Preparing Your Lawn For Hot Summer Days

As the hot summer fast approaches, care and attention should be made to your lawn and outside space in order to fully prepare for the harsh weather conditions.  While protecting your skin from the scorching summer rays is an action which we all take as the season rolls around, it can be easy to forget the effect which the same level of heat may have on the fine blades of grass across your lawn.  You may then discover that your lawn appears unhealthy and sparse in some areas, due to the damage caused through the heat and harsh conditions.

However, if you fully prepare your lawn in advance of the arrival of summer, you may be able to ensure that your lawn remains luscious and green despite the change in weather.  Ensuring that you fully prepare your lawn for the summer season will ensure that your outdoor space is usable for garden parties, sunbathing, and BBQs.

Soil Preparation

In preparation for the summer, carry out an assessment of your soil.  Soil can vary in their quality from year to year, predominately influenced by an increase in acid after more and more planting occurs.  The results of a soil test can help you to decide which products are best to use on your lawn, along with which items are suitable to plant to achieve the best results.  You may discover that in hotter, desert area, your soil possesses a more alkaline pH range, whereas, in a state which is predisposed to rain, the soil may possess a more acidic pH range.

The results of the soil test will help you adjust the soil in preparation for summer, with acidic soil requiring added lime, wood ash, or dolomite limestone, and alkaline soil needing added composted leaves, pine needles, and horticultural sulfur.  To test your soil at home, collect soil from six different areas of your lawn through digging 6-inches deep in each spot with a trowel.  Withdraw a teaspoon of soil from each area.  Ensure that roots, stones, and mulch are not collected with the sample.  Purchase a soil testing kit and follow the instructions exactly, providing you with immediate results and pH levels.

Regularly Trim Your Lawn

During the winter season, mowing your lawn is a task that can be missed from your regular routine.  However, as soon as spring arrives, you should mow your lawn one time per week to ensure that your blades of grass are pristine and luscious.  Regularly mowing your lawn will ensure that trimming your lawn becomes a low maintenance task to achieve an attractive and sought-after outdoor space.  This is a key aspect of preparation for your lawn to prepare it for the summer.

Once summer does arrive, you should mow your lawn twice per week, keeping your lawn under control and ensuring that the blades of grass are relatively short and healthy.  If you were to neglect your lawn in preparation for the summer and then decided to cut your lawn once it had become unmanageable, your blades of grass would suffer severe trauma and shock, resulting in an unsightly patch of outside space which may appear yellow.

Regularly mowing your lawn ensures that your blades of grass are predisposed to your lawnmower, ensuring that each blade is short, sharp and green, while water and sunlight are both able to reach the base of the lawn fully without any prevalent obstacles.  It is advised to check your lawnmower and additional gardening equipment in preparation for the summer, ensuring that all of your tools work effectively and efficiently.

Dispose Of Any Weeds and Moss

Moist and shaded areas of your outside space are perfect for moss to thrive.  Moss may realistically grow and appear after periods of winter, particularly as the seasons change to spring.  In preparation for hot summer days, spring is the perfect opportunity to expel moss and any additional weeds from your garden area.  You will be required to complete scarification, involving extensive raking of the affected area to banish moss and dig out weeds.

You may choose to use a chemical treatment, which is an additional option for your summer preparation.  However, it is possible to eliminate moss and weeds without the use of chemicals, providing you are prepared to complete the difficult manual task.

To ensure the best results for your garden area, you must maintain a good observation of your outside space to keep on top of any potential areas of moss growth and weed development.  Weeds thrive during the spring and summer seasons due to seed dispersal, and so spotting new weed growth before they begin to dominate your lawn is the key to easy maintenance.

Feed Your Lawn

The heat and weather conditions prevalent across the spring and summer seasons result in the additional growth and development of the lawn.  The blades of grass in your garden are continuously growing and so that they grow actively and healthily, you must feed them appropriately.  To prepare for hot summer days, choose a strong fertilizer for your lawn, which feeds your lawn in addition to helping reduce prospective growth of moss and weeds, encouraging the healthy development of your lawn.

Regularly feeding your lawn, according to the instructions of the fertilizer used, will invigorate your lawn and provide nutrition for every blade of grass.  If you do not feed your lawn regularly, then the health and appearance of your lawn may begin to deteriorate, appearing yellow and dry due to being neglected.  When choosing a fertilizer for your lawn, consider the type of grass which you have as this can help you to achieve the best results possible for your lawn.

If your lawn possesses cool-season grasses, fertilize your lawn in the early part of spring as well as at the beginning of fall, providing your lawn with a fertilizer which includes high concentrations of nitrogen to provide your lawn with a perfect combination of survival properties.  If your lawn includes warm-season grasses, you will see particular growth throughout the summer season, requiring a fertilizer high in nitrogen during the spring months as well as at the end of summer to achieve the best results.

Water Your Lawn

Dependent on the state in which you live, you may need to regularly water your lawn, especially in the hotter summer days.  If your state receives regular rainfall leading up to summer preparation, then you will simply be required to water your lawn in the absence of regular rainfall.  However, if you live in a state which experiences dryer weather, you will need to gently water your lawn to ensure that your lawn remains green and luscious every month of the year. See our favorite sprinklers if you need one.

In extreme circumstances, the surface under your lawn can become hard, leaving it difficult for water to penetrate the soil.  To remedy this issue, simply aerate the hard ground through creating narrow holes in the ground, either with a garden fork or with specialist aerating shoes.  Aerating shoes contain spikes throughout the bottom of the shoes and so when you walk across the lawn, the spikes penetrate the ground through the use of your body weight.

Over-seeding

During the winter season, heavy rain and a colder climate can result in puddles forming on your lawn.  A lack of successful drainage can subsequently mean that your lawn becomes sparse in some areas, providing patches of different colors and shades which will need to be patched-up.  To over-seed these bare patches, rake the surface soil to a good degree after you have provided an initial break in the ground.

Ensure that the surface is even in texture and then sow grass seeds evenly into the soil.  Check that the seeds are fully incorporated into the surface and then gently water daily.  The seeds should start to develop reasonably quickly, with grass blades appearing after a week.

Protect Your Lawn

An additional preparation method for the summer is to install a fence around your boundary, protecting your lawn from pets and children and the possible damage caused through the vulnerability of the lawn.  It is also recommended to install a path to direct traffic away from your lawn, avoiding trampling by family, friends, and neighbors.

Furthermore, add a patio area to your garden, either with paving or gravel, so that your outdoor space possesses a dedicated area for guests to relax, once again protecting your lawn.  Such security methods can be expensive, although they will protect your lawn at all hours of the day and night, ensuring that damage is not caused.  Research attractive fences and paths which may additionally complement your lawn and outside space.