It’s August 2022. Long Island, and much of the Northeast, are in a moderate to severe drought. Rainfall since the beginning of July is just half what it should be.
And your lawn may be looking ragged, like a prairie fire waiting to happen.
Many Long Island residents and property owners simply irrigate or water their lawns. Drive around and you’ll see the emerald green summer lawns among the drier ones. If all Long Islanders kept all the lawns emerald green throughout summer, it would place a very large burden on the Island’s sole source of fresh water – the aquifer, our precious groundwater. And your water bill would skyrocket!
But guess what? We have good news. Grasses naturally go dormant to survive harsh dry conditions like the summer we are having. The leaves have died back but crowns of grass plants are alive, waiting to respond to the return of rainfall.
What matters most in this situation is the crown of the plant and its root system. If roots are deep, grass is much more resilient. Deep roots help the crowns to survive intense heat and drought.
How do you get your lawn’s roots to grow deep? There are several things you can do.
- Mow high – Set your lawnmower at the highest height (4”) when mowing. Or ask your landscaper to do the same. Mowing higher and leaving longer grass blades allows the plants to grow deep roots.
- Aerate that compacted soil – Well-aerated soil allows air and rainfall to penetrate where the soil can store moisture and where roots will grow to access it.
- Feed at the right time – Fertilize your lawn in the fall, not the spring. Spring fertilization encourages top growth instead of root growth. Fall fertilization provides nutrients that are absorbed and stored for spring.
- Leave the clippings – Mulch mowing and leaving the clippings in place throughout the spring and early summer also helps protect dormant lawns by adding a layer of organic matter that preserves soil moisture and protects grass crowns. This is not thatch.
Eventually, the rains will return to Long Island and everything will green up again before winter sets in.
Choosing to let the lawn go dormant is a conservation move that saves our water resources and reduces costs to you. Water costs money, after all. Take the steps mentioned above to help your lawn become more resilient.
See www.OurLandOurWater.org for more sustainable lawn care information.
***The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.