The neighbor’s grass isn’t always greener, at least during the moderate drought conditions that have put stress on residential lawns in Jamestown.
Mike Guthmiller said he is not watering his grass and it’s getting pretty brown.
He said that if the dry weather continues for a few more weeks he would consider watering.
"Lawns will go dormant when it is excessively dry and we are already seeing it," Harstad said.
The grasses are accustomed to drier and hotter weather in late July to mid-August and should recover unless the drought conditions extend through the entire summer, she said.
As of Thursday the July precipitation for Jamestown was 0.59 inch, which is 1.68 inches below the 2.27-inch normal for the month, according to the National Weather Service in Bismarck.
The best time to water a lawn is in the morning when there is less evaporation and the lawn can absorb more of the water, Harstad said.
Younger trees should be watered frequently, especially if recently transplanted to help establish the root systems, she said.
"Keeping young trees watered is probably more important than the grass," Harstad said.
The half inch of rain this week will reduce pumping for a couple of days, but it will take an inch or more of rain to have an impact, he said.