Dog Days of Summer - Lawn Edition

The interesting internet explanations for the meaning of the "Dog Days" of summer are just a Google search away. I believe the correct meaning has to do with an Egyptian star named Sirius (a dog) and his position in the sky sometime in July. Evidently Sirius was uncanny in predicting when the welcome rains were coming to flood the Nile which helped the crops each year. Up the road the ancient Romans and Greeks did not look forward to the dog days, associating them with disasters of all kinds, including drought - something we know a little about living here in the Centennial State.

Waiting for Snow

We can all agree that July is usually a fairly hot month. Ferris, our dog is counting the days until it's back to his comfort level - 28 degrees with a foot of snow on the ground.

So, how does one function in one's garden day after day in the nineties? Quick answer - chores before 7:00 am. Exception - mow in the evening when the lawn is dry. Also try the following cultural practices to keep your lawn looking good for the weekend gathering.

Mow high, not you - the lawn. Go ahead and groan, can't help myself, this is Colorado after all. Keeping the lawn taller (above 3 inches) in hot periods will shade the roots, keep weeds down and possibly deter those pesky female Japanese beetles from laying next year's generation. She shimmies her round rear down through the grass to lay a few eggs (3-6 at a time) in the top couple of inches of grass soil. She's not fond of tall grass. She'll probably fly over to the more suitable neighbor's lawn for egg laying, which is kept as short as a golf course's greens and tee boxes. 

While keeping the lawn taller, be sure to trim it lower around any sprinkler heads to prevent blocking the spray.

Water deeply, when it needs to be watered. The lawn will tell you when it's needing moisture - foot tracks are left after walking across the lawn or the grass takes on gray/brown/blue hues. Remember to turn the system to off after a good soaking rain or install a rain sensor on the system - a low cost investment in water and dollar savings.

If your lawn area is compacted from the heat and too much foot traffic from summer fun with the kids, try the soak and cycle method of watering. That means run each zone for five to eight minutes, then cycle through the system again, even a third time if needed. Each cycle should add up to the total time you normally water each zone, you're just breaking it up to give the lawn time to better soak in.

For brown spots in the lawn, check your system during the day to see if a head is clogged, geyser spraying or watering the street or driveway. Often sprinkler heads get broken from the mow, blow and go services who may not be paying attention to that one pop up that just didn't close after the last watering, and whoops...there goes the head, mowed right off!

There's no need to fertilize, spread weed killers or aerate the lawn in the heat. Just about the time we get used to the heat (not Ferris), we'll be raking leaves, so enjoy the summer!