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flowers and grass

Improving Your Lawn

Our lawns get thirsty during a hot summer day. Unfortunately, our soils don’t naturally allow our lawn roots to penetrate deeply and vigorously, which in turn requires more water to keep them green. Grass type, soil type, slope, and sun exposure all contribute to our lawns getting thirsty.

Here are some suggestions to keep your lawns healthy happy while keeping our water usage low:

  • On sloping areas, water each zone for 10 minutes, cycle through all the zones and immediately water each zone for an additional 10 minutes. This will allow the water to penetrate more deeply into the soils.
  • Each spring, rake in a thin layer (approximately ¼ to ½ inch) of fine organic mulch or compost. Water it is evenly and watch your lawn green up quickly. This compost gives a boost of nutrients to your lawn, but also increases the water holding capacity of the soils, especially on sloping areas.
  • Keep your lawn cut at 2 and ½ inches to 3 inches each mowing. Mow every 5-7 days to keep the lawn healthy and happy.
  • Use the recommended fertilizers at the recommended times to keep your lawn from being stressed. A stressed lawn takes more water to keep green. See your local nursery or home improvement store for recommendations.
  • Check brown spots for insects, grubs, or incorrectly adjusted sprinkler heads. If your lawn in browning is spots, grab a hold of the browned area in one hand and slightly tug. If the grass comes right out with no roots, you probably have an insect problem. Check your local nursery, home improvement store or lawn care service to remedy this problem. More water will not fix this!