Too Late to Start Watering?

I feel like I've done this before, oh right, it was just last year when we went through a severe drought. Since early July/2013, rain in central Iowa has been scarce, however the one difference is we've had a fairly mild summer. Now, as I type this we're supposed to get back-to-back days of triple digit temperatures (late August) and each day in our 7-day is going to be above 95.

While we're in a drought currently, we're not in as bad of shape as we were last year. Right now we're in a "severe" drought, as you can see in a post of mine from January where about 1/3 of the state was in severe drought status

With the mild temps and cooler overnights, we were still mowing non-irrigated lawns somewhat regularly. However, the complete lack of rain over the past couple weeks combined with the minimal amount we've received over the past two months, it is really taking it's toll on the lawns here in the metro area.

The question comes up, is it too late to start watering? If you haven't been watering regularly at this point, then yes it's too late to start. In fact watering now not only won't really help, it will in fact assist crabgrass and broadleaf weeds to take over.

Another question that comes up, is my lawn dead? Most likely, no, but you won't know for sure until we get sufficient moisture (or possibly next spring). Grass will go dormant in instances of drought to conserve moisture, that does not equate to a dead lawn and in most cases it will recover. That does not mean, however, that there won't be dead patches. In fact there is a good chance that this will happen.

In central Iowa there is a lot of bluegrass, and if that is your lawn, you're concerned about the crown on the blade of grass. In order for the crown to survive it needs about 1/4 of an inch/week or 1/2 inch every two weeks.

Things to avoid during drought conditions:

1. High traffic - If your lawn is dormant and is crunchy, try to stay off of your lawn as much as possible during a drought. Heavy traffic will damage the crown and increase the liklihood of killing your grass.

2. Fertilizer - It's an exercise in futility. With limited water resources, you will get very little effect from fertilizer so don't do it.

3. Watering too much: You want to simulate actual rainfall for your lawn, so you don't want to do this every day. Deep and infrequent is the motto to follow. This would be every 3 days or so. You want to the roots to work and go deeper. If you water too frequently, your root system is going to be too shallow and while it may be green, it may not be the healthiest.

Things you should do:

While there is no quick fix, the best guard against a drought is to establish a healthy living condition for your grass.

If you have compacted soil, clay or sand, your grass will go dormant much quicker. Aerating your lawn annually to improve water and nutrient circulation while breaking up thatch will help. Applying gypsum on clay soil bases will improve the pH balance. Over-seed to improve the density of your lawn and this will help avoid thinning in your lawn by replacing grass that will eventually die or thin out. Thick lawns are also the #1 weed prevention.

Now, by doing this, when the next drought comes it does not mean your lawn will be green and lush without water, but it will increase the tolerance and improve the chances of recovery.

I want a drought resistant lawn, what seed should I use?

I get this quite a bit because so many lawns are bluegrass lawns here. However, there are different types of bluegrass and each one reacts differently to drought conditions. Since here in Iowa we see all weather conditions, I recommend a combination of turf types in your lawn. I prefer majority of it being Kentucky Bluegrass as I think it looks the best, but I also have some turf-type tall fescue mixed in.

Below is a guide to drought tolerance for you to follow when choosing grass seed, however don't let that be the #1 driving factor when selecting grass seed. There are other maintenance requirements for particular types of seed. Some require more maintenance, some less. This is strictly in regards to drought tolerance.

Zoysiagrass - Excellent
Bermudagrass - Excellent
Turf-type Tall Fescue - Very good
Kentucky Bluegrass - good-very good
Fineleaf fescue - good
Perrenial ryegrass - poor-good
Annual bluegrass - poor
Annual ryegrass - poor


Good luck with your lawn and let's hope for some rain soon.

Got Grubs?

I was building a patio this summer at my house and I was removing the sod and digging trenches I came across a few of these.

What is that, you ask? It's a Japanese Beetle. It seems like I have seen a lot more of these than usual this summer in the state of Iowa. I was unable to locate any data to support this other than just an observation.


Have you seen any of these in your lawn or plants? If you have, don't ignore them because what they can leave behind in your lawn can be very damaging to your lawn, and could wreak havoc on your pocket book.
 
You see, these Japanese beetles lay eggs in your lawn and when the life cycle of the larvae begins they look like "C" shaped white bugs, better know as grubs (right picture).

They do most of their feeding in the late summer and source of food is your lawns root system. And the problem is you usually don't notice the results of the damage until in the winter or next spring. If you're soil pulls up too easy, there is a good chance you have an issue with grubs.

In addition, if you water your lawn frequently this may mask the warning signs until it's too late. Irrigation promotes a healthy environment for grubs to survive, in addition it also allows your lawn to stay green giving the appearance of a healthy lawn and that there is no issue below the surface. So, like many other things I always talk about when it comes to lawn care, be proactive instead of reactive. Meaning, set your annual lawn treatment schedule with grub control to prevent this from happening:

If you see the Japanese beetle lift up a couple random spots of your sod to see if any larvae has hatched in your lawn. All you need to do is lift up a few square foot samples. If you have less than 5 larvae per square foot, the damage will be pretty minimal, if any at all. If it is more than 10, you definitely need to get this treated. If it's between 5 and 10 it all depends on the health of your lawn. I'd personally error on the side of caution and get your lawn treated.

The best time to treat your lawn for grubs in Iowa is in July-August. As for my lawn, I dug up a couple areas and fortunately I didn't find too many more beetles in the samples and thankfully didn't see any larvae either. So, it appears my annual treatment for grubs has been effective.