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Tips for Making Your Lawn Drought Resistant:

 

• Daily watering can actually hurt your grass. Grass does better when the whole root zone is wet and then partially dries out between watering. Frequent, brief watering causes shallow root development and weak turf which is apt to be invaded by weeds and insects and is less tolerant of water and heat stress. Overwatering can promote lawn disease. One visible sign is the change in color to a blue-green, purplish or smoky tinge.

 

 

• One inch per week, early or late in the day. Water about one inch per week during July and August. Use less in the late spring or early fall; let the weather be your guide. Water slowly, or start and stop, so the water penetrates rather than puddling or running off. Signs of a lawn that needs more water include a duller color, and the “footprint test”; grass blades stay bent in your footprint rather than popping back up.

 

 

• Fertilizer: How much is enough? WSU recommends that home lawns receive three to four pounds of nitrogen (in a balanced fertilizer) per thousand square feet of lawn each year. Grass cycling can supply at least one-quarter of that. Split the rest between May and September applications. Avoid fertilizing in the early spring because it makes lawns grow too fast (unless your lawn needs help recovering from disease or insect damage). Wait until May.

 

 

• Aeration helps water reach the roots. Dethatching will also help if there is heavy thatch buildup.

 

• Setting your mowing heights up to three inches for most lawns to develop deeper roots and crowd out weeds. If grass is mowed short, the root system is generally shallow.. Cutting too much (more than 1/3) at once stresses the grass.

 

• Healthy lawns are a medium green color, depending on the variety of grass. The darkest green turf, which many people strive for is not, in fact, the healthiest turf. Over fertilized lawns are more prone to disease, thatch buildup, and drought damage.

 

• Watering in the late morning through mid-afternoon spreads out the demand which results in better water pressure. It also reduces the operational spill at the end of the canal which is about 1/3 of the water that the District diverts from the river. Watering in the middle of a hot, summer day will not scald the lawn.