Water & Your Lawn!
Recently, InArkansas.com asked our owner, Gregg Curtis, to provide advice on Summer watering of lawns. We thought all of our blog readers could benefit from this information too…so here you go!
During drought conditions, how should you go about using fertilizer?
Your turf and landscape plants are still going to need food even if it’s dry. Make sure to water thoroughly before fertilizing either one of them since all fertilizers except organic ones have some traces of salt in them. If the grass cells aren’t well hydrated, the application of fertilizer may cause fertilizer burn. A high nitrogen (first number) fertilizer encourages of top growth, which the grass will need more water to maintain. So it’s a cycle; the more you encourage fast top growth, the more water you need to apply, the more mowing you will have to do. A good balanced fertilizer, a slow release fertilizer, or an organic fertilizer are better choices during times of drought. We suggest applying a slow nitrogen release fertilizer called Milorganite, which also adds humates to the soil.
How much water do lawns need to keep thriving every week– is there a way to find out specific to your lawn?
Yes, a little work is required. Investigate the sub-surface of your soil by digging a hole at least eight inches down. The upper three to four inches is the top surface and below this is the sub-surface which determines the drainage of the soil. Is your sub-surface clay or porous? You can also buy yourself a moisture meter and adjust watering accordingly. In the case of my yard, I have a lot of hard pan (clay and rock) two inches down, so this time of year I have to cycle and soak which means I water each zone for 10 minutes, then another 10 minutes, then 20 minutes in order to increase absorption. I know how much water my heads put out; in a 30 minute period they only put out about 1/8th of an inch because I’m on a well. If you are in an area with good water pressure, the heads could be putting out as much as 1/2 inch in the same time period. To determine your watering rate, use the tried and true method of putting cans or other containers out in different areas of your lawn and landscape while system cycles through. Between being familiar with your soil and knowing how much water your irrigation system is applying, you can figure out how to water appropriately. I try to water about an inch a week by watering my lawn four time a week and my landscape beds twice a week. This works for my soil because my roots will never go deep with a hardpan so close to the surface. Other landscapes that have a deeper topsoil layer could water less often and deeper to encourage a deeper root system. So you can see that there is not one solution for everyone! We have a lot of customer that say that one side of the yard does much better than the other even though they get the same water. Two things could be happening; the irrigation heads may not be putting out the same amount of water and the drainage and sub-surface of the soil may be totally different in various parts of the lawn and landscape.
How tall should you keep your grass? Why?
We maintain over 200 acres of turf and we have found that 3.5 to 4″ height works well on zoysia, which accounts for 99% of the turf we maintain. This may be different than other recommendations, but it has been the most successful for us. A higher height is better for lawn health and helps decrease weed issues.
What is the importance of keeping your mower blades sharp?
Dull mower blades can cause injury to the grass blades by tearing the grass instead of cutting it. Cutting with dull blades will cause the plant loose much more moisture and slow down the healing time. Think of it like split ends on hair; you want a clean cut, not breakage.
Should you recycle clippings into the lawn? Why or why not?
We recycle clippings on 75% of the lawns we maintain. This puts valuable nutrients back in the soil, which means you can might be able to decrease nitrogen fertilizer applications. Every cutting needs to be no more than 1/3 to better grass health. Studies have been done that indicate that thatch build up is not a result of recycling clipping but is instead a result of the imbalance of shoot growth and microbial activity. Ferti-lome has a product called Soil Activator to increase the growth of beneficial micro-organisms and can decrease thatch.
Is there any additional tips that you recommend for saving your lawn during droughts?
The damage you see today may have been caused weeks ago. Also, watch for fungus issues and grub damage since they may look like water issues in the beginning. Big established trees may seem like they can survive anything but if severe drought can cause serious damage. Let a hose drip in the root zone for a nice long watering.