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2019 Pet Fest Were excited to attend the 2nd annual Catered Bowl Pet Fest at Stinson Park in Aksarben Village on Saturday, June 29thfrom 9am-Noon. This event is presented by Summit Media Omaha. This one day event will be all about pets. Bring out your furry, feathered, or scaled friends for a day of fun! All pets are welcome at this fun free event for pets […]

Earth Day Omaha April 13, 2019 at Elmwood Park Earth Day Omaha 2019 will be celebrating its 29rd Annual Earth Day on Saturday, April 13, 2019 at Elmwood Park located at 802 S. 60th Street. Earth day Omaha will feature ecological minded exhibitors, children’s activities, demonstrations, short speaker sessions, live music from local bands, and food from area vendors. Earth Day Omaha is designed […]

Poinsettia Beauty is all around us at Christmastime. We decorate with lights, large pine trees, tinsel, and of course, the beautiful poinsettia. These plants not only bring beauty to our homes, but also a little bit of history. In this blog, we will tell you how to pick the perfect poinsettia for you holiday décor and share the history and legend behind this lovely […]

Snow Molds Principle snow molds of the central and northern Plains are Microdochium patch (pink snow mold) and Typhula blight (gray snow mold). Other snow molds, such as sclerotinia patch, also may occur in certain areas. Microdochium patch, caused by Microdochium nivale, can injure turf any time from mid-October to April during prolonged cool, wet weather. Infection most often occurs with temperatures between 32°F […]

Dormant Seeding Omaha Organics Lawn Care is now scheduling dormant seeding. Dormant seeding is the 2nd best time of the year for establishing cool-season grasses. Seeding can be done any time after soil temperatures are 40F in order to guarantee no germination until next spring. Seeding between Thanksgiving and St. Patricks’ Day is a good rule of thumb. Timing, soil preparation, species and seeding rate […]

Cool Season Grass Weeds In the previous blog, Types of Turfgrass Weeds, we told you that grasses have leaves with veins that turn parallel to each other and are two-ranked. We also classify these grass weeds by season; cool season and warm season. Here we share with you examples of cool season grass weeds and how to tell which weed you may have in your lawn.   […]

Thatch Thatch is located between green vegetation and the soil surface. It consists of a layer of dead and decaying turfgrass tissues derived from leaves, shoots, and roots not from grass that is not bagged. Thatch accumulates when the rate of turfgrass organic matter productions exceeds its rate of decomposition. Small amounts (less than ½ inch) can be beneficial. Some thatch increases the turf’s resiliency, […]

Rust Rust diseases, caused primarily by Puccinia spp., occur on all commonly grown turf-grasses. Like the mildews and smuts, these fungi are highly specialized as to host preference. Two of the more common turfgrass rusts are P. graminis, causing stem rust on Kentucky bluegrass, and P. coronate, causing crown rust on ryegrass and tall fescue. The severity of outbreaks varies from year to year. Kentucky […]

Temperature Induced Injury Although ambient temperature is a factor of weather patterns, turf canopy temperature is often a factor of management practices. The detrimental effects of temperature depend on the physiology of the turf at the time of a temperature extreme. Fortunately, environmental fluctuations typically occur gradually and allow for an acclimation or adaptation period which allows turf to survive under extreme temperature fluctuations […]

Henbit When it comes to wintery lawn pests, henbit is one of the most commonly faced culprits. Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) is an annual forb in Nebraska. It is a member of the mint family and is often confused with ground ivy. It is generally a problem in newly seeded turfs established in the fall. Henbit has a four-sided, square stem. The leaves are hairy, rounded, coarsely […]

Soil Related Problems Turf near building sites and high traffic areas may suffer from problems not always obvious to the eye. Shallow soil and compaction result in improper root functioning or root growth being restricted. The end result is increased sensitivity to environmental fluctuations. Shallow Soils When soil depth is reduced by some form of rooting inhibitor, the condition is referred to as shallow […]

Slime Molds Slime molds are primitive organism that exhibit characteristics of both plants and animals, although they are considered fungi. Numerous species of slime mold occur on turf; the most common is Physarum cinereum. Slime molds are not pathogens and cause little more than some yellowing. Slime molds grow on the surface of leaves and stems feeding on decaying organic litter and on other […]

