If the weathermen are to be believed then this summer could exceed the norm and it looks like it is going to be a scorcher in the United Kingdom.
It pays to plan ahead and prepare your lawn so that it is in a position to recover quickly in early autumn without excessive damage.
One of the busiest times of the year for me was early September after the summer when a client would call to discuss the state of their lawn. Devastated by intense sunshine and poor soil conditions it was often the case that quite severe remedial intervention was needed to restore the surface to any kind of stability.
It need not be like this and it is possible for you to save a lot of money by planning in advance. I have listed a few good tips that your lawn would appreciate a great deal. The advice below assumes that the lawn is in a relatively good condition to start with.
Make sure that you begin cutting at an early stage of the season taking great care to remove only small amounts of grass from the tips so that the grass does not become stressed. Leaving a lawn for several weeks before cutting off 60-90% of growth in one foul swoop will distress the grass and the shock can stunt re-growth at the most important time.
As a rule of thumb, only remove 33% of the current growth at any one time and cut regularly so that the grass recovery is quick.
A lightly comb with a spring rake or grooming using a scarifier works well and opens up the surface to the air. It also removes any winter thatch that might hinder progress.
Using a fork at regular intervals to allow air into the root zone and open up the soil is extremely beneficial. Good free passage for the new grass roots will ensure deeper establishment for water retention, allowing the grass to withstand dryer conditions for much longer.
At the stage of spiking and scarifying you should look for bare patches and over seed where necessary. Dribble a little seed into the spike holes and dress over the seed that falls directly onto the surface with a soil/sand/inert compost mixture. This will stop the surface seed drying out and provide an intermediate root zone for the new grass.
Apply a preparatory lawn fertiliser at the correct time. By ensuring good growth means the plant leaf can absorb more sunlight as it photosynthesises. This leads to a much healthier growth rate and recovery prospects.
Bear in mind, Nitrogen fertiliser is applied in the spring. This will grow the leaf blade and Potash is applied in the Autumn which establishes good deep root growth. Never apply Nitrogen, unless it is a controlled release product - usually administered by professional lawn care services - in late summer as the fresh soft growth will be very susceptible to fungal disease and frost damage.
When the temperature begins to rise you will then have two choices. Firstly, if you have a licensed irrigation system you can continue to water your grass. Make sure that this is done on a controlled and regular basis. Do not over water. Once field capacity is obtained all excess water is either lost to drainage or your soil becomes waterlogged. The latter is damaging to the grass roots and the former is a waste of water and money.
What is field capacity (FC)? Firstly, FC is the limit at which your soil can retain water before drainage takes place through gravitational pressure (known as Hydraulic Conductivity) or water logging which is basically when all of the pore spaces in the soil are filled or filling at a greater rate than your soil can deal with the drainage and roots literally drown through lack of air.
If you are forced to leave the grass because you are unable to water i.e. there is a hosepipe ban or you are on a meter then it is best to avoid regular close mowing.
Grass has a natural ability to go into a dormant state to preserve itself. If you have carried out the afore mentioned procedure then once the weather cools and the rains start to return it will spring to life and quickly re-fill what you might think is dead.
Try to stay off of dormant grass as much as possible to avoid unnecessary compaction. Avoid cutting the grass too quickly after it starts to re grow and bear in mind the 33% rule for the first cut again.
Aeration would be a good procedure to repeat once the soil has softened enough before your Autumn fertiliser.
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