On Jul 24, 10:29*am, "GM" wrote:
wrote:
I live in the New England area. *My lawn is almost 90 percent brown.
I don't see any other lawns on my street burnt to this degree. *My
landscaper tells me this is normal - that there is a drought going on
and most of their customers are experiencing the same thing. *Granted
I did not start regular watering via my sprinkler system until
recently but it still does not make sense to me as I believe we have
been receiving a lot of rain. *I also cannot figure out why my lawn
would be different than others on the street.

Although some will probably disagree with this, here is what I've learned
about lawns in my 14 years of being a homeowner. *This has worked very well
for me and I stand by it. *I live in a suburb of Minneapolis, and despite
what people might think it can get extremely hot and humid here in the
summer. *During these times, when there is also little or no rain, I do the
following:

Let the grass grow long to about 3 1/2+ inches before cutting it. *This is
especially relevent if your yard has little or no shade, as is the case with
my front yard which takes quite a pounding from the sun in the summer. *The
longer grass buffers the grass roots from being burned out by the sun and
also actually creates a bit of shade to keep the soil moist longer, which
allows it to feed the grass longer. *Many homeowners are hell-bent on
cutting their grass short (around 2 inches) all season long regardless of
conditions. *These are the people on my block whose lawns burn out while
mine stays green. *Yes, *shorter lawns probably look better but you risk
burnout if you do that during heat/drought conditions. *I'll take long green
over short brown. *When it gets cooler/wetter you can switch back to a
shorter cut.

Water your lawn at least twice a week for 2 to 2 1/2 hours per time. *It is
better to water your lawn heavily a couple times a week than it is to water
lightly many times during the week. *In drought conditions, those who water
their lawn 1/2 hour every day are just wasting their time and water. *It
will do little or no good at all. *Water early morning when water pressure
is high and evaporation is low. *Late afternoon is the next best time.
Right now, I am watering every 3 or 4 days for 2 1/2 hours per time. *Of
course, if your city/town has watering restrictions, that could create a
problem. *My city has never had watering restrictions, so perhaps I'm lucky.
Also, don't be one of those damn fools who waters their lawn for 2 hours in
the middle of the day when it's 90's and humid and just about all the water
is lost to evaporation. *You never want to water when the sun is high in the
sky and bearing down directly on your lawn.

A longer term solution is to plant trees on your property to provide shade
to your lawn during times of drought. *Of course, this requires patience as
it might *be 10 years before a tree grows enough to provide sufficient
shade. *I planted a Northwoods Red Maple in my tree-barren front yard over 3
years ago and I'm still waiting for some above ground growth.

Hope this helps.


I agree with your advice. I would only disagree with your use of the
term "burn out". A lawn that goes brown is not necessarily burned.
Burning occurs from excessive fertilization, dog urine, etc combined
with reduced water and usually means the grass is dead. A lawn with
insufficient water will go dormant and turn brown and can last that
way for quite a while and then return to grow again when water is
restored.

Also, the amount of time a lawn is watered isn't a good measure of
anything. Sprinklers can be equipped with nozzles of any flow rate
and cover any size area. What's important is how much water is
actually being put down.