Summer Lawn Care Tips with Stihl: Dealing with Drought. Along the Gulf Coast, summer weather can have a major effect when it comes to the health of your yard. From your lawn and trees to shrubs and flowerbeds, summer landscaping can be a breeze with these helpful tips. First in the series, we will discuss how to combat drought.
Dealing with Drought:
Trees:
Your trees should get your primary attention. Why? Because healthy trees will provide a shaded canopy for your entire lawn. This will in turn will keep it cool and less thirsty for water. Also, should your trees struggle or die, they’ll be the most expensive things in your landscape to replace. A helpful strategy for strengthening your trees during drought is to drill several holes about 24 to 30 inches deep around the base of the tree. Next, fill them with compost.
Drill slowly and pull back if you hit a root. These holes will allow water to penetrate the ground more easily and reach the tree’s roots. You can use a large spade drill bit (about an inch wide) on your household drill for this task. NOTE: This procedure may dull your drill bit.
Lawn:
Water is lost from your lawn in two main ways: evaporation (water escaping from your lawn’s surface) and transpiration (water “sweating” from the stems and leaves of plants). The more compact the soil in your lawn, the more easily water will evaporate from it. It’s a good idea to aerate from time to time. When you water your lawn, water slowly and with some kind of sprinkler system or sprinkler hose—this will prevent too much water loss through transpiration. It’s also important to watch for, and kill, bugs and pests, as they come out into your lawn looking for food during dry conditions.
Plants:
The best thing you can do to protect your plants and flowers during drought conditions is to use mulch. Un-mulched soil loses twice as much water as mulched soil, so three to four inches of good organic mulch like shredded bark, rotted sawdust or compost will lock in moisture, prevent soil compaction, reduce the soil’s temperature, and stifle water-stealing weeds. Also, if you are able to water your lawn, water plants slowly and with a sprinkler system, as plants absorb water better when they receive it slowly and steadily—like they do when it rains.
Water Conservation:
During hot and dry conditions, it is a good idea to conserve water in any way possible, so here are some general tips for water conservation. Don’t go straight for the spigot when it’s time to water. Collect roof water from downspouts and use that first. Wet your soil slowly and deeply by using a sprinkler system or sprinkler hose. That way, less water will sit on top of your lawn waiting to evaporate. It’s also the best practice to water your lawn and plants in the morning (usually before 9 am.) This is helpful because humidity is high. As a result, you’ll lose less water to evaporation.
In conclusion, Odiorne has you covered when it comes to lawn and garden. We are proud to be a local Stihl dealer! Check out our Stihl products here! We hope you learn from our Summer Lawn Care Tips with Stihl: Dealing with Drought. Stay tuned because we will have more summer tips!
Article Source: Stihl