Is your lawn looking like a swamp all of a sudden?
Heavy amounts of rain can cause grass to be drowned into air pockets of soil, cutting off oxygen. Constant dampness promotes disease, fungus and lichens, while flooding can seep away nutrients necessary for healthy growth. Below are our tips for what you should do to your lawn before, during, and after a heavy dosage of rain.
Evaluate Your Lawn
Before the bad weather shows up analyze what your lawn looks like. Do you notice patches of dead grass? Are there often spots of standing water after rainfall? Does it take days to dry out regular rain? You most likely have a drainage issue that should be fixed immediately.
Shut Off Your Sprinklers
Make sure your sprinklers aren’t on when heavy rain is falling, no need to add more water when rain is already coming down. You should consider installing a rain sensor on your automatic sprinklers to make it easy for when rain arrives. Your lawn only needs about an inch of rain each week to stay healthy.
Sitting Silt
If your lawn has accumulated less than one inch of silt it’ll probably recover without too much effort. More than one inch of silt should be removed with a good stream of water along with removing any debris in the way.
Rake Away
If there is little silt you should rake or aerate your lawn to allow the grass to breathe. While your at it you should fertilize to replace nutrients allowing your lawn to continue growing.
If Worst Comes to Worst
If your lawn looks like a lost cause you should start fresh with a new, proper draining system along with a trusted grass seed. You should do this to avoid additional loss of soil in any more upcoming bad weather.
Use these tips, along with some consistent sunshine to get your lawn back the way you want it. Your grass needs to be growing, not swimming.