In hot, dry climates, keeping a lawn green becomes more and more challenging. Switching out some areas of lawn for drought resistant plantings is a good idea; however, for those areas of lawn you wish to keep, simply changing your care habits can help you keep green, healthy grass throughout the growing season. Here are some tips to help you do just that!
1. Water more deeply and less often. Use a Soaker Hose and apply a wetting agent to water your lawn thoroughly no more than once a week. This method will make the most use of every precious drop of water while helping your grass grow a strong, resilient root system that can withstand longer periods without watering.
2. Use organic fertilizer correctly in the early spring. Give your grass a good feeding with bone, blood or granulated chicken manure to get it off to a good start at the beginning of the growing season. This will give it a firm foundation for staying strong through the challenging summer months.
3. Mow higher and less frequently. It is smarter to mow your grass a little higher and less often. Set your mower blades high and mow no more often than 4 times per month. Doing so helps keep moisture in the ground, deters weed growth and saves resources and energy.
4. Give special treatment to areas where kids and pets play and rest. When possible, move play equipment occasionally to avoid killing grass around it. For areas around immovable equipment, fertilize a little more often and make the areas off limits occasionally to give the grass a break.
Understand that even when you follow these tips, your grass may appear dead and dry at summer’s end. Don’t worry. The special care you have given it will have made it strong, and it will return with vigor in the spring!
Dr. Mark Slavens, Horticultural Specialist for Scotts, talks in this video about regaining a healthy lawn in hot weather.
One Response
It’s good to know I wasn’t overdoing it with the mowing – I’m mowing my lawn 3-4 times monthly and I was thinking I was doing it way too often but it seems that wasn’t the case. I haven’t ever used organic fertilizer but I will do this next spring. Very curious to see what kind of results this brings. I have a Soaker Hose already and it’s made a great deal of difference to my lawn and helped keep my grass green in hot, dry climates. Very informative article. Thank you!