We’ve already covered how to get your grass ready for spring and how to handle weed control, now we’re going to tell you summer lawn care tips and how to keep a healthy lawn all through the summer months.
We’ve had a very wet spring, which means you haven’t really had to water your lawn, but summer heat and drought are on the way. In the summer heat, cool season grasses such as fescue, bluegrass, and rye can have a hard time and will need a higher amount of water to keep from turning brown.
Summer Lawn Care Tips:
When the weather starts reaching about 80 degrees, and all through the summer months, you’ll want to make sure your lawn gets at least an inch of water a week. This will help to keep it from turning brown. Hot weather not only makes your lawn look tired, and it will behave that way too, becoming less able to handle the wear and tear of traffic and everyday use. To make sure your lawn gets all of the water you give it, set your water schedule to happen in the early morning (before 10 am) or in the evening so that it doesn’t all evaporate.
Another way to help keep your lawn healthy is to cut it regularly with a sharp mower blade. A dull blade is more likely to shred grass rather than cut it neatly, and this can allow diseases to infect your lawn. Most manufacturers suggest sharpening your blade after every 10 hours of use. When you do mow don’t cut your lawn too short. You want to make sure only a third, at most, of each grass blade is cut. So at the beginning of the summer season raise your blade. A taller lawn is more drought-tolerant as it can grow deeper roots to better reach the water you give. When you do mow, mulch the grass clippings right back onto your lawn. This will help it to retain water and stay green for longer.
Finally, if you choose to fertilize your lawn, be sure to do it before the summer starts. Once the real heat of summer arrives even organic fertilizers can sometimes burn your lawn, though they are less likely to do so than traditional fertilizers.
By following these summer lawn care tips you can help to keep your lawn green, healthy, and looking great all summer long.