Landscaping and tree care in North Logan, Utah

Watering days, canal turns and the November shutdown

The city says November is the month to winterize irrigation. Have the lines blown out so they do not break, and remove or insulate the backflow assembly on a city-water system. Call your sprinkler company for that work. Once the lines are drained, fall cleanup and mulching can finish the beds before snow.

Water rules shape what goes in the ground. New trees and shrubs need steady water their first seasons, so a planting plan starts with which water the lot gets and on which days. Mulch holds moisture between those days. Check the city's current page each spring, since the days and limits can change.

If you plan to replace lawn or a park strip with water-wise planting, the city's page explains the state incentive. It asks you to read the eligibility rules and submit your landscaping plan. Do that before you pull any grass. Eric can plan and plant the new beds once your approval is in hand.

Gravel, lime and graded subdivision soil

Green Canyon is the canyon above town, and the USDA named a soil for it. The series forms on alluvial fans between 4,500 and 5,100 feet from limestone and dolomite wash. Its rock fragments make up 35 to 60 percent of the middle layers. The top layer is dry for 60 to 75 days in a row each summer, and the native plants are sage and wheatgrass. Which soil lies under your lot varies, so dig a test hole.

Gravel drains fast, so beds dry out between watering days. Compost lifts how much water the soil holds. Plants from dry hillsides will cope with the lime. Thirsty plants will not.

USU Extension adds a warning for new lots. Yellowing between the leaf veins is often worse where topsoil was stripped and lime-rich subsoil was exposed, as happens when land is leveled for housing. About 34 percent of North Logan homes were built from 2010 to 2019, so many yards sit on that kind of ground.

Deer between the foothills and the street

A 2013 article from Utah State says deer have always used this area. The trouble grew over 15 to 20 years as people built farther up the hills. The state wildlife division asks residents not to haze deer, since even a paintball gun counts as harassing wildlife. State rule R657-65 lets a city run a deer control plan only if it bans feeding deer. Do not feed them.

USU Extension says mule deer come down to the foothills in late November, and bucks rub antlers on trunks in fall, leaving big scars. A split plastic drainpipe slid over a young trunk helps, and a 10 foot fence is the surest guard for a fruit planting. For beds, choose plants that deer find unpalatable.

Young trees in a newer city

With a median build year of 2005, many North Logan trees are in their first decade. USU Extension says to prune a tree early in life, while branches are under 2 inches thick, and to take no more than 20 to 25 percent of the leaf area in a year. Winter or early spring, before the buds swell, is the best time. At planting, remove only dead or broken branches.

USU notes that yards on a bench stay warmer than low ground where cold air settles. The USDA gives soils below Green Canyon a frost-free period of 140 to 160 days, a wide range. A tender plant that thrives on one street can freeze on another, so watch the thermometer in your own yard before you set out tomatoes or peppers.