{"id":796,"date":"2021-08-11T18:52:25","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T18:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/?p=796"},"modified":"2022-01-18T23:33:58","modified_gmt":"2022-01-18T23:33:58","slug":"tips-for-a-healthy-lawn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/tips-for-a-healthy-lawn\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for a healthy lawn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s that time of year where your lawn is a healthy winner or suffering a dreadful summer. Lawn care starts with discipline, introducing the right nutrients at the right time. Whether you have St Augustine or Bermuda, here are a few tips for Southern Lawns (framework can also be helpful for other lawns)<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip #1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If your grass looks yellow, then the most common culprit is lack of water. With a hot summer, drought can shock grass into dormancy. I have quite a few patches like this. Even with an automatic sprinkler system, the heads can miss the target area for a variety of reasons (wind). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soaking the area for a few minutes for a couple days typically solves the problem. It’s recommended to irrigate grass only when needed and to a depth of 4 to 6 inches (translates to 1 inch of irrigation water per week). How do you measure an inch? Place a rain gauge<\/strong><\/a> or a can of tuna (which has a height of 1 in) under your sprinkler system. Once it reaches an inch – that’s how long your system should be left on for (on average: 30 minutes depending on flow rate). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course the choice will always pit against an expensive water bill versus a green lawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even with water, if your lawn is still yellow in the peak of August, you might need to apply a tiny bit of iron for green up. I like to use Ironite<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip #2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If your grass is brown (or has gray-ish spots), then you might have fungus. In my experience, I have seen this more with St. Augustine. Three possible reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. watering your lawn at night, perhaps from a timed sprinkler<\/li>
  2. a poor drainage area where water cannot escape<\/li>
  3. over-fertilization<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    For immediate relief, switch watering to early mornings. If the issue persists, you may need bring out the big guns and apply a fungicide like Heritage G<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If a routine fertilization schedule is followed with a slow release formula for the summer months, then there’s no need to throw down additional fertilizer. I’ve seen many folks out with their spreaders<\/strong><\/a> week after week, but this can stress the lawn and damage it long-term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tip #3<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    If weeds have conquered your lawn, then lawn maintenance should be revaluated. The best, natural way to tackle weed is to ensure a properly growing, healthy lawn that can outgrow weed, cover the soil, and prevent sprouting. If there are just a few weeds, spot treating with weed <\/strong><\/a>killer<\/a> <\/strong>(or concentrated vinegar) should do the trick. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A longer term solution requires proper application of a pre-emergent herbicide like Barricade<\/a> <\/strong>that complements your fertilization schedule. At a basic level, mow your grass at the right height (usually 1\/3 of the grass blade). Though a workout, a push reel mower<\/a> is suggested for Bermuda to prevent aggressive cutting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As always, send us any questions and don\u2019t forget to follow our\u00a0Instagram stories<\/a>. Check out our most recent lawn post on IGTV.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    It\u2019s that time of year where your lawn is a healthy winner or suffering a dreadful summer. Lawn care starts with discipline, introducing the right nutrients at the right time. Whether you have St Augustine or Bermuda, here are a few tips for Southern Lawns (framework can also be helpful for other lawns). Tip #1 … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-to"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=796"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":824,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/796\/revisions\/824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buildtomade.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}