The heat of summer is upon us. Days are getting into the 90’s with an occasional 100+ day on the horizon. Lawns are demanding more water than we have time to give. Then you look closely and notice that the grass is now crunchy. Your first thought “is my lawn dead? Will it recover?”

The answer will depend on your type of grass and how dry you let it get. It is hard to tell until you fully rehydrate it. Drought conditions mixed with heat push turf grasses to their limits. The best answer is to monitor moisture levels closely during hot weather.

Walking on dry grass is a killer. Avoid traffic over your stressed lawn. Even if you haven’t killed it with lack of water, traffic over dry grass will surely destroy it.

Looking to replace a drought damaged lawn? Contact your Portland sod source, Far West Turf and Nursery located in Woodland, WA.  We Deliver.

Summer heat is coming to the Portland and Vancouver, WA area. Watering is now something we need to worry about.

The best time to water will depend on several things such as is the lawn brand new or established? If you have your watering system set to a timer, you can easily select when you will water.

For established lawns the best time to water is in the earl morning, just before sunrise. This allows water to fully soak in. In the cooler morning evaporation is at a minimum so you are more efficiently using your water. Wind is usually calm minimizing wind drift and allowing sprinklers to maximize coverage.

Evening water should be avoided. Evening watering keeps the ground moist for long periods which encourages a number of diseases that will weaken the root system of your lawn.

For newly installed sod lawns, you need to keep the freshly laid sod from drying out. Set your system to come on 4 times a day and water enough to keep the sod moist at all times. Continue this until the roots have a chance to grow into deeper soil.

For new lawn, always use the highest quality, fresh cut sod available from your local Vancouver, WA sod farm, Far West Turf and Nursery.

If you want to get a plush, thick, green lawn, then increase how often you cut your grass. Frequent cutting with sharp blades forces your lawn to thicken up. A thicker lawn helps keep out weeds. Ideally you would not mow over 25% of the grass blade length.

Set your mower height at 3 inches. This gives enough height to shade out weeds that do germinate. Frequent mowing roves the seed heads before they can mature. Mowing is one of the best weed control methods.

Sharp mower blades slice easily through the grass and keep the ends of the grass blade from becoming shredded and torn. Your lawn will not only look better, but the shredded ends take a longer recovery time for your lawn. Cleanly cut grass is more resistant to disease and pests.

Always start your lawn with the best quality sod from your local sod farm. Far West Turf Farm is your Vancouver, WA sod farm serving the Portland metro area.

Watering should be done deeply and infrequently to promote a strong and healthy root structure. Shallow and frequent watering promotes surface roots. This creates a lawn that will quickly wilt, curl and die with a heat wave. Dry grass won’t bounce back and foot prints remain visible after you walk across your lawn.

Frequent lawn watering also encourages weed germination. Over-watering contributes to growth of fungus and disease.

Watering should moisten to a depth of at least 8 inches.

You can estimate how much water this will take by turning your sprinklers on for 15 minutes. Wait a minimum of 4 hours and dig a small test hole and see how deep the moisture has penetrated. If your lawn is only moist to a depth of 4 inches, then you will need to double your watering time to 30 minutes.

Putting in a new lawn? Then always start with a premium sod from your local sod farm. Use Far West Turf Farm. They are your local Vancouver, WA and Portland sod farm.

Don’t assume that your lawn simply needs more water because it is starting to turn yellow or brown. It could be a sign of a soil pH problem.

Soil pH is a measure of how acid or alkaline your soil is. Soil pH is a major influence whether your grass will grow to a dark lush green or if it is wilting and turns yellow.

To grow best, your soil pH should be 6.5-7.0. This can be tested using a soil test kit available at most garden centers. If your soil pH is too high or too low, your lawn can’t absorb and make use of nutrients and fertilizers.

Once you know your soil pH, your local garden center can provide you with the best treatment for your lawn.

For a great looking lawn, always start with premium sod from your local sod farm. Far West Turf Farm is your Vancouver, WA sod farm.

Over time your lawn area can be compacted with thin or bare spots. You can rebuild your lawn in a natural way without the need to add chemicals. Do this by aerating your lawn using core aeration and then overseeding You can rebuild a thick healthy lawn.

Benefits of core aeration and overseeding:

1. Restore a healthy thicker lawn.
2. Reduce soil compaction.
3. Creates hole for seeds which improves germination rate.
4. Better air and water uptake by your lawn.
5. Restores healthy microbial action which helps break down surface thatch.
6. No use of chemicals which helps protect the environment.

When planting a new lawn always use the very best premium quality Portland sod from Far West Turf Farm which located just north of Vancouver, WA.

Seven to ten days after you put in your new sod, your sod should have grown to a height of 3-1/2 to 4”. This is the time to mow. It should have started to become well rooted provided you have been watering regularly. Tug gently on one of the new sod pieces and it should be seated into the grown.

You don’t want to trim more than 50% of the height or you will end up scalping your new lawn. Set your mower to about 2” and mow. Either collect or pick up your clippings.

Immediately after your first mowing, fertilize with 16-16-16 fertilizer at the rate of one pound per 100 square feet.

For the first month, mow twice a week with the 2” mower height until your lawn becomes established.

Always start with quality sod from your local sod farm such as Far West Turf Farm.

How can you apply organic and natural lawn care tips to perfecting your lush green lawn? You can use some basic organic gardening methods and still get a great looking lawn. Jodi Torpey has a great article entitled Six Tips for Organic Lawn Care. Please click through to her article to see more details.

1. Loosen the soil by core aerating your lawn to let air and water in.
2. Use organic fertilizers that come from natural sources.
3. Add a thin layer of compost after aeration for a supply of nutrients.
4. Use earth friendly weed control.
5. Leave the clippings on the lawn to naturally mulch your lawn.
6. Push mowers: Get some exercise and move away from a gas powered lawn mower.

Of course you need to start with quality sod from your Vancouver, WA sod provider, Far West Turf Farm.

Lawns cannot produce enough Nitrogen on their own so additions of fertilizer are necessary to maintain a green and healthy lawn. A healthy lawn will be deep green in color. Yellow blades intermixed with green is a sign of Nitrogen deficiency

Too much Nitrogen and you are inviting disease and fungus to infect your lawn. Too little Nitrogen and your grass growth will slow. It will begin to yellow and die with the grass tips beginning to yellow first.

Perform a soil test and see what your lawn needs. Adjust your Nitrogen level accordingly using a high quality lawn fertilizer.

Hint: Check your lawn clippings regularly. These are the grass blade tips and will show yellowing first which is a sign of a low Nitrogen level.

Lawn care tips from Far West Turf Farm, your Vancouver, WA sod farm.

You want to keep moss out of your lawn. Moss shows up as yellow green loose tufts in your lawn. Moss will choke out a lawn creating an irregular, patchy appearance. Moss killers work, but if you don’t fix the conditions that lead to moss, it will just return.

1. Keep your lawn thick: Reseed thinning areas to keep moss out.
2. Fertilize: Your lawn needs nutrients to stay healthy and thick.
3. Shade: Thin out branches from shrubs and trees that cause deep shade.
4. Reduce wear: Redirect foot traffic or install stepping stones. Thin areas of grass are more prone to moss.
5. Drainage: Moss like areas that stay damp. Fix drainage problems and avoid over watering.
6. Moss removal: Use moss killers that contain ferrous sulfate, ferrous ammonium sulfate, or copper sulfate. These are environmentally safe but can stain concrete.

To get fresh sod for your new lawn go to your local Vancouver, WA sod farm, Far West Turf Farm