In the Heat, Keep the Turf Well Watered

Hello again to all of you!

Here we are into August and this year is still flying by at what seems to be a rapid pace to me. (Course I am no spring chicken any longer either...) Our weather has slipped into the hazy crazy days of a normal southern summer and being blunt—IT IS HOT out there! 

Please do not forget to keep the turf well irrigated. You don't have to water every three days as some people do and can. But you need to water deeply when watering and do it before the grass goes into a serious stress and suffers damage to the crown area.

Typically that will be from 20-30 minutes per setting on the sprinkler or irrigation system zone. (Of course your individual water pressure will determine how long. You want to apply 1/2 an inch of water every three to four days if at all possible.)

If you are following our schedule, you do not need to apply anything except perhaps weed control this month. We are trying to keep on an eight-week maintenance schedule and we did it last month. If you got behind, just stay on the eight weeks between your schedule and you can't go wrong. 

Last month we discussed disease control and the possibility of those popping up in the turf. If they have and you applied a fungicide, you should be okay. Because of the steady heat we have been experiencing, those may have died down. But with all the afternoon showers we have been having, they may rear up their ugly little heads and you may have to treat again.

If your turf is a warm season variety and you don't think it looks as good as you want it to, fertilize it again. Remember that it only grows during the summer, so get the most out of it you can while you can.

No, you will not hurt it. It loves the growth and it will just make it greener again with fertilizer. For this fertilization I would recommend a 46-0-0. One bag goes a long way and it won't last but four weeks—six at the very best. Plus we will be feeding it a little in September for the last time this year.

That just about does it for August. By the way, how often do your sharpen your mower blade? If the answer is never or perhaps once at the start of the season, change your habits!

That blade should seriously be sharpened at least once a month. That may sound crazy to you, but that's just a fact. A dull blade will "beat off" the blades instead of cutting them off. If you are noticing that a day or two after cutting the lawn loses it vigorous vital look it had before you cut it, that is most likely your dull blade doing that. Sharpen it!

Hope you are having a GREAT summer. Keep cool out there!

Chuck