10 Best Ways to Save Your Lawn in the Summer Heat
August is a tough month for lawns and gardens in Texas and this summer’s Heat Dome presents even greater challenges.
How can you keep your lawn green and thriving? By following a few simple tips!
1. Maximize your weekly water use
Despite Austin water restrictions, it is possible to keep your lawn healthy in this heat. Since infrequent deep soaks encourage root growth better than frequent light watering one good watering each week should be enough!
2. Don’t over water
Did you know that the average Texas lawn only needs 1” of water each week? Any more than this and you may be over watering. Overwatering is as bad for your lawn as under watering, because it weakens the root structure of grass.
3. Evenly water your lawn
Make sure your sprinklers evenly distribute water evenly across your lawn. Placing a few cans around your lawn will help you to gauge whether spots in your lawn are being missed.
If you are watering with a hose, use a fan or shower type of nozzle to ensure that you are evenly watering your lawn.
4. Prevent run off
Monitor if you are losing water as it drains down onto the sidewalk or street. If you notice such water loss, shorten the duration of your irrigation timer and start again after about 15 minutes.
5. Water early in the morning
Set your irrigation timer (or your alarm) for 5 a.m. and give your lawn a good morning drink. Watering in the evening, while convenient, unfortunately encourages the growth of diseases and fungus which stress lawns.
6. Don’t fertilize too much
Too much nitrogen from fertilizers can actually hurt your lawn, encouraging the tips to grow and weakening the roots. Limiting the use of fertilizer is important during time of heat stress.
7. Let your grass grow a little taller that usual
Adjust your lawn maintenance to trim only the top third of grass blades. It will reduce stress on your grass and allow the grass to retain moisture.
Make sure the blades on your mower are sharp to reducing tearing and consider a mulching mower to return the clippings to the soil to serve as a natural fertilizer.
8. TLC for brown spots
Patches of grass that appear to have lost their battle with the heat, may not require immediate replacement. First, keep these dead zones moist. It is possible that your sprinkler is missing these areas. Then toss mower clippings on top of the brown patches as a layer of mulch. With a little TLC, the surrounding grass may begin to grow into the brown zone.
If you have pets, this may explain your brown spots. The nitrogen of pet urine burns the grass just as fertilizer can do. Your best remedy is to water your pet’s favorite areas well within eight hours to dilute the nitrogen.
9. Consider a more drought resistant lawn
If you do not already have a lawn of Buffalo, Bermuda or Zoysia grass, you may want to consider one of these drought resistant grasses. Let us Smart-scape your lawn with these and other natives and adaptive species that require little or no watering!
10. Let us do the work for you!
If your schedule keeps you too busy to keep up the demands of summer lawn care, give us a call! We will keep you lawn in tip-top shape!
Bonus: Summer watering tip: save your homes foundation*
While watering your lawn, spend a few minutes watering your foundation. Periods of drought stress your foundation as much as they stress your lawn. By making sure that the lawn around your foundation maintains a consistent level of moisture. Soaker hoses placed around your foundation are a great way to solve this problem if you do not already have a sprinkler system.
Get $$ for conserving water!
Do you have your Austin Water rebate? Do you know what is required to qualify?
Here is the link to learn more!
