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the HERALD Wednesday August 21 Community Town Gardener Proper care will ensure your lawn survives By TOM Lawn Maintenance During the summer time we ex perience hot dry weather and without proper watering your gardens will suffer due to heat stress desication hot dry winds and for many water time restnc tions You can manage to get the job done and maintain a level of water maintenance to keep the plants in your gardens healthy What really takes a beating is the lawns Obviously without water ing your turf grass it will go brown and dry up what people don t realize is that this is how grass survives the extended heat without water The turf actually goes into summer dormancy from lack of water nutrients and improper maintenance This spring we received our share of ram and the lawns have greened up and have been grow healthy But if you haven t fertilized because of all this ram and it does turn hot and dry the spring rains will have done more harm than good because with all the rain comes vigorous growth and the turf will use all reserved nutrients If the lawn is deficient of nutrients and if your cutting heights are not adjusted to 3 4 your lawn will suffer a major set back in strength and endurance With all that green growth the grass uses up all the nutrients existing and any that you have applied in the way of lawn fer tihzer due to the excessive growth To prepare your lawn tor a potential heat wave and drought you should take the steps 1 Raise the cutting height of your lawn mower 2 Rake excess grass after cut ting 3 Fertilize your lawn with a recommended summer applica tion of organic lawn food with a high carbon content i e When you do water it takes hours per sprinkler position to achieve a water depth penetration any less and you are doing more harm than good Shallow watering will cause the roots to go to the soil surface and heat stress Check the level of thatch and do not let it build up By applying these changes your lawn may still go into sum mer dormancy but the damage will be minimal to the turf If you cannot apply water do not cut during the day and avoid using the lawn when it is hot Cut the grass during the cool part of the day and your lawn will endure the heat stress that will surely hap pen The question will arise in your mind why fertilize my lawn will that not encourage growth and then obviously create more lawn cutting time The answer is no Today lawn fertilizers are designed to release slowly they require heat and water to release But more importantly is the fact that a well fed lawn will be stronger than an under nourished lawn A well fed lawn is more resistant to stress Think of it this way who will survive a walk through the desert a well fed person or a per son who has not been fed the answer is clear and simple so check your last fertilizing date raise your cutting height of the lawn mower and if you can water be sure to water properly other wise you should just stay off the grass until better conditions return Question If it rains enough during the summer should yob still fertilize the lawn Answer Yes it is important to maintain a consistent level of nutrients for a consistent healthy lawn If you have any questions about your lawn please call the Grapevine Hotline