It hasn't rained for a long time, you've been away for a few days - and you notice that your lawn is completely dry. What can you do now and how can you prevent the future?
What to do if the lawn is dry?
If your lawn is dry, water it enough so that the 15 cm deep roots can absorb water. Water early in the morning, at night or in the evening and do not cut the grass too short. Lawn sprinklers and mulching mow help prevent drying out.
Signs of a dry lawn
If the lawn looks brown and dried out, it's almost too late. The actual drying out started much earlier.
You can tell that the lawn is too dry by the following features:
- Grass tips curl up
- Grass turns bluish
- Footsteps on the grass are visible for a long time
Don't water the lawn every day, but water it enough
If you don't provide your lawn with moisture in a timely manner, it will take a very long time until it forms a dense green carpet again. The drying out also creates gaps in which weeds immediately spread.
Daily blasting with little water is unfavorable because the water then does not penetrate deep enough. It is better to pour enough water so that the roots, which can reach up to 15 centimeters, can absorb enough liquid.
For large lawns, it is worth installing a lawn sprinkler (€19.00 on Amazon), such as from Gardena, which uses sensors to detect when the lawn needs to be watered.
The lawn is brown even though you watered
In midsummer it can also happen that the lawn looks completely brown and dried out even though you have watered it. You may have watered at the wrong time.
In the hot summer sun, the water droplets on the grass act like a magnifying glass and burn the leaves.
You should therefore only water in the early morning hours, at night or – if there is no other option – in the evening.
Don’t cut the grass too short or mow it for mulch
Don't cut the lawn too short in summer. Longer grass leaves do not dry out as quickly as very short ones. An alternative is so-called mulching mowing. You simply leave the cut grass lying on the lawn to protect it from drying out. But make sure that the grass residue is only a few millimeters long. You may have to start the lawn mower more often.
Tips & Tricks
Dry spots in the lawn can be easily repaired with rolled turf. The pre-pulled lawn can be cut to fit precisely and closes the gaps.