Tips on How to Take Care of Lawn During Drought Periods

Tips on How to Take Care of Lawn During Drought Periods

In many regions water shortage is serious, which makes it hard to maintain a home lawn. In several cases, lawns get incriminated because they act as water-hogging sponges, which is a waste of valuable water resources. You don’t have to be concerned about these conditions. Remember, a perfect lawn is made up of balanced soil and proper grass species that can survive in a less watering situation.

Soil management

Healthy soil allows the root system to grow and develop. A deep and extensive root system allows the grass plant to absorb energy, during stressful situations like drought. Thatch, compaction, soil composition, and poor pH level can have a bad impact on the health of lawn soil.

Apply practices like de-thatching, top dressingliming, aerating, and composting to create a perfect turf-grass growing condition.

Soil composition determines the water-holding and retaining capacity along with its ability to transfer nutrients to the roots of the plant. Loamy soil has a good level of nutrients and water holding capacity than the sandy soil.

Sandy soil makes turf vulnerable to dry in drought conditions. Spread compost rich in humus using Ecolawn Applicator on the top of the soil, which helps to improve nutrient and retain soil moisture.

Water management

In drought conditions, lawns are regarded as the culprit because a significant amount of water is used to keep them green. Water management helps to decrease the amount needed to maintain the lawn and help it survive in a drought situation.

Sprinklers are a waste of water resources, especially when it is left unattended or used in watering hard-to-reach spots. Choose an automated irrigation system to enhance watering efficiency by irrigating the turf only and not the road, driveway, or sidewalks.

Timers can be determined based on grass species, climatic conditions, and soil type. This allows for accurate watering needs for healthy lawn maintenance.

Drought-tolerant grass species

Drought-tolerant species include grasses that need less water and survive lengthy periods between watering. For example, a lawn generally needs 1” water applied twice in a week, whereas drought-tolerant grass species need 3/4th inch to 1/4th inch water just once a week.

However, the soil condition has to be balanced, so it can handle the extreme drought. Many grass species can brown out if the water is not available for extended periods. They go dormant and don’t die but grow when it rains.

Other best practices

In drought, mow the grass 3” to 4” high because the grass blade tissue stores water and helps in photosynthesis. Soil lies under the long grass shade and keeps moist. Make sure not to aerate, fertilize, de-thatch, or top-dress the soil because this can add stress to the lawn. Make sure to reduce foot traffic on the lawn during a drought.