You've seen them all over the metro (maybe just outside your window)... brown lawns. This drought is really taking its toll on area turfgrass.  But are these lawns dead? Maybe, maybe not.

Without regular watering, fescue and bluegrass lawns normally go dormant during hot, dry weather. Healthy ones can easily survive a month without rain or irrigation. But, this isn't a "normal" year. Today's stressed-looking lawns may be entering dormancy early. Or, they may be dead/dying. 

How do you know? Try pulling up individual turf plants and checking the crown (the area between the leaves and roots). If the crown is hard, not papery and dry, the plant is still alive. 

For the growing season, the rule of thumb is to ensure fescue and bluegrass get about an inch of water per week. Doing less or more can damage roots. Even so, the interval between drinks should be longer during the cool weather of early spring and late fall, gradually shifting toward or away from summer's schedule. And, the time between irrigation applications should shrink to every three to four days during triple-digit heat.

Vegetable harvest can be confusing - especially if you're still new at it. Here are some quick tips to help with a few local favorites:

• Harvest onions after the tops yellow and fall, then cure them in a warm, dry, well-ventilated area. The necks should be free of moisture when fully cured in about a week's time.
• Harvest potatoes after the tops yellow and die. Potatoes also need to be cured before storage.
• Pick beans, tomatoes, peppers and squash often to encourage further production.
• Harvest sweet corn when kernels are plump and ooze a milky juice when punctured with your fingernail. If the liquid is watery, you're too early; if the kernels are doughy, you're too late.

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