The prime season for a lush and green lawn, is spring. It’s warm enough to promote growth, without being too hot to kill the grass. But now that we’re in the hottest months of the year, we need to pay special attention to our lawns, to make sure that they are getting the care that they need to thrive. Grass can suffer and die from the heat and drought of the summer, if you don’t take care of it properly. So here are a few of our tips to take care of your lawn this summer!
Minimize traffic
Walking on the grass constantly, will cause damage to those high traffic areas. If this is becoming a serious problem resulting in dead grass, consider putting up stepping stones through this high traffic area to keep people from walking on your lawn. If you don’t want to disrupt your lawn, you can mark off your lawn to let your guests know that they should bypass the lawn to walk on your sidewalk or other walkway that is already in place to get to your front door.
Make sure it gets enough water
During the summer, your lawn needs at least one inch of water per week, and it needs more than this the hotter the weather gets. An easy way to make sure your lawn is getting enough water, is to use a rain gauge. This will keep track of how much water it gets due to rainfall and your irrigation efforts. If the gauge shows less than 1 inch per week, increase how often you water your lawn. Or instead, you can just water your lawn longer and deeper, rather than more often.
Water your lawn in the mornings
We recommend setting your sprinklers for the earliest hours of the morning, to avoid the water evaporating before it can do its job. This also reduces fungal growth. By watering first thing, preferably before 10 am when the sun gets its hottest, you’ll need less water to get the job done.
Mow your lawn regularly
Mowing your lawn is important for reasons besides aesthetic. Yes, mowing your lawn keeps your yard looking neat and nice! But it also is healthier for your lawn if you don’t have to clip more than a third of the blade of grass. This keeps your grass healthier, as well as prevents the grass clippings from smothering your lawn and preventing healthy growth.