Finally, Some Rain—But Is It Enough?

Last Friday and Saturday we finally received some rain after a very long drought. Unfortunately, it’s still not enough, but it’s a good start—and really the perfect type of rain, an all day slow rain that can soak into the ground.

On Saturday evening I went out into my yard and did the wet soil test to see how much of a soaking we really received, since I don’t have a rain gauge.

I used a narrow shovel and selected various locations in my yard, especially the areas that tend to be really dry. I dug down approximately three to four inches to see how deep the soil is wet and mine was very wet as far down as four inches, maybe deeper, but I only checked to the four inch level.

On Sunday afternoon after a full day of sunshine I checked again, digging down about four inches and the soil was still wet but not as wet as the previous day.

How can you tell if it's wet enough? Take a small amount of soil into your hand and squeeze it into a ball to see if it will stay together. If it does, it’s still wet enough for roots to pull moisture out.

Soaking the soil down to at least three to four inches after a watering is exactly what a lawn irrigation system should be doing. After your irrigation system runs, take a wet soil test at various places in your lawn. If the ground is wet only to one inch, then run the sprinklers at least twice as long (and better if it’s three times longer) then immediately take the wet soil test again. Do the test again the next day. Don’t water again until the soil is dry and use the new corrected amount of time to water. If you are still unsure, do the wet soil test again.

Once a blade of grass turns brown, it won’t become green again—that leaf blade is dead. But it’s early enough that we might see some new growth coming up from the roots if they managed to stay alive through the drought.

Now is a good time to begin over seeding your lawn. Rake out the dead grass, rough up the soil with a hard metal rake, throw down some compost and then spread the seed. Keep the seed wet to germinate.

A Case in Point

Last week I was speaking to a friend who said while she was out of town for two weeks in July, her irrigation sprinkler system failed. This is the perfect case for why too often lawns that become completely dependant on irrigation several times a week are unprepared for a failure.

I explained to her that if she had set up her irrigation to water less frequently but for longer periods each time her grass might have survived the system failure. When roots are forced to grow deeper into the soil to search for water they adapt better to dry periods. Think of it like this: When you have a baby, he is completely dependant upon you for his survival, just like a seed of grass. When that baby becomes a child, you begin teaching it how to take care of itself, by learning to dress, brush their teeth, read, and write. As that child becomes an adult you’ve taught him to drive a car, get a job, pay bills all in the hopes that this person will be independent from you and become a responsible adult that can take care of himself.

This is what you are doing when you allow the grass to fend for itself. You have given it everything it needs to grow independent of you with good organic filled soil, natural compost and the occasional deep watering. By watering it for a few minutes every three days, it doesn’t need to grow deeper roots to find its own food and water, it depends completely on you to supply those necessary things. So if your irrigation system should fail when you are on vacation, the grass will die. It would be as if your child never learned to become independent. He would never leave home. And why should he? You do everything for him.

So hopefully you have done everything you can for your lawn and now it’s up to the lawn to become independent of you.

If you are interested in gardening, learning about gardening or joining a garden club, stop by the Community Association Clubhouse, the second Monday morning of each month and sit in on a meeting of the Jardin du Lac Garden Club.  Meetings start at 9:30 a.m.

If you have a beautifully landscaped yard or have unique garden ornaments that you are proud of and would like to see featured on Patch.com, or have any gardening questions, contact Peggy at Bahrmasel@msn.com.