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.
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.
