The Grass Doctor

Lawn and summer heat question?

OK, so I have been struggling with this lawn since March (we moved in over the fall). Long story short, I just put lime down and used a company to spray the crabgrass (it was heavy in the back). I water for about two hours at least 3x a week. Now, I am noticing the grass is starting to turn brown (heat stress maybe?). It's been so hot here in NJ. I mow it high, about 3" once a week. I have not fertilized since May. Is there anything I could do to stop this "browning" process? It's not grubs or anything like that, I think it's going dormant to protect itself from the heat. Any fertilizers or anything I could do?

Public Comments

1. Unless you are heavily watering your grass, it will more than likely go dormant. I would put down some fertilizer and water. But the grass will come back once the weather turns cooler. Just make sure it gets about 1" a water during the week. Put a tuna can down and when it is full, you have enough water on the yard.
2. I agree, it is probably heat stress. What time of day are you watering? Early morning I hope. How much are you putting down at one time (measure with many straight sided cans throughout the lawn. You want to be getting a half inch down. Does the lawn have a thatch problem inhibiting water penetrations? http://www.allaboutlawns.com/lawn-maintenance-care/aerating-and-thatch/what-is-thatch.php What about aeration? Soil compacts over time and needs to be aerated to improve water and air penetration. http://www.allaboutlawns.com/lawn-maintenance-care/aerating-and-thatch/what-is-thatch.php You can try using an iron product but I wonder if necessary in your usually acidic soils. I'd also suggest MiracleGro after irrigation, but you are waterin so often I'm afraid you'd loose the liquid fertilizer with the next watering............still MiracleGro is a nice test to see if your lawn is just plain hungry.......tho this is not the time to be fertilizing. About Labor Day........hope you can make it.
3. also make sure you are watering it early morning and/or the evening
4. Water early in the morning as the hot sun and water on the grass will burn it.
5. Take a deep breath and plan for September. I have fixed many stressed lawns with the following process. Come the beginning of September, plan to rent a core aerator from Home Depot or your local rental place. Also, locate a supplier who sells bulk compost that you can have delivered that has a bulk density of less than 900lbs/cu.yd. In this order: Mark your sprinkler heads with flags. Water the lawn heavily one day before you aerate. Mow the lawn at 2" and do not collect the clippings Core aerate the entire lawn, then core aerate again at 45 degrees to the first pass. Collect several plugs from around the yard. Pull off the turf and place the soil in a small baggie and send off to your local soil testing service to get a snapshot of your pH, CEC, base saturation, and nutrient levels. (The lab will explain this to you.) Apply 50lbs per 1000sq. ft. of pelletized lime. You do not need to get the test back to do this. Apply a starter fertilizer to the entire lawn, an analysis with a ratio of 3-4-2 or close such as Lesco's 18-24-12 which you can buy at Home Depot will work. Apply .6 cu/yds of compost over the entire lawn. The easiest way I have found to do this is to wheelbarrow piles into a checkerboard pattern on the entire lawn, and then use a high power backpack blower to spread it. You could rake too, but it's more labor. If you can't find a compost with a low bulk density as suggested, you will have to rake it in as it will not blow well. If the lawn did not fully recover from the drought stress and you have isolated, or large dead areas, you want to also overseed the entire lawn with a mix of Bluegrass, Turf Type Perennial Ryegrass, and Fine Fescue. Use a Penington Northeast mix from Home Depot. If you had to seed, set your sprinklers to water 4x a day for about ten minutes each cycle. If not seeding, just resume normal watering. Within three to four weeks, your lawn will be a lush emerald green and will be growing at a pretty fast clip. You will have to mow at two weeks. Mow at 3" and leave the clippings. The turf will remain greener than any of your neighbors lawns right through December. For the next season, the compost which you put down has become part of the soil profile and will help fight the drought stress and support a microbial community to help fight diseases. In the spring, consult your soil test and apply lime and nutrients as required. Test again in the fall. As you repeat this process over two or three years, your lawn should go on autopilot, needing less water, fertilizer, and pesticides, and let you enjoy it instead of obsessing over it.