Following these tips will help keep your lawn green and lush this summer!

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1. Watering

In the summer, weeks can pass without significant rainfall. Your lawn will become stressed and begin to go dormant so that it can conserve much-needed energy. If you water your lawn correctly, you can keep it from doing so. It’s better to water your lawn infrequently but deeply which would follow the pattern of average rainfall. Three to four days a week with a deep soaking will help to keep your lawn green. To help prevent insect infestation, or disease, try not to water overnight.  The best time of day to water your lawn is when air temperatures are lower and there is dew on the ground. Temperatures are usually at their lowest during the late evening or early morning.

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2. Mowing

You wouldn’t think that proper mowing was a big issue, but it is one. If you don’t mow the correct way, you can cause your lawn to become scorched so that it doesn’t recover. The proper way is to mow the lawn no shorter than 3- 3 ½ inches. Mow often but only remove about 1/3 of the blade of grass. This will give your lawn a manicured look while still keeping it healthy.

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3. Fertilize

Three applications of slow-release granular fertilizer is usually best for the short Saskatchewan seasons.  First one in the spring, normally best in May the second 4-6 weeks later. The third should be in the fall as grass roots continue to grow, and they still need fertilizer.  In extreme summer heat, you don’t want to over fertilize. A lawn which is growing with the help of fertilizer can become weak and tender. It will consume more fertilizer than it can grow in the heat. When your grass is overfed, it will put the extra energy into growing instead of surviving the hot weather. This stresses your lawn and additional fertilizer applied will also cause scorched spots in your yard. Be sure to water sufficiently after applying fertilizer. This is important because it gets the fertilizer down into the soil.

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4. Weed control

Getting control of weeds before they start to bloom and spread their seeds is essential. You can use post-emergent herbicides which will kill broad-leaf weeds without harming your lawn. But, it needs to be applied when the temperature is cooler for a couple of days, and very light winds. Pulling the weeds or using the weed killer sparingly is another option.

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5. Overseeding

Overseeding is simply seeding over an area that has or had existing grass that is performing poorly. It introduces new grass species that require less water, less fertilizer, resist insects, disease pressures, and discourage weed infestations. Overseeding is recommended annually for every lawn, even the best conditioned.