It happens every summer
Monday, August 6, 2012 at 8:35 amPosted by Jonathan Green
Tags: fertilizer , organics & summer
Every year many homeowners who had a great looking lawn for the first half of the year tell us once August hits, my lawn seems to fall apart! Let’s discuss why this happens.
What were you doing in the year prior to each summer’s heat and drought? Did you plant your grass seed in early fall so that it has at least nine months to establish a good root system? That is why you hear that fall is the best time of year to plant grass seed, trees and shrubs. During the fall months the ground is warm, rainfall tends to stabilize, heat, insects and weeds are much less of a problem and plants establish well. If you wait and plant grass seed in the spring you only have a few months to get it established and then wham… hot, dry weather shows up, thank you Mother Nature! Now if you have bare spots, yes, apply grass seed in the spring or weeds will fill in these spots.
If crabgrass is a problem in your lawn ask yourself did you apply crabgrass preventer in the spring? Did you apply it too early so the control was not effective later? Cool, wet weather delays spring crabgrass germination until late spring. Excessive rain also washes out some of the crabgrass control’s effectiveness. Apply Jonathan Green Crabgrass Preventer plus Green-Up Lawn Fertilizer in late spring extending the length of control or consider applying a second application around June 1st to extend control into summer months. Remember, crabgrass only grows in sunny areas of your lawn.
Did you fertilize your lawn only once since the beginning of this year? If so, your lawn is hungry and needs to eat more than one to two times a year. During the growing season from March through November your lawn should be fed three to four times a year for optimum growth, and to resistance insects, heat and drought conditions. Man cannot live on bread or vitamins alone, plants need food too. Use Jonathan Green Green-Up Lawn Fertilizer or try one of our organic fertilizers like Natural Beauty.
What about your watering practices? More lawns are being damaged by improper watering either with over watering or under watering. The rule of thumb is one inch of water week from rainfall or irrigation. The exception to this rule is in severe hot, dry weather. We would prefer to have you water three to four times a week during severe weather but for longer durations. Your watering practices from spring through summer will determine how you lawn survives. Watering too much during these months promotes shallow roots and when hot, dry weather comes along your lawn suffers greatly. Did you go on vacation and your lawn turned brown? Did you forget to turn on the sprinkler? If the heat and drought are severe enough, the lawn will go dormant, like a hibernating bear during winter. This is a natural state for the lawn trying to survive. Many areas of your lawn if well-established will come back in the fall when favorable weather returns.
Consider changing your fertilizing program to include some organic lawn fertilizers. They help to promote good soil health and can prepare the soil to hold more moisture. By promoting the biological activity in the soil you will grow a healthier grass plant. The Jonathan Green line of organic products promotes healthy soil. Healthy soil is necessary in order to grow a healthy plant. Traditional fertilizers tend to feed the plant and not address soil conditions. Organics also provide a slow, gentle feeding during summer months. Use Jonathan Green Organic Lawn Fertilizer or Natural Beauty Lawn Fertilizer to give your lawn the nourishment it needs. Do not fertilizer your lawn if temperatures are greater than 85 degrees and with high humidity levels to avoid any potential to burn the grass while it is under heat and drought stress.
We hope your lawn holds up well this summer so you can keep having fun playing kick-ball and having picnics. If you are disappointed in your lawn, try a new, long-term approach to your lawn care with Jonathan Green products. Happy summer!
13 Responses to "It happens every summer"
Hi Mark - To control crabgrass in your lawn we recommend using Crabgrass Preventer plus Green-Up Lawn Fertilizer. If you have just seeded your lawn you will have to wait until the new grass has been mowed three times before applying the crabgrass preventer. Otherwise you risk killing the new seedlings. Please be sure to follow all directions on the bag before applying. For more information on controlling crabgrass please visit: http://www.jonathangreen.com/index.cfm/news/id/1677/ and this page http://www.jonathangreen.com/index.cfm/news/id/1681/
Will jonathon green weed and feed kill crab grass in my new jonathon green ultra grass lawn
Hi Reggie - For the grubs you can apply either our Grub Control or Pest Kill to the damaged part of the lawn. Either of these products can be applied when you are seeding. The grubs themselves should not affect the new grass seed.
I met you at Valley View Farms in Hunt Valley, MD on 9/8/2012. I raked, seeded with Black Beauty, Mag-I-Cal and then New Seeding Lawn Fertilizer. When raking, I noticed that the lawn was actually sod because big clumps of soil was coming up and I also saw some grubs. Is there something I can do so ensure the grass seed is going to the dirt?
Nice tips, I would like to also add a point: If your watering your lawn with an irrigation system, don't over water, especially when rain is in the forecast on a consistent basis. As a lawn care professional, I see over watering the main cause of many of the troubled areas in the lawn. Run your sprinklers in the mourning, watering in the heat of the day is a huge waste of water.
Hi Nancy - This summer was extremely tough on lawns with the drought and high temperatures. Most likely the Crabgrass Control plus Green-Up was applied too early in the season. This product offers 90 days of control and with the rough summer many homeowners lawns have died allowing crabgrass to thrive. You can spray spray out the crabgrass but it will die in the frost. Rather than reapply the blue bag of Crabgrass Control this fall focus on renovating and building the lawn. The best defense against weeds is a healthy thick lawn. Reseed the patches that need to be reseeded and apply New Seeding Lawn Fertilizer and Mag-I-Cal. You cannot seed if you do apply the Crabgrass Preventer plus Green-Up. For more information please visit http://www.jonathangreen.com/index.cfm/news/id/1681/
I have been using your fertilizers the last few years. THis year I used the crabgrass pre-emergent plus green up fertilizer in March/April and now ( August) my lawn is completely crabgrass - very disaappointing. I have 1/2 bag left of the Pre-Emergent/Greeen up and notice it says it can be applied Spring or Fall. If I spray out the crabgrass, should I use this product before I reseed, or will it prevent the grass seed germination? OR should I spray out the crabgrass, reseed, and wait a month, and then use the pre-emergent/green up?
Hi Rich - You can use any liquid control spray that is labeled for crabgrass control like Round-Up. Just be sure to follow all directions on the product and be selective in spraying because it will also kill surrounding grass if you are not careful.
Dear Jonathan Green: In your response to Erik's question above, you noted that he should "spray out the crabgrass". What product do you recommend to do that? Thank you, Rich
Good stuff, this year I'm sure a lot more folks will need that reassurance for their brown grass!
Hi Erik - Applying Crabgrass Preventer plus Green-Up Lawn Fertilizer in March was probably too early this year. The window of control was gone by the time the crabgrass was germinating in the late spring/summer. Also the heavy spring rains in April most likely dissapated a lot of the control. Lastly this was a very stressful year for lawns with the drought and high temperatures. These conditions allow crabgrass to thrive while lawns die. The best thing would be to spray out the crabgrass and then seed those areas at the end of September. Also apply Mag-I-Cal and New Seeding Lawn Fertilizer when you seed. Next year we would recommend waiting later in the spring to apply Crabgrass Preventer or if you have a lot of crabgrass consider doing a split application in the spring. For more information please visit http://www.jonathangreen.com/index.cfm/news/id/1677/
Thanks for the info - yes, I did apply the crabgrass preventer and green-up in the spring (March) as well as applied weed and feed in (June). My lawn is green but unfortunately I have alot of crabgrass and pretty sure this was the first year I used your crabgrass product. What can I do now to get rid of the crabgrass? Thanks!
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