf surface.
Fech said homeowners can make the caretakers' job easier by giving the lawn and garden extra care beforehand.
© 2009 • University of Nebraska • Educational Media • NU Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources • Lincoln, NE
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