By Allyn Hane
May is rushing out and June is blowing in here in NW Indiana and that means your lawn is about to get stressed. June can be a microwave, July an oven, and August a pressure cooker — all working together to destroy your little patch of green lawn love. It’s nothing new, however … summer always creates negative pressure for turf grasses around here, and there are a few things you can do that will easily help your lawn stand up green and happy all through the hottest months.
What Are Summer Lawn Stresses
There are many factors that can cause your lawn to brown or thin out during the summer, and here are the major ones.
1) Drought stress (lack of soil moisture for extended periods)
2) Insect pressure (grubs, chinch bugs, sod webworm)
3) Disease (caused by fungus in soil or in crowns and blades, sometimes weather related)
4) Heat stress (just too hot for the cool season grasses we have here, regardless of soil moisture)
5) Foot traffic (too many bean bag tournaments and beer spills in the front lawn)
These lawn pressures or stresses are unavoidable in many cases but there are a few things you can do to hedge your bets; so to speak.
Here are the simplest ways to keep your lawn healthy and vigorous all summer in spite of lawn stress.
1) Mow Tall All Summer — If you follow my Crown Point Blog, then you know that I am constantly reminding you guys to mow tall. When hen I say “mow tall,” I’m talking like 3.5″ or more — and for many of you this is your lawn mower’s max setting. If you mow tall, you’ll get used to the look eventually, and your lawn will thank you. Mowing tall keeps grass crowns (where the blades grow from) cooler, keeps soil moisture from evaporating so quickly, and allows consistent photosynthesis.
2) Water Right — I know your water is expensive, but it’s worth the price to keep your turf happy. Really though, you only need to water twice per week in the summer if you keep the waterings deep and consistent. It is much better to water deep and infrequent than to water daily and lightly. There are lots of reasons for this, but the main one is that a deep watering (1/2″ per sprinkling) soaks water down to where the grass roots are, causing them to stay deep where they are able to support healthy top growth. Light waterings, on the other hand, cause the roots to turn upwards and stay shallow where they can be dried out in the hot sun.
You also MUST water in the morning to avoid fungus buildup over the hot summer evenings.
3) Use The Right Fertilizer — Keeping your lawn properly fertilized is not just a cosmetic issue. Sure, I like green/blue grass as much as anybody, but the nutrients in fertilizer are truly designed to support your lawns photosynthesis and water consumption. To keep it simple, you want a nice balance of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus that is delivered in a slow release formulation. I personally prefer to get my lawn nitrogen from an organic source such as Milorganite or Corn Gluten.
I know those were some super simple tips, but sometimes it’s the simple things that help relieve the stress; both on you, and your lawn! Good luck!