| Summer Water Tips |
 Check your sprinkler system for proper coverage. Summer temperatures increase your turfgrass water needs so adjust automatic watering schedules. Replace faulty sprinkler heads.
Don't waste water by watering sidewalks and driveways.
Manually probe your soil to make sure you have moisture at a 6 to 8 inch depth. If you water deeply and less often, the roots will grow deeper and stay moist for a longer period of time. A lawn that is deeply rooted is more inclined to be drought tolerant. If you water correctly, as a rule you can water less often.
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Summertime Maintenance...
Fertilize your turfgrass!
Your grass is hungry and fertilizer is plant food. The feeding process should begin when the turf is installed and continue throughout the life of the turf. Very few soils are fertile enough to supply the nutrients that healthy plants need.
Fertilize when the turf is growing!
Warm season lawns, Hybrid Bermudas and Buffalograss, need to be fed regularly beginning when lawns are 50% green and at 30 day intervals until August 15th. Three to four summer applications should be made depending on the quality of turf you prefer to maintain.
Do not fertilize cool season turf varieties, Triple Crown Bluegrass and Frontier Fescue, with nitrogen based fertilizer. To improve color and leaf luster apply an iron product. Liquid chelated iron will provide a quick response but will not last long. Granular iron products or Milorganite will not give quick results but will continue to help your turfgrass throughout the summer.
Fertilize with a balanced product!
Most lawn experts agree that Fertilizers with a ratio of 3-2-1 of, (N) Nitrogen-(P) Phosphorous-(K)
Potassium are acceptable for use on any lawn. Examples of these rates may be 16-8-8, or 15-10-5.
The experts also agree the fertilizer should have at least one-half of its N (Nitrogen) in a slowly
soluble/slow release form...natural organic, sulfur-coated, or resin coated. Lawns fertilized with one of these slow-release forms tend to have better color, thickness, and reduced leaf growth.
Hybrid Bermudas
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Fertilize every 30 days during the summer months (June, July, August.)
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Use 5 lbs of a balanced fertilizer for every 1,000 sq feet.
Buffalograss
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Fertilize every 30 days during the summer months (June, July, August)
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Use 3 lbs of low nitrogen fertilizer, such as Milorganite, or Compost for every 1,000 sq feet. |
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"The grass is not, in fact, always greener on the other side of the fence. Fences have nothing to do with it. The grass is greenest where it is watered. When crossing over fences, carry water with you and tend the grass wherever you may be."
Robert Fulghum |
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Cool it this Summer!
Summer is here and the temperature isn't the only thing going up! If you use air conditioning in your home or business your energy costs will start to climb too. You can't do anything about the weather but you can take advantage of a "natural" cooling system.
Turfgrass is Nature's Air Conditioner.
Turfgrass plays an important part in controlling our climate. Grassy surfaces reduce temperature extremes by absorbing the sun's heat during the day and releasing it slowly in the evening.
Turf cools itself and its surroundings by evapo-transpiration. Each grass blade acts as an evaporative cooler. The cooling properties of turf are so effective that temperatures over turfed surfaces on a sunny summer day will be 10 - 14 degrees cooler than over concrete. Areas landscaped with turfgrass, or located near turfgrass, will be much cooler than those surrounded by concrete and asphalt. The cooling power of turf helps conserve energy and saves money.
According to the Lawn Institute:
- On a hot summer day, lawns will be 30 degrees cooler than asphalt and 14 degrees cooler than bare soil.
- The front lawns of eight houses have the cooling effect of about 70 tons of air conditioning...the average home has an air conditioner with just a three or four ton capacity.
- The cooling effect of turf reduces the amount of fuel that must be burned to provide electricity for air conditioners.
The cooling properties of turfgrass relates to its transfer of carbon dioxide into oxygen. A typical lawn converts enough carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to provide adequate oxygen for a family of four. Carbon dioxide is considered a potential factor in global warming. Grass helps cool the earth by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. An interesting note...one acre of grass produces more oxygen per year than one acre of rain-forest! Learn more about Grass and the Environment by visiting our website... take me there>>> | |
The Summer Annual Grassy Weeds we told you about in our last newsletter... they're here!
 Quick refresher course... crabgrass, barnyardgrass, goosegrass, and sandbur (pictured) are summer annual grassy weeds and this is their favorite time of the year. They've germinated and will continue to grow until the first hard frost. Remember...their growth is favored by warm temperatures and a good supply of water.
The good news is they are annuals and will not survive a hard frost. The bad news is each grass plant will produce thousands of seeds that could germinate next spring. Mowing causes summer annual grassy weeds to "stool", sending out new stems and shoots from the base of the plant. They'll just be shorter and more determined to produce seeds.
To control Summer Grassy Weeds:
- Pre-emerge any newly installed turf after installation and the first thorough watering is completed (never pre-emerge prepared soil before turfgrass installation).
- If the weeds have germinated use a post-emergent such as MSMA or DSMA, which is most effective when applied to young plants.
- Remember to apply a pre-emergent next spring.
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Everything you ever wanted to know about turfgrass... but didn't know who to ask!
My new turfgrass looked great right after it was installed but a few hours later it was turning brown. What happened?
 The problem is most likely heat stress caused by laying turf grass on a hot surface and not providing enough moisture. If turfgrass is installed on hot, dry dirt moisture is pulled from the grass shocking it into a state of dormancy. 4 Steps to Prevent Heat Stress in New Turfgrass:
- Cool the grade before installation
- Immediately start watering installed turf
- Water frequently to keep turf cool and moist
- If possible water early in the morning and twice during the day
If your turfgrass looks like the lawn in these images it will take at least a week or so to recover. Water to  a depth of 6 inches and keep the grass moist and cool but not soggy. Do not let water stand on your lawn. Scratch the turf lightly with your fingernails.You should see green shoots reemerging and the white hair roots on the bottom of the slabs should be growing. If you don't see new shoots or roots the grass may have been too damaged to survive.
This effect is common along a picket fence where the sun is reflected or along sidewalks.
Have a turfgrass question? Click here to email us...if we use your question in our newsletter we'll send you a gift! | |
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For more information about turfgrass be sure to visit our website HBarHTurf.com.
H Bar H Turf Farms
806.622.0861
877.424.8873 | |
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