Water Injury The proper balance of water needed for healthy turf is critical; an improper balance of water in a turf ecosystem can result in both biotic and abiotic problems. There are two examples of water injury; flood or standing water and drought injury. We will focus on drought injury. The first step is to know how to properly identify water injury, so turf […]

Pythium Blight Pythium blight, sometimes called “grease spot” or “cottony blight,” is no longer only a disease of golf courses; it is becoming a problem in home lawns and other turfs. Pythium blight is cause by several species of Phythium fungi; however, the two most commonly associated with the disease are Phythium aphanidermatum and P. graminicola. These fungi are in a group known as […]

Necrotic Ring Spot and Summer Patch Two of the most destructive patch diseases of turfgrass are necrotic ring spot, caused by Leptosphaeria korrae, and summer patch, cause by Magnaporthe poae. Necrotic ring spot generally occurs on Kentucky bluegrass during spring and fall. Summer patch occurs during the hot portion of the summer. Necrotic ring spot most commonly occurs when wet weather is followed by hot, dry […]

Purslane Purslane or Portulaca oleracea is an annual succulent that is one of the most common species of weeds in the world. They look like a tangled wild mess of reddish stems and dark green leaves that grow in all directions. This plant is also referred to as duckweed, fatweed, pigweed, and pursley. This succulent is a fast spreading, annual that grows throughout North America […]

Japanese Beetle The Japanese beetle is a common species of beetle originating in Japan. They were introduced to the United States in 1916, after being accidentally brought into New Jersey. Unlike Japan, where Japanese beetles have natural predators, in the US they tend to feed off of whatever plants they wish. Adults emerge in June, July, and August. They feed off of over 300 […]

Yellow Nutsedge Yellow nutsedge has been spotted in Omaha as of April 21, 2018, about a month earlier then normal.  Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) is a common, persistent, and troublesome weed in lawns and landscapes in Nebraska. This is especially true from Kearney (NE) east into Iowa. Yellow nutsedge is a problem in lawns because of rapid growth during the summer months. Upright growth habit, […]

Bindweed Of all the weeds we have discussed on this blog, perhaps the most difficult to get rid of is bindweed. You might recognize bindweed (also known as creeping jenny) from roadside ditches, where morning-glory-like light pink trumpet-shaped flowers spread with climbing vines. When mature, the vines sport arrowhead-shaped leaves. Bindweed starts low to the ground but will quickly begin to crawl up signs, […]

Pineappleweed During the hot month of June, you may notice a new weed flowering. You will find them in the cracks of your sidewalk, driveway, garden, or lawn. Pineappleweed is a plant with small egg-shaped yellow flowers that kind of look like pineapples. The plant’s leaves also smell like pineapples when crushed, so it isn’t hard to guess the name’s origin. It has fern-like finger shaped leaves […]

Ascochyta Leaf Blight Ascochyta leaf blight is a common but minor turfgrass disease plaguing Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall and red fescues, and bentgrasses. It can be attacked by one of several species of the fungus Ascochyta. Extended periods of wet weather or frequent watering; followed by wet conditions or drought-stressed turf can cause Ascochyta. It survives in the thatch and infects grass leaves during […]

Lawn Facts Every day we walk over it, sit on it, play on it or just sit and watch it grow. Few of us, however, appreciate all that turf does to help us. Many of us take our turf for granted. Here are some fun lawn facts that may help us all to appreciate our lawns. Did you know, on average, the turf on the […]

Neem Oil Spring is finally here! It’s finally time to enjoy the warmth from the sun, the green grass, green trees, and bugs. Wait a minute! Did we say bugs?! Along with joys of spring, come these pesky critters. How do we get rid of these harassing things? The answer is Neem Oil. Here at Omaha Organics, we seek the safest alternatives to take […]

Nimblewill When it comes to cultivating your lawn, not all grasses are created equal. We recently wrote about windmill grass and it’s time to talk about another pesky weed grass. Nimblewill is very easy to spot. It is a lighter green color than more preferable grass strands in the summer, matted brown in off season and has a more coarse texture. It grows in short, […]