How a Coffee Can Will Help You Fight Summer Lawn Stress
Home ownership goes hand in hand with the maintenance and care of your home and surrounding property. As the summer months heat up, the health of your lawn can become more of a challenge.
But proper lawn care is more complicated than setting out a sprinkler on the approved watering days. Care, patience and a little bit of knowledge can make the difference between a lush healthy lawn and an arid brown eyesore.
“One of the most common lawn care mistakes home owners make is to overwater, especially with a fescue lawn,” explained Jay Evans, owner of Jay's Lawn & Landscape Co., LLC in Wendell, N.C. “When both the temperature and humidity are high, overwatering can result in brown patch grass disease. Overwatering a lawn will also reduce the lawn’s tolerance to drought and other abnormal conditions, making it more vulnerable to weeds and insects.”
So before you pull out the hose, you need to find out how much water your lawn is getting by measuring the irrigation and precipitation rates. You don’t need sophisticated tools to figure this out; all you need is a coffee can.
Here are some tips from The Cornell Cooperative Extension Service:
“If your lawn is already damaged from this summer’s temperatures and dry conditions, then wait until the fall to aerate and over-seed to help repair and restore your lawn,” said Evans.
Following these guidelines will go a long way to helping you maintain and enjoy your lawn, even through the hot, dry summer. Plus, by starting now, you’ll be prepared to have a lawn to admire for next year’s season.
Home ownership goes hand in hand with the maintenance and care of your home and surrounding property. As the summer months heat up, the health of your lawn can become more of a challenge.
But proper lawn care is more complicated than setting out a sprinkler on the approved watering days. Care, patience and a little bit of knowledge can make the difference between a lush healthy lawn and an arid brown eyesore.
“One of the most common lawn care mistakes home owners make is to overwater, especially with a fescue lawn,” explained Jay Evans, owner of Jay's Lawn & Landscape Co., LLC in Wendell, N.C. “When both the temperature and humidity are high, overwatering can result in brown patch grass disease. Overwatering a lawn will also reduce the lawn’s tolerance to drought and other abnormal conditions, making it more vulnerable to weeds and insects.”
So before you pull out the hose, you need to find out how much water your lawn is getting by measuring the irrigation and precipitation rates. You don’t need sophisticated tools to figure this out; all you need is a coffee can.
Here are some tips from The Cornell Cooperative Extension Service:
- Help from a Coffee Can: Determine the irrigation rate by placing a can on an area that is being watered and taking note of how much water is in the can after 15 minutes. Calculate precipitation amount by leaving a can in the yard for a week and seeing how much rainwater collects in it.
- Watering: Actively growing turfgrass requires about one inch of water a week; water your lawn for as many minutes a week that are needed so that precipitation plus watering totals one inch. Pay attention to local county watering restrictions, if any. Water your lawn in the early morning to reduce evaporation and so plants dry by mid-morning. Letting the leaves stay wet for too long can lead to disease.
- Mowing: Don’t mow your lawn too short. Keep it about three inches tall to reduce stress and pest problems.
- Fertilizing: Wait until fall to fertilize, about two weeks after the last time you mow. If you fertilize in the spring, you will get fast-growing leaves, but weak roots, which will make the plants more susceptible to diseases and insects.
“If your lawn is already damaged from this summer’s temperatures and dry conditions, then wait until the fall to aerate and over-seed to help repair and restore your lawn,” said Evans.
Following these guidelines will go a long way to helping you maintain and enjoy your lawn, even through the hot, dry summer. Plus, by starting now, you’ll be prepared to have a lawn to admire for next year’s season.
|
|
