The Midwest Garden Podcast guys, Mike O’Rourke and Scott Sandstrom, will be sharing gardening advice and information with readers throughout the growing season. O’Rourke, retired from Black Diamond Garden Center and known as the Garden Guy for many years, discusses landscape issues with Sandstrom in a casual conversation designed to educate listeners, and now readers, on a wide variety of topics.
This first conversation being shared here deals with a current weather related yard problem caused by heavy rains.

Flooding

SCOTT: Hello Sylvania, it’s Scott and Mike from Your Midwest Garden Podcast!

MIKE: We’ve joined up with Sylvania Advantage Newspaper to bring you some gardening tips for the next several months.

SCOTT: That’s right Mike, guess you’re done being right for the remainder of 2023…

MIKE: You’re probably right Scott, and you just used up your 2023 allotment of being correct-HAHA.

SCOTT: Mike, let’s get started with some recent issues on our lawns. The mixed bag of winter weather has caused yards to flood. Is that a concern for my grass this summer? Are there things I should do to help out the flooded area?

MIKE: Glad you asked Scott… This is a very important question and I would like you to listen up carefully. You ready? Okay, Please make sure you don’t DO ANYTHING !!!

SCOTT: WHAT? You’re telling everyone in Sylvania NOT to do ANYTHING?!

MIKE: That’s right Scott. Don’t do a darn thing. Just wait until your flooded lawn completely drains and dries out. The soil should be dry enough to walk on without leaving any squishy footprints before doing any work on it. Usually within a week, you can then start to do the necessary/important tweaking for spring.
What I mean by tweaking is to NOT do TOO MUCH to your lawn. Take your leaf rake and lightly fluff the discolored lawn. The reason it is ugly and discolored is it happened to have survived another Northern Ohio winter with a curve ball added, all while you were inside warm and cozy Scott. When you lightly rake your once flooded lawn, you will notice that you have brought out some discolored grasses and twigs. This is debris you can put into your compost pile for this year’s flower or vegetable garden. Mother Nature’s way of recycling, she’s the original recycling inventor you know.
After that, leave it alone for an additional two or three days. This will allow the soil to breathe or aerate like a fine glass of wine. The raking helps air circulate down by the crown and as you know, moving air helps to fend off fungus issues. Then apply the well needed fertilizer to accelerate food production. Preferably a fertilizer with a PRE-EMERGENT GRABGRASS control. Please make sure to NOT apply new seed to these areas as the CRABGRASS-CONTROL will prevent new grass seed from germinating.

SCOTT: Sounds like a plan Mike, thanks. On a recent episode of Your Midwest Garden Podcast we talked about a great, easy to use fertilizer called, Milorganite. We encourage you to take a listen to this “goof-proof” product. Until next time, green thumbs up!

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