What WE ALL WILL BE noticing:

  • Next week is brutal Heat
  • Heat Tacking
    • THIS IS A HOT WEATHER CONDITION AND NOT CHEMICAL
    • This happens when the grass is so hot that ANY traffic over it bursts the cells and kills the leaf blade
      • It is most commonly done by mowing companies coming on their regular afternoon schedule or homeowners mowing when the get home from work.
    • This is very temporary – the grass is not dead; just the blade.
      • It is most likely to occur on the driest areas. South facing hills, full sun, etc.
    • This can be avoided staying off the lawn when temperatures are over 88*. When temperatures are over 88* DO NOT:
      • Mow the lawn
      • Walk on the lawn
      • Let the Amazon driver drop a wheel off the driveway onto the lawn
    • More info on Heat Tracking from MIchigan State
  • Diseases
    • One we’ve already seen a lot of and will see more of is “Brown Patch”.
      • The “give-away” for this disease is the brown color. This one is often confused with a chemical burn as well but chemical burns are yellow/orange in color as well as a pretty logical geometric shape. Brown patch is a biologic shape and… brown.
      • We haven’t seen much of it this year but this week will likely unleash it! It is most common with infrequent mowing… like from a drought
      • Orange on shoes and wheels – non damaging. Annoying.
    • Maybe Red Thread but that’s more associated with Spring and Fall moisture
    • Ascochyta Leaf Blight
      • This is one is wild! It looks the most horrible but is very temporary and lawns come back fine with cooler temps and improved watering practices
      • DO NOT water between 4pm and 2am if you are seeing this
      • It happens to drought stressed turf in heat – like this week
      • Core aeration is recommended to manage thatch
      • More about Ascochyta from Iowa State University
  • If your lawn is going into the heat next week already dormant and without much planned for water; this could be the final nail in the coffin. We’ve been doing our best to warn ya 😬. WATER!!!
  • We did notice some rain and while dramatic (for this year especially) it wasn’t much and drought conditions actually worsened since the last email sent.
    • 100% of Hennepin County is now in Severe Drought status
  • Last time we sent an email we got a bit of rain so here’s hoping for that!! 😆😭

What we’re GOING TO BE doing:

  1. We’ll be doing regular lawn fertilizing and weed control
  2. We will be watching the temperature like a hawk to avoid heat tracking (see What We ALL WILL BE noticing section
    1. Up until last year; we never saw heat tracking below 90*. We would always shut down at 88*. The dry conditions last year made lawns so fragile that we saw heat tracking under 90*. We’re obviously pretty darn dry again this year.
    2. Our products DO NOT BURN with heat!
      1. The granular fertilizer doesn’t do anything without moisture; it sits and waits
      2. The weed control becomes ineffective because weeds shut down and go temporarily dormant at 88*. They close their pores and don’t take in our product so our application is pointless. This used to be the reason why we shut down at 88*. Now it’s combined with the super dry weather and risk of heat tracking.
    3. There’s going to be a lot of skipping and rescheduling because we don’t know exactly what time we’ll hit 88*. We’re sorry. Believe us that it’s very inconvenient for us manage this with our heads up system so we understand any frustration. Please bear with us.

What you can be doing:

  1. DON’T MOW this weekend or next week unless you’re insanely irrigated!
    1. DO NOT MOW or let your company mow after temps are over 88* (this might be 11am!) – see “heat tracking” in the What WE ALL WILL BE noticing section
  2. Please bear with us on skips/and weather shutdowns next week
  3. Water
    1. How; down in the “What to do (lawns +)” section
    2. If you can’t water correctly; expect disease that will go away when the heat does (see What WE WILL BE noticing section)