Can your brown lawn recover from Pittsburgh's rainless spell? This grass expert says don't water now.
With the prospects of rain in the Pittsburgh area looking pretty bleak for the foreseeable future, is there anything you can do to keep your grass healthy?
While you might be enjoying not having to mow your yard, the browning of the grass is not very attractive. However, that sea of brown does not mean that all is lost.
"Once it gets a little bit of water, it's going to jump back," said Jeff Fowler, a turf expert with Tip Top Turf Solutions. "We're going to have some spots that don't come back."
Good grass weather is coming
Fowler also said that the good news for your lawn is the calendar. With temperatures cooling down, we head back into a season where grass typically grows very well, he explained.
So, Fowler said, we just have to wait. Right now, don't waste your water. "It just is not going to be enough to kick it back into gear," he said. "We really need the cooler temperatures and the combination of some rainfall."
Lawn tips this for this fall
Once the rain comes, Fowler advised aerating your grass, top dressing it, and overseeding. But he stressed waiting for the rain is crucial.
"You're going to have a hard time getting penetration with the equipment that you're going to rent or that you have around the house to aerate," he explained.
Another important tip - don't forget to fertilize before Thanksgiving. The fall fertilizing is the most important of the year. Get the over seeding down, the fertilizer, and it will germinate, grow, and be ready to pop out in the spring.
Just don't waste your water or your money now.