Green Country Sod Farmers Happy With Recent Rain

Oklahoma is getting some much needed rain and farmers are loving it, local sod farmers said the rain of the past few days helps them grow healthier grass, they hope, will survive our intense summer heat.

Crews delivered fresh sod this spring to Guthrie Green and it's holding up pretty well, thanks to the wet weather. Farmers who grow sod said the rain helps, but it's still not enough to get us out of a drought.

Slow and steady, rain keeps falling on Green Country, and sod farmers said it's exactly what the grass needed.

Charles Rumbaugh manages Easton Sod's store in Glenpool, where pallets were stacked with grass and ready to roll out on to lawns.

Bermuda grass, which Rumbaugh said is Tulsa's most popular, should be able to thrive in the wet conditions.

"All the Bermuda should be healthy, because there's a lot of moisture in the ground, a lot of good rain to start it into the growing season, which makes it real healthy," he said.

Rumbaugh said the rain is going to keep the grass greener when the temperatures heat up.

"See how thick this cut is, that's showing the depth and the thickness of the root system, that's healthy. Before it would be real thin, falling apart, because of there wasn't enough moisture deep for the roots to go deep," Rumbaugh said.

Farmers said the heavy rain will also help the grass better prepare for the winter months.

"This late in June, any bit of rain we can get is just a plus, you know, because now the Bermuda, it thrives in the heat, but there's not enough moisture in the soil to get the deep roots and you need the deep roots for it to be healthy," said Rumbaugh.

He hopes the rain keeps falling because the sprinkler systems can only do so much.

News On 6 meteorologists said some communities have seen as much as four-inches of rainfall in the last few days, but it's not enough to recover from drought conditions yet. Some areas need more than seven-inches of rain to get out of a drought.

"Nothing is better than Mother Nature when it comes to water and grass," Rumbaugh said.

Recently, parts of Tulsa saw more than a half-inch of rain, rain gauges in Green Country are reporting full saturation of ground; conditions perfect for growing grass.