We are all facing stressful times throughout 2020, but have you considered the stress that your lawn has endured this season? Blue Jay is here to support you and your home’s landscape through our roller coaster of seasons we have here in Ontario. This summer more than ever the sun beat down intensely on our lawns, our friends and family were constantly on it, and it does not look like these stresses are letting up anytime soon. Keeping these main two stress factors in mind while managing your lawn through summer heat stress will help you and your grass make it through the dog days of summer.
Summer’s hot and dry weather conditions account for a good majority of our lawn’s stress, but increased foot traffic this year is a large factor that needs to be considered. None of us can change the weather but there are a few things that we can alter or adjust through the hot summers we are having lately.
Limit the amount of mechanical stress on your grass plants. Practices such as aerating and dethatching are important to turf health but try to limit them to spring and fall so that the grass can recover accordingly. Ensuring your mower blades are sharp will allow the grass blades to recover shortly after being mown. If you notice a stretch of hot, dry weather consider raising the height of cut or simply do not mow for a couple more days. Your grass will appreciate a break once and a while through stressful times.
Mindful watering throughout the different growing seasons is by far the most important consideration. In the spring and fall your turf will have a better root system and can handle more stress, and therefore will require less water. Come summertime the roots become shallow and are much more susceptible to drought stress. Our turf uses more water in stressful conditions and therefore tends to dry out very fast in the summer. This means you may need to change the amount or how often water is applied. We suggest increasing the irrigation run times or even adding a mid-day cycle on extremely hot days to allow the turf to get through the day without wilting. Being mindful through these long, hot days will allow your friends and family to continue to enjoy a beautiful healthy landscape all summer long.
Blue Jay’s full-service contracts allow a technician to be on-site multiple times throughout the growing season so that we can thoroughly check all sprinklers and make any adjustments needed. This also ensures watering times are properly adjusted and gives us a chance to address any changes to your irrigation system that may need to be altered as the season goes on.
If you would like one of our technicians to assist you with the proper scheduling of your irrigation controller, make any adjustments, or upgrade your existing system as we enter the fall season, please contact us at service@bluejayirrigation.com.
