What we’re noticing:

  • RECORD SETTING dry conditions (see below for how dry)
  • Hot weather weeds which we normally see taking advantage of stressed turf at the end of August or Early September are thriving now. Most evident on hot edges where pavement meets the lawn.

What we’re doing:

  1. We made a fertilizer pivot for this next round of application due to the stressed dry lawns:
    • 28-0-3 50% slow release and TOP CUT. What is “TOP CUT”?
    • Top Cut® is an organic, nutrient-rich, nitrogen fertilizer source produced from biosolids. The addition of Top Cut replenishes the organic matter and also improves soil structure by increasing the soil’s ability to absorb and store moisture. Combining Top Cut with other fertilizer components complements the agronomic benefits of natural fertilizers.Top Cut is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, two primary nutrients essential for turf growth, and also contains micronutrients such as calcium, sulfur, iron and humic acid. Because the nutrients are released as the plant needs it, they are less likely to leach into waterways, which is better for the environment. The slow release feeding also provides more uniform growth, a more established root system and thicker, healthier turf.
    • There is no change in pricing for any of our clients due to this

2. We’re doing our 3rd of 5 rounds of mosquito applications this week.

What you can be doing:

  1. Water (see below for a refresher)
  2. Let us know if there’s weeds in your lawn that you believe you shouldn’t be seeing. This is a record setting summer which we shouldn’t be seeing and we need to work in collaboration with you for results. We can likely just bump up your next visit on our schedule 👍
    • You’re on your property every day and we may only see it once every 6 weeks. We rely on you to keep us up to date for anything out of the ordinary. Especially with the record setting year we’re in.
    • A great lawn takes all three inputs as seen below. A good lawn only requires two. We know mother nature is out so far this year. We’re doing everything we can and we need to work with you for success.

3. Start planning for Fall seeding. It’s technically Late Summer but “Fall” is an easier concept when comparing to Spring seeding. The ideal time starts around the 2nd week of August. Whether you are doing some yourself or are hiring us. Let us know ASAP so we can plan/work our lawn care schedule around maximizing the seed’s success. We’ll send out signup emails in a week or so to utilize our renovation services. See below for how they work together (I’m on a bit of a Venn Diagram kick 😄)

Where we are so far in the season and compared to others

We are gunning for all the low records

2022 was dry; Lake Minnetonka was down feet!.. We’re down 40% on last year. Lake Minnetonka is still benefiting from 2X normal snowfall but your frozen and dormant lawns didn’t get any of that.

We’re drier than the driest year ever recorded (back to 1871) and within 7% of rainfall for the driest May-July conditions ever (1988)

We’re about 8″ below average which is 70% less than average. A normal year should be within 10% of average and a drier year is within ~20%. We’re 70% below.

70% of Hennepin County is in Severe Drought with the remainder in Moderate Drought (source, source). This didn’t happen until into August Last year and we had 2X more snowfall going into this year.

What to do (lawns +)

  1. Mow correctly — (which might mean don’t mow at all if the lawn doesn’t need it)
    • Absolute highest setting your mower goes to. PERIOD
    • Take our Learn and Earn for more mowing tips and to earn a $10 credit
  2. Water correctly — (IT IS WAY TOO EARLY IN THE SEASON TO LET YOUR LAWN GO DORMANT – there’s too much hot dry summer left)
    • A dormant lawn can survive for about a month but still needs 0.25″ of water per week to stay alive. Less than this will mean dead grass. When a patient is in a coma, doctors don’t stop providing fluids.
    • Grass will need 1.5″+ water per week to come out of dormancy.
    • Turf with majority sun exposure will need 1″ of water per week to maintain health
    • Watering after 4PM causes disease but if that’s the only time you can do it; that’s when you need to do it. Disease isn’t terminal but dying of thirst is.
    • Watering one area more than 0.2″ (~20 min on a sprinkler system) at a time without break causes saturation and runoff. Run a cycle for 0.2″ then do the other areas/zones and come back for another cycle. Repeat (in a row, daily, etc.) for your lawn’s weekly need.
    • Each sprinkler and system is different so audit the time it takes to get 0.2″ in a cup for your specific setup. That’s your run time.
    • Take our Learn and Earn for more watering tips and to earn a $10 credit
  3. THERE IS NO AMOUNT OR TYPE OF “FOOD” (FERTILIZER) THAT PROLAWNS CAN APPLY THAT CHANGES THE FACT THAT WHEN IN THE DESERT; WATER IS WHAT’S NEEDED
    • Our special products will help but we’re talking up to 50% longer survival. Not guaranteed green.
  4. Your trees will suffer soon if they aren’t already. Watch for dropping leaves. Tree root zones need very deep, slow, soaking water.