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News

Summer Lawn Stress

Summertime means picnics, fishing, sunbathing and playing in your yard. However, the heat and humidity of summer puts your lawn under tremendous stress conditions. Disease, insects, foot traffic, and drought all lead to thinner, weaker plants. The effects of summer have an important physiological impact on your lawn and plants as well, primarily in reduced root productions and carbohydrate reserves. Thus fertilizing is extremely important for the lawn’s recovery from summer stress.

Food for Thought


Fertilizers are added to soil to replace nutrients plants have used. Fast-release nitrogen fertilizer is quickly available to the plant. However, too much fast-release nitrogen can stress plants, especially during hot summer months. It can also cause plants to grow very rapidly, which encourages disease and insect damage. Plants that are not forced resist these damages.

Golf course superintendents use a fertilizer that is gentle to their grass. This often means that they use a slow-release organic nitrogen fertilizer. These fertilizers release nitrogen into the soil only as grass uses it. According to Dr. George Snyder, Professor Emeritus of the University of Florida, “using a slow release organic nitrogen fertilizer such as Milorganite® 6-2-0 allows lawns to grow to their potential. Even in Florida, Milorganite products do not stress lawns during hot summer months.”

In addition, studies conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison show that fertilizers with high slow-release nitrogen content do not add to groundwater pollution and nitrogen runoff into lakes and streams. Organic fertilizers will not dissipate into the air as many synthetic fertilizers do.

Midsummer fertilization with Milorganite can help improve your lawn and prepare it for a quicker, more complete recovery in fall. Watering in Milorganite will ensure that the fertilizer achieves soil contact earlier and will speed up the fertilizing process, but it is not necessary. It is also great during the summer as a starter fertilizer for seeding and sodding.

Say No to Lawn Burn


One way to lessen the stress on your lawn during the hot summer months is by using fertilizers that contain little or no salts. Fertilizers high in soluble salt, like many synthetics, can cause problems in “burning” the plant. This occurs when the soil moisture that is available goes to the fertilizer salts rather than plant roots. Milorganite, having virtually no salt content, does not “rob” plant roots of scarce water. The low salt index ensures no burn, even when applied in the summer.

Green with Envy


Iron is a critical part of greening your lawn. This element is a component of the chlorophyll in your grass leaves. Chlorophyll is what converts sunlight into energy to make plants grow. It also gives your lawn its green color. Grass leaves take in iron, creating and maintaining a deep green color during the hot weather. Iron does not cause a lot of top growth like fast-release nitrogen. This is especially important in summer when lawns are actively growing, since water use is in direct correlation with the amount of top growth produced. If you can green your lawn without creating top growth, it will end up needing less water.

Milorganite contains 4% iron. Fertilizing your lawn with Milorganite will give you the color you desire without excessive growth. Since it is organic, it will not stain concrete around your lawn, like your drives, patios, or sidewalks.

Quenching That Thirst


Watering the right way less often will result in a greener lawn. Deep watering helps roots grow further into the soil, allowing them to take up more nutrients and water during times of stress. Frequent shallow watering keeps grass roots near the surface. When hot weather comes, they are more likely to go dormant, giving your lawn a straw color.

Lawns by Region


Northern lawns, which include bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, slow down in hot weather, because they do not take in enough water to make up for what they lose. In extreme cases, they turn brown until fall rains come. Deep infrequent watering, along with slow-release nitrogen fertilizer, will aid this problem.

Lawns in the central United States, consisting primarily of zoysia and tall fescue, are more tolerant of hot weather. As a result, they continue to grow throughout the summer and use nutrients. These lawns can easily run out of fertilizer. Summer fertilizers used in this region must be available when lawns demand them – without stressing plants. However, if you are concerned about fescue diseases, such as summer patch, it is best to wait for cooler fall weather to fertilize.

Southern lawns are comprised of Bermuda grass, St. Augustine grass, centipede grass and other similar types. These grasses grow at a steady pace in hot weather. Southern lawns quickly use up fertilizer during the summer. Replenishing nutrients is essential to keep these lawns healthy, especially if kids and pets are using and abusing them. The low nitrogen, high iron, and slow release features of Milorganite are perfect for feeding centipede grass.

Increase Oxygen


Oxygen is essential to life. By maintaining a healthy, vigorous lawn, you encourage production of this essential element. Plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen as a by-product of photosynthesis. Scientists have calculated that 625 square feet of lawn produces enough oxygen for one person. You can keep this oxygen generator going by fertilizing with gentle, slow-release organic nitrogen Milorganite.

Control Dust


When wind blows across a yard, it carries dust. In the summer, lawns are actively growing, and the grass leaves help remove this dust from the air. Also, vigorously developing lawns do not have bare spots that can create dust. This helps clean the air.

Cool Your House


Each day for an average house, the front lawn provides nearly ten tons of air conditioning. This is at virtually no cost to the homeowner. A healthy lawn absorbs heat instead of reflecting it back into your house. It also transpires moisture, which gives the area a cooler feel. Studies have shown that the additional temperature stress on trees on a blacktop lot vs. a grassed area can be as much as forty degrees.

Results Count


You do not need to sacrifice a nice yard to be environmentally safe. By creating a self-sustaining ecosystem in your yard, you encourage kids to play, cost-effectively create a healthy atmosphere, and increase the value of your property.

The key ingredient to creating a healthy, green lawn where you can enjoy all of your summer activities is Milorganite natural organic fertilizer.
Milorganite   ~   260 W. Seeboth Street, Milwaukee, WI 53204   ~   (800) 304-6204

info@milorganite.com

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