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Home > Archive > Apr 3, 2008

Training for a Water Efficient Turf
By Southern Utah Focus
A lot can be said for a turf in its best physical health. A turf of this type can tolerate the extreme stress test of a Southern Utah summer. And did you know a healthy lawn is a water efficient lawn? Here are some benefits of training your lawn (and perhaps you) to achieve a water efficient turf. The rewards are many; for you, the grass, and the environment. They include:

• reduced water demand
• reduced non-point source pollution
• reduced need for chemicals
• reduced air pollution emissions
• reduced green waste

And these are just the environmental benefits. You also benefit from less work. Think about it, the real objective of your landscape is look sharp and create a nice place to be. Yet, most of us maximize the growth of our landscape as if we needed to harvest it. Maximizing the growth means more work. It means more time spent mowing, watering, fertilizing and weeding. By training your turf to be water efficient, you cut down on the time you spend maintaining your landscaping.
And last but not least, your turf benefits from the training because it will be healthy. A trained lawn will have deep roots to get the deeper moisture and ward off environmental stresses, such as pests, weeds, traffic and weather.
So how do you train a landscape to be water efficient? Developing some of these cultural practices will ensure your turf is on its way to being physically fit.
Aerate
Aerating the soil does several things: it returns oxygen to soil layers; it improves water movement; and it allows better root penetration. A core aerator is the most effective in achieving these benefits. This aerator punches many holes into the sod, pulls out small cores of soil, and deposits them on top. The cores on top will later mix back into the sod and aids in building up the soil, so don’t remove them. When aerating, make sure to pass an area three times (North to South, East to West and diagonally). Aeration can be in the spring and/or the fall.
If you are a do-it-yourself person, call around and see about renting an aerator. One local company quoted a price of $20 for a half-day rental. Or split the cost with a neighbor and easily get two yards done in a half-day. There are also many landscape companies out there that could do it for you.
Fertilize
Fertilization in the spring is best accomplished when soil temperatures have warmed enough to promote root growth, but the air temperature is still cool enough to inhibit blade growth. If you apply fertilizer too early, the grass blades rob the roots of the nutrients. Apply no more than one pound of actual nitrogen (ammonium sulfate) in each application per 1,000 square feet. And don’t forget to water it in.
Water deep; less frequent
Believe it or not, turf doesn’t like saturated soil conditions. Their roots need air to survive. When water is constantly applied to turf it creates a condition where the roots start looking for air and end up grow on the surface to find it. This condition is called thatch. Thatch in turf is impossible to keep alive without constantly pouring water on it daily. You can train your lawn to grow deep roots by watering your turf deep and letting the soil dry out on the top before you water again
Following these few guidelines will start your turf on the road to health. The turf will resist pests, weeds and has a high tolerance to other environmental stresses. A turf that can tolerate stress means a stress-free season for you.
For more information about conserving water and keeping your lawn beautiful, visit the Utah State University Extension Web site, www.dixiegardener.org, or the Washington County Water Conservancy District Web site, wcwcd.state.ut.us.

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