Dry Season Lawn Care Tips

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Melissa - North Queensland Lawns

Up here in tropical north Queensland, the dry season runs from May to October. Spanning such a long period of the lawn it’s important to understand how to care for your lawn during this time. 

Harden Park Lawns has put together their top tips for lawn care during the dry season:

1. Always use sharp mower blades – blunt blades will shred rather than cut the grass plants and shredded leaves will promote disease and increase water losses.
2. Mow only as required and never removing more than one-third of the lawn plants. Every time you mow the lawn will suffer a loss of moisture so best to limit this loss.
3. Mow as high as possible to maximise soil shading and to promote a deep root system to better suffer the dry conditions.
4. Leave the grass clippings on the lawn but ensure they are small in size and break up any clumps to let the sunlight reach the plants below.
5. Engage in a sensible watering program – deeper and less frequent watering is best and water as early as possible in the morning to limit evaporation as well as eliminating possible issues from grass left too wet for too long.
6. Reduce traffic that can lead to soil compaction – this is particularly important when the temperature rises. Keep the traffic to a minimal during the heat of the day.
7. Avoid using weed killers when it’s really hot as this will just cause additional stress to the lawn.
8. Reduce the use of nitrogen fertilisers during the dry season as this will overly promote the leaf growth at the expense of root activity.
9. Reduce the thatch and any soil compaction in the lead up to the dry season – thatch will act like a sponge, absorbing water before it reaches the root system, and soil compaction will increase water run-off at a cost to the deep saturation you lawn requires.

Harden Park Lawns is a local turf supplier, experienced in growing turf to perfectly suit the tropical climate of North Queensland. Contact us today to learn more.