Rain, rain, go away is not what you’ll hear in Texas right now, especially from farmers, as drought concerns and questions continue to grow about planting right now.
“There is a lot of concern as dry as we go into the Fall. We typically have a time of building soil moisture now, "Shane McLellan said.
Shane McLellan is the Mclennan County Extension Agent for Texas A&M AG Life Extension.
He said any rain could help, but farmers need a lot of rain.
Without that soil moisture, spring crops could be impacted.
"Normally, we expect to get around four inches of rain in October, and we’re just parched," McLellan said. "We were also dry most of the Summer, so we’re behind. Many producers are looking at — you know — what do I do? Do I wait to plant my wheat because of the Hessian Fly? If they plant wheat right now, it’s just gonna be dusted in.”
As far as your plants around the home, Clyde Colunga with Westview Nursery and Landscape Company said outdoor plants should still be okay even through a dryer winter. The key is to make sure your plants are watered—either by Mother Nature or by you.
He said, "Whether it rains or not, you need to water somehow. The plants need watering somehow.”They know this firsthand because on the landscaping side, they plant year-round, and he added, “That’s not a problem.”
All of Central Texas is still in a drought.
Meteorologists said rain is on the way, but it cannot be predicted whether any of it will be heavier rainfall. They said the current outlook shows a dryer winter than average.
