Steps to Creating a Drought Tolerant Lawn
Let CSL help you create a more drought tolerant lawn….
During times of water restrictions and seasons of low rainfall, the home lawn can become stressed causing long term damage. This is due to reduction of the crowns of perennial grasses. When water is restored there may be only a partial regrowth. Density can be lost and sites can be opened for weed germination and growth. There are some basic maintenance practices that will go a long way in preserving the turf and improving its long term health.
Aeration
Aeration is easily the single most important turf maintenance practice. The best way to aerate is with a coring tyne machine. This actually removes a complete core from the soil profile. When the hole is created irrigation and rain water will be absorbed more readily reducing run-off. The hole can also be filled with a top-dressing (see below). This will insure that the hole stays open for a longer time.
Turf roots require air – the same air that we breath. Soil microbes also require air. Lawns become compacted through use and this reduces air. Soils are infiltrated with dust and particles – this reduces air. So, aeration of the lawn at least twice per year helps immeasurably.
With the extra air, soil microbes are stimulated. This releases nutrients. Healthy microbial activity breaks down the thatch layer. Reduction of the thatch layer allows for better air penetration and exchange of gasses between the soil and the atmosphere. Remember, the soil environment creates noxious gasses that need to be exchanged with atmospheric gasses.
So, what more can be said. The three most important lawn maintenance practices are: aeration, aeration and aeration.
Over-seeding
For the drought tolerant lawn, there are many new turf grass varieties that can be over-seeded. This will change the nature of your turf over time. Most grasses are seeded as mixes or blends of various species and varieties. This is enables the grass to adapt according to your environment and maintenance practices. Today, there are many new grasses that are far more drought tolerant than previously available. Over-seeding is an inexpensive way to improve the survivability of your lawn during drought stress.
Top-dressing
After aeration, as discussed above, it is advisable to consider top-dressing your lawn. Aeration creates a series of holes in the surface of the lawn, the cores should be filled with a prepared mix that will increase the ability of the lawn to receive moisture and retain it.
A clean, medium garden sand is recommend. However, sand on its own may not work as well as sand mixed at about 70/30% with a good organic material. This will create better drainage and allow the hole to stay open with the sand base but will also allow for good water holding capability with the organic material.
Sphagnum peat moss is recommended as the best possible material to mix with sand at 25-30% by volume. However, a well rotted compost may be even better as it will introduce much needed soil microbes. There are many other possible materials including finely ground bark and steer manure.
When applying top-dressing, make sure that the crown of the turf is not covered with more than about one half inch of material. If more top-dressing material is applied, the crown can be damaged and there will be a loss of density. When applying top-dressing in times of drought or reduced water the main objective is to promote existing grasses – not to challenge their growth.
Areas of the lawn that experience higher levels of traffic should be over-seeded before top-dressing is applied.
Fertilizing
With adequate aeration, the fertilizer requirements of most lawns will be minimal. However, it is a good practice to apply an organic fertilizer to the lawn at least once per year. Keep it general. A good NPK ratio would be a 3-1-2 formula (like 18-6-12 or 21-7-14). Your local garden retailer will have a selection of appropriate products. You might also consider a slow release or controlled release product. This allows the nutrients to be released over a longer period of time reducing the need to re-apply.
The soil pH should also be considered. This is a measure of acidity. Most lawns like a higher pH -like about 6.5 on the scale. On the West Coast, where we have acid soils, an annual application of a ground limestone is advisable. Use a dolomitic material as it contains both calcium and magnesium.
Mowing
During seasons of low precipitation, you should let your lawn grow longer. Let all cool region grasses grow to at least 2-3 inches. This will protect the soil from evaporation by providing some extra shade for cooling. Also, when we mow our lawn the constant wounding of the blades causes excessive transpiration of moisture from the plant. Longer grass is more drought tolerant grass.
Application of wetting agents
There are many commercial wetting agents available on the market today. One of the best is Primer 604. These products are designed to promote uniformity of water penetration into the soil and prevent water repellency. They work by simply making the soil particles more sticky allowing water to move by adhesion tension from particle to particle both vertically and laterally. It can be applied according to manufacturer’s recommendations in a granular form. The cost may be less than ten cents per square foot of turf surface area. One application should increase water holding capacity by up to 30% depending on the nature of the soil profile.
Another is Kelp. Yes, Kelp. There are various kelp wetting agents available. This natural product is prehaps better than all the rest for its natural wetting features.
Aeration is easily the single most important turf maintenance practice. The best way to aerate is with a coring tyne machine. This actually removes a complete core from the soil profile. When the hole is created irrigation and rain water will be absorbed more readily reducing run-off. The hole can also be filled with a top-dressing (see below). This will insure that the hole stays open for a longer time. For the drought tolerant lawn, there are many new turf grass varieties that can be over-seeded. This will change the nature of your turf over time. Most grasses are seeded as mixes or blends of various species and varieties. This is enables the grass to adapt according to your environment and maintenance practices. Today, there are many new grasses that are far more drought tolerant than previously available. Over-seeding is an inexpensive way to improve the survivability of your lawn during drought stress. After aeration, as discussed above, it is advisable to consider top-dressing your lawn. Aeration creates a series of holes in the surface of the lawn, the cores should be filled with a prepared mix that will increase the ability of the lawn to receive moisture and retain it. With adequate aeration, the fertilizer requirements of most lawns will be minimal. However, it is a good practice to apply an organic fertilizer to the lawn at least once per year. Keep it general. A good NPK ratio would be a 3-1-2 formula (like 18-6-12 or 21-7-14). Your local garden retailer will have a selection of appropriate products. You might also consider a slow release or controlled release product. This allows the nutrients to be released over a longer period of time reducing the need to re-apply. During seasons of low precipitation, you should let your lawn grow longer. Let all cool region grasses grow to at least 2-3 inches. This will protect the soil from evaporation by providing some extra shade for cooling. Also, when we mow our lawn the constant wounding of the blades causes excessive transpiration of moisture from the plant. Longer grass is more drought tolerant grass.
Aeration is easily the single most important turf maintenance practice. The best way to aerate is with a coring tyne machine. This actually removes a complete core from the soil profile. When the hole is created irrigation and rain water will be absorbed more readily reducing run-off. The hole can also be filled with a top-dressing (see below). This will insure that the hole stays open for a longer time. For the drought tolerant lawn, there are many new turf grass varieties that can be over-seeded. This will change the nature of your turf over time. Most grasses are seeded as mixes or blends of various species and varieties. This is enables the grass to adapt according to your environment and maintenance practices. Today, there are many new grasses that are far more drought tolerant than previously available. Over-seeding is an inexpensive way to improve the survivability of your lawn during drought stress. After aeration, as discussed above, it is advisable to consider top-dressing your lawn. Aeration creates a series of holes in the surface of the lawn, the cores should be filled with a prepared mix that will increase the ability of the lawn to receive moisture and retain it. With adequate aeration, the fertilizer requirements of most lawns will be minimal. However, it is a good practice to apply an organic fertilizer to the lawn at least once per year. Keep it general. A good NPK ratio would be a 3-1-2 formula (like 18-6-12 or 21-7-14). Your local garden retailer will have a selection of appropriate products. You might also consider a slow release or controlled release product. This allows the nutrients to be released over a longer period of time reducing the need to re-apply. During seasons of low precipitation, you should let your lawn grow longer. Let all cool region grasses grow to at least 2-3 inches. This will protect the soil from evaporation by providing some extra shade for cooling. Also, when we mow our lawn the constant wounding of the blades causes excessive transpiration of moisture from the plant. Longer grass is more drought tolerant grass.