The one question I am asked most frequently is “will my lawn come back from last year’s drought damage?” My answer is consistently the same: you’ll have to wait and see. Whether your lawn survived one of the driest summers in Lincoln’s history depends on how you handled the drought with the city imposed water restrictions. If you allowed your turf to go dormant and there was no recovery last fall, meaning no signs of green turf, you’ve lost those portions of your lawn. Lawn renovation will be necessary this spring, seed or sod. If your lawn recovered last fall but still isn’t as thick as you’d like, a simple over-seeding would be recommended.
Most of our customers heeded our advice last season by applying just enough water to their lawn to keep it a viable living plant while still conserving water. We advised our customers to water on their assigned days but limit the number of minutes per lawn area or station of their automatic system. One inch of water per week is needed to maintain a healthy lush, green lawn. However, your turf grass will survive with half that amount.
The key is keeping the crown of the plant healthy. The crown is the area where grass blades begin above ground and where roots begin growth below ground. Keeping the crown viable is not as difficult as it may seem. Think of your lawn as an investment. You wouldn’t let your roof deteriorate to the point where leaks cause damage to the interior of your home, yet it may cost more to replace your lawn than your roof. Here are a few quick and easy tips I’d suggest to keep the investment in your home an asset and not a liability.
• Fifteen minutes of watering per lawn area and only three days per week is enough to provide approximately one half of the moisture needed to maintain a healthy lawn. Watering in the middle of the afternoon is the absolute worst time to water, as a large portion of the water never makes it to the lawn due to wind and evaporation. The best time to water your lawn is early in the morning.
• Maintain a mowing height of approximately 3”. On most residential mowers this would be one of the top two settings. Keeping a little length on grass blades help shade the crown of the plant.
• Apply a timely spring fertilizer and crabgrass pre-emergent, generally by April 15th. The plant needs the food the fertilizer provides, and by preventing crabgrass your lawn won’t have to compete for available moisture and root growth space.
• Apply a second application of fertilizer and crabgrass pre-emergent approximately six weeks after the first application. This application will also help prevent late season crabgrass and other grassy weeds, such as foxtail.
• Don’t forget weed control before the high summer heat. Again, most weeds absolutely love dry conditions and high heat.
• Apply a fall fertilizer and weed control to end the season on a healthy note and provide a good start for the following spring.
The key to surviving drought is efficient and effective moisture. Do you know how much water you hose-end sprinkler or automatic system puts out? Check it, it’s really simple. Place approximately three small containers, such as empty margarine tubs, throughout the lawn area that you’re about to water. Water for twenty minutes and then measure the depth of water in the tub. Multiply that amount by three, which is the number of times you will water your lawn per week, and you now know the amount of water you’re applying so you can adjust the minutes accordingly.