Georgia summers are hot and humid, and with its inconsistent rain and heat coming and going comes the challenge of maintaining your lawn. Keeping your lawn green and healthy during Georgia’s hot summer comes with a laundry list of tasks and Mansell Landscaping has compiled all of our top tips!
Proper Watering
Keeping your lawn green during hot summer months starts with a proper watering routine. For starters, it’s best to water less often and deeply rather than to water often with little amounts of water. Its best that your lawn gets around 1-1.5 inches of water per week whether that be from rain water or from irrigation systems. With that- morning is said to be the best time for watering as it ensures minimal evaporation and reduces fungal diseases.
Mowing Practices
When it comes to mowing, we recommend that you adjust your mowing height to be taller in the summertime. This allows your grass to grow taller, while also shading the soil and keeping moisture and root temperatures cooler. Try to cut no more than ⅓ of the grass blade in a single mow. It is also crucial to keep your mowing blades sharp, to ensure a clean cut. Dull blades often rip and tear grass out of the ground, putting your lawn at risk for disease through the torn entry spots.
Aeration and Fertilization
Fertilizing is crucial to keeping your lawn healthy and green. This helps your lawn become thick and lush. Using a slow release nitrogen infused fertilizer early in the season helps to avoid burning the grass. It is important to not over fertilize the grass, as this leads to excessive growth which often causes disease and attracts pests. Aeraration is a process that involves removing small soil cores, and should be done earlier in the season, closer to spring. Spring is best as your grass won’t be under a lot of stress from hot summer heat however, if your soil is very compact, summer could be a good time to aerate. Aeration helps to improve water, air and nutrients penetration.
Weed Control
Keeping up with weeds will ensure your grass’s good health. Weeds are competitors with grass as they also need the same nutrients, water and sunlight as your lawn does. Once weeds start popping up they begin stealing the necessary nutrients needed to keep your lawn green and healthy. It’s important to act quickly, whether that means pulling the weeds from the roots, or spot treating them with a selective pesticide to stay ahead. Spraying weeds earlier in their lifespan is best, however make sure to read manufacturer’s instructions and recommendations to avoid harming yourself, your lawn, or any other surrounding plants.
Avoiding Stress
It’s important to avoid high impact and stress on your lawn once it starts nearing those record breaking high temperatures. Try and schedule any major lawn maintenance task towards coolers times of day and avoid high foot traffic at peak temperatures. If you can implement shade throughout the yard this helps take some stress off your grass and maintain moisture and temperatures.
Following these tips will help to keep your lawn green and healthy during hot Georgia summers. Keep your eyes out for your lawn by staying on the lookout for brown/yellow-ing grass, cracked and dry soil, bald patches, as well as fungus growth. These oftentimes signal that your lawn needs some attention.
Call Mansell Landscaping and Keep Your Lawn Green and Healthy This Summer!
Mansell Landscaping is here to help you in all things lawn maintenance and health! From keeping your lawn green and healthy to landscape design and installation, plant care, and estate/farm management we can take the time off your hands.