Keep your lawn in shape this summer
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 months, 2 weeks AGO
With summer coming on, lots of homeowners will be getting their lawns into shape.
COURTESY PHOTO/MAGDA EHLERS/PEXELS
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | May 22, 2026 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — It’s getting warmer, and that means it’s time to take a good look at the lawn and get it ready to enjoy.
A major consideration in the Basin will be watering. With the limited water supply, a homeowner needs to get the most out of what water is available. Overwatering causes soggy conditions that encourage weeds, starve the grass roots of oxygen and leach out plant nutrients, according to Washington State University Extension. On the other hand, watering lightly and frequently encourages shallow roots on the grass, which makes it less able to withstand sudden changes in temperature or moisture.
Dig a little way into your soil and see if the top two inches are dry and crumbly. If they are, irrigate to 12 inches deep, assuming your soil is that deep.
The best time to water is in the early hours of the morning, around 4 a.m., according to the WSU Extension. If that’s too early, make it late at night instead, around 11 p.m.
Most cities and towns don’t have specific restrictions on when lawns may be watered, but Moses Lake does. Moses Lake homeowners with odd-numbered addresses can water at night or early in the morning Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, while even numbered homes water Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, according to the Moses Lake Municipal Code. No watering is allowed on Mondays, or between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Along with watering, lawns need to be mowed regularly. Mower blades should be kept sharp, according to the WSU Extension; a dull mower blade can cause the ends of the grass to be ragged and give the lawn an off-color look. Set the mower blade 1.5-2 inches high. If you want to cut shorter, do it gradually, moving the blade down no more than half an inch per mowing.
Fertilizer is an important consideration for maintaining a lawn. Lawns on the West Side need a mixture of fertilizers, but here in eastern Washington, we only need nitrogen, according to the WSU Extension. A good measurement is four pounds per 1,000 square feet per year, split up into four applications through the year. The Extension recommends applying nitrogen Nov. 1–15, May 1, June 15, and Sept. 1.
Of course, a lawn doesn’t have to be just grass. A paving-stone walkway can make the yard look cozier and create an easy walkway, but it’s important to be careful where those stones go, according to the gardening website Lawnstarter.com. Take a walk through the yard after a rainstorm or a good, thorough watering and see where puddles are forming. Those are exactly where you don’t want to put pavers. Another common mistake is simply laying out the stones on top of the dirt with no preparation. The soil will shift under them and leave them uneven. Take the time to compact the soil and add a gravel foundation under your walkway.
Finally, consider replacing some of the green grass with natural plants that need less water. The Columbia Basin Conservation District’s Heritage Garden Project has helped homeowners in the Basin design attractive, sustainable yards. The CBCD has experts who will come to your home and help plan out the yard and garden, and give tips for maintaining it. More information can be found at www.columbiabasincd.org.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.