Summer Lawn Care

With warm weather on the rise, it is extremely important to keep newly installed lawns watered thoroughly. Pay attention to rainfall and compensate for the lack of water by running your irrigation system or hand watering your lawn. Newly planted and established lawns need at least 1” of water a week. Keep track of weekly rainfall with a rain gauge and apply the necessary amounts. If you do not have a rain gauge, just placing a small empty tuna can in your yard is a great way to judge the amount of water your lawn is getting. This will help make sure that your lawn is receiving all the water it needs to establish and flourish.

A deep watering will benefit the lawn best rather than short frequent watering. Short frequent watering promotes a shallow root system encouraging weeds to make themselves at home in your lawn. Remember to water your lawn early morning before the heat of the day when the grass is still moist and covered with dew. Late night is the second best option but may encourage disease unless the nighttime temperatures are extremely warm. Watering during the hottest part of the day will cause unnecessary evaporation leaving less water for your lawn.

A new lawn will take a full year to establish. Proper watering and mowing will assure you get the best and healthiest lawn. A new lawn should not receive its first cut until it has reached a full 3 inches. During the hot summer months, raise your mower blades to keep your lawn around 2.5” to 3”. If you are unsure just raise your mower deck to the highest setting. The longer blades will produce a deeper root system increasing the lawns drought tolerance and better weed control.  If you miss a mow while you were away out of town, cut the lawn back only by one-third and come back a few days later to cut it back the rest of the way. For best results, keep your mower blades sharp and alternate mowing directions.

Irrigation systems are an efficient way to water your lawn. They are great for newly installed landscapes and lawns when watering is critical. Crimson Valley is a licensed and professional installer of irrigation systems. We pride ourselves in providing proper installations and settings, greatly reducing the amount of water lost due to evaporation, to save you money by preventing unnecessary watering. We keep current with the latest technology for a better irrigation system.

Our new MP Rotator® spray nozzles have a lower spray rate greatly reducing stormwater runoff and conserving water. Solar Sync Sensors are a new product that takes sun exposure, temperature and rainfall into factor and determines how to put your irrigation system to best use. This simple and highly effective gadget will save a substantial amount of water. Upgrading your irrigation system to include these Hunter® irrigation products will pay itself off in one year’s time of your investment. Contact us to learn more about our irrigation upgrades.