If your lawn looks like its suffering from a hot dry August, the reality is that how you manage and respond to it now makes all the difference in how it looks next spring and summer, as well.
And if you take pride in your lawn and landscaping, it may not be as dire as you think.
Because what you don’t know is…that because of the excess rain back in the spring, and then into June and July, the water table in the ground is actually not that low. And if you took the time to check it out, you’d find that just three or four inches beneath the surface of most lawns you’ll find moisture. Still, that moisture is not servicing your lawn because it’s trapped beneath the hard, upper three or four inches of soil. So your lawn looks parched, and even brown. So what to do?
Some lawn experts will tell you that if you have irrigation of any kind, in-ground or above, simply run that irrigation for as little as fifteen minutes three times a week to 1) refresh the surface of your lawn. And 2), if you’re familiar with the phrase “water seeks its own level”, by irrigating you soften the surface inches of soil such that it makes it easier for ground water to be absorbed upward. And that will help sustain the color and vigor of your lawn into the fall season, and beyond.
More importantly, with a good fall nutrition program, accessing the ground water beneath your lawn helps to grow stronger roots in time prior to those plants turning dormant in winter. Fall rains and air-borne nitrogen gives an added boost. So when the ground thaws and things begin to grow again in the spring, your lawn will come to life healthier, stronger, and greener…sooner.
But September is critical if it’s dry…to give your lawn a boost by irrigating enough to help existing ground water be absorbed upward to your roots of your lawn.
It works!
