Lawn Care Tips To Keep Your Yard Green During A Drought In Minnesota

Wilting, color change, and grass becoming crunchy are some of the most common effects that drought season brings with it. With soil cracking and footprints becoming more visible, caring for the dying lawn becomes inevitable. Just as your needs as a human change with the season, the lawn demands its equitable share as well. While Minnesota homeowners normally go for taking a commercial lawn service, there are certain key measures, following which they can keep their yard beautifully green and full of vitality even on the hottest of days. These measures are usually a combination of practices like mowing, weeding, fertilizing, mulching, and more. Here’s a brief about the most common lawn care tips you can follow.

1. Water Deeply But Infrequently

Manual watering is key to letting the yard grass go green during the drought season in the absence of adequate rain. Minnesota’s people generally grow cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, turf-type tall fescue, and perennial ryegrass. For watering, either prefer early morning or later in the evening. It’s suggested to avoid watering during the hottest time of the day (afternoon) as it may result in evaporation. To avoid any probable complications, it’s best to water early in the morning to let the soil soak the water and withstand the hot afternoon period. Make sure that the top 6 inches of the yard soil are soaked in water.

2. Mow Higher

Not just for the drought season but for the whole year, it’s advisable to mow higher. But for the hot season accompanied by a shortage of rain, you need to focus on mowing less frequently to let the grass grow longer in between the cuts. Make it a rule to never go beyond 3-4 inches of the grass height, as cutting too short may make the lawn more vulnerable to going dormant by drying up too soon, resulting in damaged soil and grass too. After mowing, you can leave the clippings in the lawn to let the soil take up the required nutrients.

3. Never Aerate During Drought Season

For cool-season grasses, aeration is deemed good during spring or fall only. Performing this essential act during the drought season would actually cause more damage than doing any good. Drought season’s brimming sun rays are capable of drying the well-fed soil in an instant. Aerating the soil during the scorching heat will make the soil lose its water retention ability. As a result, it will take much longer for the grass to recover back to its original condition.

4. Don’t Fertilize

Just as aeration is forbidden during the drought period, fertilization is also paused. Using a fertilizer, no matter how good it is, may result in the yard’s grass growing in abundance without getting its required share of nutrients. As a result, the grass may get scorched, causing you even more trouble. Therefore, instead of using any fertilizer, go for using the clipped grass as a natural fertilizer to boost your lawn’s health.

5. Perform Dethatching

The drought season is often deemed a non-optimal one for lawn health. You need to ensure the fact that only the healthiest of the yard grass is growing by getting its required share of nutrients. To work towards this measure, perform dethatching to eradicate dead plants and fallen leaves from the lawn. Doing so would allow your lawn to breathe and get its required share of sunlight, water, and nutrients for optimal growth.

Final Thoughts

To prevent yourself from encountering all probable inconveniences relating to lawn care during the drought season, it’s recommended to follow the above-mentioned tips. Remember, the key to preventing the yard grass from going dead is deep but infrequent watering that revitalizes the lost strength in roots due to robust sun rays. For those searching, a professional lawn care  expert can partner with Minneapolis Commercial Lawn and Snow, a reliable name active for 14+ years.