Now’s the time to revive your lawn

There is no doubt summer can be tough on your lawn. Your once green grass is dying off and no matter how much you water, the brown patches just seem to grow. 

Based on the turf samples we see daily at our Diagnostic Center, this is a common problem for many lawns in the area. While sustained high temperatures and low humidity do contribute to summer lawn problems, most if not all turf grass issues can be traced to poor soil conditions.  Grass planted in our typical clay-based soils tends to develop shallow root systems. When the weather turns hot and dry, these short, shallow roots can’t deliver enough water and your grass begins to dry up and die. 

The lack of deep root development also contributes to most lawn diseases, including Necrotic Ring Spot and Ascochyta Blight. The solution is to build healthy soil for your grass to grow in. This can be accomplished with regular applications of organic materials, aerating the lawn in spring and again in the fall and using granular Revive three times a year.

Compost, peat moss, earth worm castings, Earth Essentials Sheep, Peat and Compost are products that can be applied as a top dressing for your lawn. 

Top dressing involves using a shovel or similar tool to spread a thin layer of organic material over the lawn. This should be done three to four times a year. The organic material will work its way down into the soil, breaking up the clay and encouraging deeper root development. 

Humate is another organic product you should include in your lawn maintenance schedule. Humate is a highly concentrated soil conditioner derived from the remains of decomposed organic plant materials.  Feeding your lawn humate will make your soil healthier, increase microbial activity and enhance nutrient uptake. Natural Guard HuMic is an easy way to add humate to your lawn.

The third step to building a healthy lawn is to apply granular Revive three times a year. Revive acts as a wetting agent to improve water penetration and utilization. The water you put on your lawn moves down to the roots more effectively and there’s less loss due to evaporation. Both Revive and HuMic are chelators. Chelators increase nutrient availability to plants. This means more of the fertilizer you put on your lawn goes to feed the grass and there’s less waste. Just like any other plant in your garden or landscape, your grass is only as good as the soil it is growing in. Regular applications of organic material combined with sound mowing and watering practices will help ensure a healthy lawn all season long.