Tips for Summer Lawn Care
Every homeowner dreams of a lush carpet of green outside their window throughout the summer months. However, when that thermometer begins to get really red, the grass tends to wilt and look much less green than you would like. There are methods of summer lawn care that will help your grass to continue to look its best no matter how hot the weather gets. The keys in a beautiful summer yard are all in the watering, mowing and fertilizing techniques that you use during the warmest months of the year.
Watering
Of course your summer lawn care will consist of regular watering, but do you really know the proper way to use your sprinkler most effectively when the weather heats up? The first step is in watering at the proper time of day, which will either be early in the morning or later in the evening. Most summer lawn care experts prefer the morning hours, since leaving moisture on the grass at night can lead to a greater likelihood of a variety of diseases. Make sure that you water long enough for the water to soak in at least six inches, since this will encourage more robust root growth, which will lead to a healthier lawn.
Fertilizing
Most of us also know that summer lawn care needs to include regular feedings for our grass, but caution needs to be exercised in the warmest weather when putting chemicals onto our lawn. The damaging culprit in fertilizer is nitrogen, and although it is an essential nutrient for a healthy lawn, it can also burn a lawn that is on the dry side already. Since you will still need to fertilize during the warmer months as part of your summer lawn care, make sure that you opt for one that contains a slower release of nitrogen to protect your lawn while you feed it. And if you are preparing for a heat wave with a number of days over the ninety degree mark, you may want to wait a bit on that feeding until the temperatures cool off slightly.
Mowing
It may seem that mowing is never done when it comes to your summer lawn care. However, although it may be tempting to keep that grass short during the summer months to cut down on the frequency of your mowing, shorter grass does not retain moisture and dries out more quickly. For Kentucky blue grass, it is best to keep your lawn length to three or three-and-a-half inches during the warmest part of the summer. When the weather cools down a bit, you can reduce that length by an inch or so. Part of good summer lawn care is giving that little bit of length to keep grass moist and lush when the sun is beating down.
Summer lawn care is not terribly complicated, but there are some modifications that you should make when the really hot weather hits. By following these tips in summer lawn care, you will be able to enjoy that lush carpet of green all summer long.
