Preparing Your Lawn and Garden For Summer
Summer heat is on the way.
Summer is the most stressful time for our lawns and gardens. When the temperature increases, underlying problems begin to appear. Here are eight ways you can prepare your lawn to thrive throughout the summer heat.
Bug Control
Billbugs and Chinch bugs are the most common lawn pest in the Treasure Valley. When the temperatures rise above 90 degrees, they can decimate your lawn in days. Applying Zamzows Shield Grub Control or Zamzows Chinch Bug Control will prevent future damage for the next three months. If bug damage has already occurred, you may need to apply additional insect controls to get the grubs under the soil.
Sprinkler Check
Watering is the largest contributing factor when it comes to summer stress. Over or under-watering are common issues with simple solutions. Dr. Jim Z Water Audit Kit is an easy way to check your sprinklers while ruling out many common problems. After auditing your sprinklers, you will be able to pinpoint where the trouble sprinklers are and fix them. Often sprinklers need a filter cleaned, to get raised back to surface level, have the pattern adjusted, or just to be replaced completely.
Mower Height
Raising your mowing height can make a huge difference in your lawn’s performance, and it will conserve water. Raising your mower to 4 or 5 inches will shade the soil reducing water loss to evaporation.
Water properly
Once you have resolved potential sprinkler issues, it’s time to water properly. Watering longer less often will saturate the soil, encouraging deeper root growth. When the grassroots grow deeper, they are better equipped to fight off disease, recover from bug damage, and crowd out weeds in your lawn. Using your Dr. Jim Z Water Audit Kit, run your sprinklers zone by zone to determine how long it takes to fill the cup to the one-inch line. Divide that time by three, and you know how long you should water each section, three times a week, to get to a total of one inch.
Use Zamzows Huma Green
Zamzows Huma Green is a lawn amendment like no other. Not only will it keep your lawn green without forcing excessive growth. Its tremendous water-holding properties conserve water! You can apply Zamzows Huma Green multiple times a year to continue improving the soil and reducing your water bill.
Mulch Your Beds
Adding mulch to your flower beds and around your vegetable garden is a great way to suppress weeds and conserve moisture. There are many types of mulch you can use. In the garden, use your grass clippings or alfalfa hay around your plants. Not only will this suppress weeds, shade the soil, and hold more water in the soil. It also keeps your feet from getting muddy when you work on your plants. In the flower beds, adding bark mulch will decorate the beds and make them look nice, along with conserving moisture.
Use a Soaker Hose
Soaker and drip hoses are efficient ways to water your flower beds and vegetable garden. By applying the water as close to the roots as possible less water is lost to evaporation. You will also prevent water from getting applied to areas where it is not needed.
Zamzows Pena-Turf
You may be watering perfectly. However, hard spots in the soil prevent the water from saturating the soil. Zamzows Pena-Turf works like liquid gypsum to condition the soil. If you’ve got hard spots in the soil where the water you apply won’t soak in, or you have areas that are puddling. An application of Zamzows Pena-Turf will loosen up the soil so the water gets to the roots where it needs to be.
If you run into a problem in your lawn, and you cannot figure it out. Cut out a one-foot by one-foot sample of your lawn where the good and bad grass comes together. Be sure to get some of the soil as well, and bring it into your local Zamzows. We will take a look at it for you, help you set up a recovery plan, and you'll be able to put the sample back into the lawn. You can also fill out the email form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible.