In extended periods of drought, or where the lawn is not well maintained, lawn grasses can become weakened, and their roots deteriorate. If the grass becomes sparse, weeds and moss easily establish with the onset of autumn rains. Remedial action may be necessary.
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As summers become hotter and drier, as predicted, the issue of caring for lawns in drought will become more problematic, as water will also be scarce for lawns to be watered.
The three most important things you can do for your lawn following a drought are:
1) Spiking the soil to let water sink down to the roots
2) Feed your lawn to give the plants an energy boost
3) Raise the height of your mower’s cutting blades
Most gardeners in the UK will have noticed that their lawns look stressed during long periods without rainfall. Brown lawns in summer are perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. It’s how grass plants naturally behave when they are short of water. However, as gardeners, it’s not what we’re looking for, so the quicker your lawn returns to normal, the better.
Grass connoisseurs will have noticed that the grass on road verges and in fields stays greener for longer and seems to recover from drought quicker. That’s partly because the grass itself is longer than a laid to lawn area.
Longer grass provide shade for the soil from the sun and helps prevent water from evaporating. The grass blades act as the plants’ feeding tube. The leaves harvest sunlight and convert it into energy for the plant to grow. The greater the surface area of the leaf, the more energy it can produce. It seems too that grass with longer leaves also has longer roots that can reach more water.
Mowing matters
When we mow the lawn short, we are not helping the grass to recover from the drought. Raising the cutting height on your mower will not make your lawn look unkempt. It will help it green up quicker.
Raise the height of the mower’s cut in dry weather to avoid weakening the grasses and encourage deeper rooting. Let the clippings fall back onto the lawn rather than collecting them. This is known as mulching and slows down the evaporation of water from the soil surface. Be sure to ensure the clippings are small, otherwise they will smother the grass and cause decay.
When recovering from drought, like an illness, grassed areas need the very best care and feeding, to repair, fight off disease and grow strong again.
The soil beneath your lawn does contain some nutrients but to ensure they are working at the optimum during a drought you need to provide the nutrients your lawn needs to help it recover quicker. Stressed grass is more prone to disease, so choose a feed that contains nitrogen for growth, phosphorus for root strength and potassium to help fight disease.
Did you know?
Did you know that a hose and sprinkler can use about 1000 litres an hour which is equivalent to the same amount of water one person would normally use in a whole week.
In areas of low water, watering lawns with mains water should not be done. We are already seeing hosepipe bans coming into force across the south.
Lawn repair in Autumn
After a long dry summer, autumn is the ideal time to carry out repair and renovation. This will help the lawn to recover from this current drought but will also make it more resilient next year. Climate experts say we must expect these extreme weather conditions because of climate change
Any bare or sparse areas can be over-seeded using an appropriate mixture. Also avoid using lawn weedkillers or feeds on drought-affected turf until the autumn or indeed next spring, when the grass and weeds are growing vigorously.
If you decide to repair or relay your lawn in the autumn, it is likely that the soil conditions are poor so consider how to improve the soil before you re-lay the lawn.
Gardening machinery to help in drought
The Cobra petrol push scarifier is in stock and on offer for gardening professionals at £499.00.
The AL-KO 38P is a scarifier and aerator that has easily swappable cartridges that allow you to quickly change from one function to the other to allow any moisture or rain to reach the roots.
For the professional landscaper, the Weibang lawn scarifier is powered by Briggs and Stratton petrol engines. Lawn and garden scarifiers remove moss and thatch from the lawn with either tines or blades. This action allows additional moisture and nutrients to penetrate the ground so that the grass roots growth can flourish in times of drought.
Visit Mowers Online for more product information.