Summer is a beautiful time of the year but it’s an incredibly tough season for your lawn. From sunny weather drying out the blades to increased foot traffic stamping your grass down more than usual, it has to withstand a lot of wear and tear.
Now fall is only around the corner (somehow!), it’s a good time to begin thinking about how to assist your grass in its recovery. Not only will this help your lawn to look better, but it’ll help it survive the cooling temperatures as the end of the year rolls in.
I asked an assortment of lawn and soil experts for their top product recommendations for fixing frazzled grass so you have an easy go-to guide to get the job done. Rest assured your grass will more than likely be able to U-turn with ease.
The Most Common Reasons for Frazzled Grass in Summer
These are the most common reasons grass suffers in the summer. It’s important to consider which of these may apply to your lawn so you know what problems you’re trying to remedy:
- Drought stress and/or underwatering
- Heat stress
- Diseases from increased humidity levels
- Over-mowing
- Soil compaction from increased foot traffic
- Lack of airflow
- More pests
Product Recommendations From the Pros
Angelika Zaber, a lawn care specialist and gardening specialist at Online Turf chatted to me about the importance of aerating a lawn after heavy foot traffic and recommended the Spear & Jackson Digging Fork for the job.
She explained: “The increased foot traffic that summer brings can cause soil compaction, making it harder for grass to get the oxygen, water, and nutrients that it needs. Hard ground can also create a physical barrier for the roots, blocking them from spreading.”
This product works to loosen up soil by being repeatedly stabbed into your lawn’s soil, helping your frazzled grass to better be able to breathe.
The Spear & Jackson Digging Fork is a great buy too for its versatility. When it’s not needed for aerating you can also use it for turning over soil or breaking up compacted ground.
If your grass is incredibly frazzled, Angelika recommends opting for a plug lawn aerator like this Ergonomic Core Aerator Tool as an alternative to a classic model that simply pushes into the soil.
This tool makes larger holes in the soil by removing plugs of soil, allowing water and nutrients to better penetrate the soil and reach the roots of your frazzled grass.
Angelika elaborated: “Plug aeration uses hollow tubes to remove small plugs of soil. These can then be left on the lawn to break down and act as a natural fertilizer, giving your lawn a little nutrient boost.
“Because the holes created are bigger, it allows water, oxygen, and nutrients reach deeper into the ground. This method is best for heavily compacted soil.”
Summer sun and heat dry out your yard’s soil fast, resulting in browning or yellowing grass. Using a soil moisture meter like the Dr.meter model will help you to be able to gauge when your grass could use a good drink.
As Angelika notes: “Hot temperatures and longer days also mean that water is evaporating much quicker from the soil, causing your lawn to dry out more easily. Some of the signs that your lawn is struggling include grass turning yellow or brown, slow growth, and feeling dry and brittle underfoot.”
It’s best to place your moisture meter somewhere central if your yard isn’t shaded, or to purchase two so one can be placed in the sun and another in the shade if your yard receives differing levels of sunlight.
Frazzled grass needs to be remedied from the source: the soil it’s in. Therefore a quality lawn fertilizer will do just the trick when it comes to revamping your grass and its lease of life, making it grow back more lush as well as stronger to fend itself from diseases and pests.
As Ramy Colfer Ph.D, Vice President of Research & Development and Agronomy at True Organic Products, Inc., explains: “The healthiest lawns aren’t created by forcing rapid green growth, they’re built by improving the soil. Organic lawn fertilizers feed the biology beneath your feet, helping develop stronger roots, better drought tolerance, and healthier turf that naturally performs better throughout the season.”
The Scott’s Turf Sun and Shade Mix is a great option if you’re looking to fertilize and overseed your lawn at the same time, as the bag contains a mixture of nutrient-rich fertilizer and grass seed.
Though Ramy swears by the True Organic Lawn food in Liquid Form and Granular Form for de-frazzling your grass. Both are designed to nourish the soil while providing balanced nutrition for thicker, greener, more resilient lawns.
A common reason why grass becomes frazzled in the summer is because it’s mowed all the time. As a result, the roots of the grass become more shallow, pulled up closer to the surface of the soil from repeated exposure to lawn mower blades.
Ramy also adds: “”Scalping” the lawn is one of the fastest ways to stress turf during summer. Short grass exposes the soil to more sunlight, causing moisture to evaporate faster while allowing weeds to gain a foothold.”
Using a grass gauge like this one from Amazon can help to hold you accountable before you decide it’s time to give the grass another chop. Simply insert it somewhere into your yard’s soil and the gauge will tell you when your grass is getting on the longer side.
