Where has the spring gone?  At the time of this writing we have experienced daytime high temperatures approaching the upper 90's the past several days in central Oklahoma.  Needless to say it feels more like late June than early May.  To make matters worse we are sorely in need of generous amounts of rainfall before the really dry summer season is upon us.  We haven't benefitted from rains we expect and normally receive during March and April.  When you combine the low rainfall and the typical spring winds our lawns and landscapes are showing the effects of these drying conditions.  At this time lawns need to receive 1.5 inches of precipitation a week...either from rainfall (looks unlikely) or irrigation.  Established plants in landscape beds should be watered thoroughly every 7 to 10 days.  Any new plantings will need more frequent waterings while the roots expand into the soil in which planted.  Watering during the early morning hours is more efficient than mid day waterings.  Additionally, mulching landscape beds will help tremendously in conserving moisture by cutting down on the amount of evaporation.  All this talk about lack of rain and to think our neighbors along the Mississippi river are bracing for the worse flooding in nearly 80 years!

My dad farms wheat in SW Oklahoma and he mentioned the drought in that part of the state is as bad as he has seen in his lifetime.  Prior to a nice 2 inches of rainfall they received last week there hadn't been any appreciable precipitation since last October.  That amounted to a period of over 6 months with less than a quarter inch of rain!  Even the snow they received in Feb was a very dry snow and mostly blew off the fields before it had the chance to melt into the topsoil.  Hopefully, the remainder of May through June will provide opportunities to catch us up on the rainfall deficit.  There's always hope.  I recall in 2007-2008 an extended period of exceptionally dry weather was followed by an unusually wet late spring and summer.  The wetter than normal conditions continued for the next two years.  I join thousands of other Oklahomans praying our current drought condition will be relieved in short order.