HELP YOUR LAWN BEAT THE SUMMER HEAT
Each season presents its own lawn care challenge, and summer’s is heat. You can spend the entire spring nurturing your grass as it emerges from dormancy, following best practices for watering and mowing, only to see the southern sun begin to drain the color and life out of those vulnerable blades. Professional lawn treatments can definitely help strengthen your lawn to stand up to these challenging conditions. Here are some steps that you can take to keep your yard from drying out.
Maintain Your Watering Regimen
Everyone knows that water is crucial for the health and growth of grass and that evaporation is the threat posed by intense heat. Therefore, it’s not just important to maintain your established watering schedule – it’s critical to ensure that the water you supply is distributed for maximum effect. If you water in the middle of the day, much of that moisture will evaporate quickly. Some plants are so delicate that the sun can actually damage them more when they’re wet. It’s best to water early in the morning before the sun reaches its peak.
It’s tempting to water more often to counterbalance higher temperatures; however, watering too frequently can prevent roots from extending deeper into the earth. It’s not easy to achieve the balance that maintains optimal health. A rain gauge will help you track rainfall accurately to determine how much supplemental water you need to provide. Alternatively, an ordinary cat food or tuna can is one inch deep, which is the appropriate amount of water for most lawns. An irrigation system can allow you to calibrate even more precisely.
Food, Glorious Food
Nutrients may not be as accessible from hard, dry ground. Your grass may need applications of fertilizer year-round to stay healthy – or it may not. Research can help you here, too, as will consultation with lawn care professionals. As a general rule, lawns benefit when treatments are applied six to eight weeks apart.
Keep Off the Grass
If you’re like most homeowners, you like to admire the appearance of your lawn, but you also want to – for lack of a better word – use it. During the summer, kids are out of school and full of energy. If it’s not too hot, you might want to cook out, just for your family or with guests (once it’s safe to invite them). Throw in pets, and it’s likely that your lawn is under someone’s (or something’s) feet more during the summer than in any other season, and that’s when grass blades are slower to recover from damage. You might consider arranging your landscape to create specific areas for dining and playing.
We know that you’ve heard most of this advice before. We review it not because we think you’ve forgotten these basics, but to emphasize that sticking to a regular schedule of best practices is even more important in the summer than at other times of the year. Proper lawn maintenance will help ensure our weed control and fertilization lawn treatments can be most effective.
