# Summer dormancy - how do you manage it in your lawn?



## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

For those who do the Summer dormancy thing, how do you manage your lawn during this time?
How green does it stay or how brown does it get? How well does it recover? 
What do you attribute successes/failures to? 
And what grass type(s) do you have? 
Photos are always great!


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## troksd (Jul 27, 2018)

Rarely cut the grass. I almost never apply any herbicide. I apply Humic acid + Yucca extract once a month. Apply N-ext's 0-0-2 (or FAS or similar product) twice during the summer. I hand water areas near the street / concrete that show extreme heat stress.


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## BXMurphy (Aug 5, 2017)

Green said:


> For those who do the Summer dormancy thing, how do you manage your lawn during this time?


Wow. That's a bold question on this here forum. 

Actually, good question.

I have a 90 year-old lawn being nursed back to health over the past couple of years with an eye towards a renovation. I stress it out to see what it does. I water almost to the point of dormancy.

What's happening on my lawn is there's a hodge-podge of different grasses (and grassy weeds) that all respond differently to the _same_ management practices. It is interesting to watch what thrives and what dies over the course of a season.

I tend to *hold the management steady according to my time and budget* and sift and sort out what will fail from what will succeed.

I like this approach. It is bulletproof.

Murph


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## quattljl (Aug 8, 2018)

I'm very interested to hear some responses and see some pics. I'm in the transition zone technically, but our temperatures are very warm. I chose TTTF due to all the shade in my yard, but I feel like I'm getting decimated by disease and/or dormancy with all the heat and humidity. I'm starting to wish I had chosen a shade tolerant warm season grass instead of fescue.


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## tneicna (May 6, 2019)

I use wetting agents like TR to keep the soil somewhat mobile when it comes to water, and High Dosages of Humic Acid / Kelp / Melatonin. Lawn looks decent right now with some dry spots - but those are from issues /in/ the soil, some rocks left over from the building of my home.


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## Miggity (Apr 25, 2018)

I have clay soil and enough bare spots from killing poa triv to see the soil. I realized this year that the soil is telling me it is too dry before the grass does. When my clay dries out it cracks along the surface. I start watering when the cracks become 1/4 inch wide and I water HEAVY for two days in a row using creek water and a portable electric pump until the cracks close back up. I've considered brushing soluble humic acid into the cracks to get it deep into the soil where needed but have not tested it out to see if it is beneficial as of yet. In other words, I avoid dormancy by using a lot of creek water and whatever microbiology and nutrients that water may carry.


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## troksd (Jul 27, 2018)

Worst looking parts of the lawn,.











quattljl said:


> I'm very interested to hear some responses and see some pics. I'm in the transition zone technically, but our temperatures are very warm. I chose TTTF due to all the shade in my yard, but I feel like I'm getting decimated by disease and/or dormancy with all the heat and humidity. I'm starting to wish I had chosen a shade tolerant warm season grass instead of fescue.


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## jingobah (May 6, 2019)

@troksd 
That really doesn't look that bad to me, my grass looks more burnt & crispier lol. Does anyone do any raking in the summer?
Is it best to just leave the brown grass, keep watering until temps drop? Maybe wait till fall to see what recovers & then do a light raking to see if seed is needed?


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## kds (Apr 28, 2017)

I do not irrigate and I have a mutt lawn but I have been overseeding with TTTF. I do not irrigate. I haven't done as much with the lawn as I should have... at least Milorganite at bag rate at Memorial Day, July 4, and Labor Day.

I can tell when things are starting to dry when my yard gets more of a steely-blue tinge...

This year though my first sign was inconsistent color in the front. The established grass (in the center of the yard) gets lighter while the areas where my Marvel TTTF has been able to really take hold (seems to be anywhere the more established grass isn't) stays a dark green.

This is Saturday:










Here are some historical photos for comparison...

This was August 12, 2018. My Marvel TTTF is the dark stuff. You can see the neighbors around me and how poorly their lawns are faring.










September 11, 2017, just a little over a year after I moved in.










The back yard looks especially beat up after the summer, but I also have two dogs. I know in the fall I'm always discouraged because the yard looks like garbage but for the past two years it's really blown me away how much comes back, even where I thought it was just going to be bare dirt. I overseed in the fall in the front usually, but I haven't overseeded the back for a couple of years and it always comes back strong in the spring. This is definitely the best spring my yards have had since I moved here in 2016, and the latest they've stayed green and lush.


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## troksd (Jul 27, 2018)

I watered for 7 hours today - 5:30am - 12:55pm. I got down 0.85 - 1.10 inches of water using a rotary Orbit. I use the blower to lift the grass.



jingobah said:


> @troksd
> That really doesn't look that bad to me, my grass looks more burnt & crispier lol. Does anyone do any raking in the summer?
> Is it best to just leave the brown grass, keep watering until temps drop? Maybe wait till fall to see what recovers & then do a light raking to see if seed is needed?


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## damntransitionzone (Jun 18, 2019)

its going to be 100* here later in the week. Haven't cut in at least 10 days. Fighting brown spot with Bioadvance and Disease-Ex.

Trying to get the front yard where I want it so spot spraying weeds and crabgrass. Don't care too much about the backyard because my deck & patio project will make a mess back there.


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

7/14 @ 0.8125"



Taking it down another 1/8" tonight to 0.6875". Temps the last 2 weeks have been mid 80's to low 90's with more humidity than I would like, although it has subsided the last few days. We have had a total of 0.4" of rain this month in Mississauga.


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## Ecubed (Apr 26, 2018)

Harts said:


> 7/14 @ 0.8125"
> 
> 
> 
> Taking it down another 1/8" tonight to 0.6875". Temps the last 2 weeks have been mid 80's to low 90's with more humidity than I would like, although it has subsided the last few days. We have had a total of 0.4" of rain this month in Mississauga.


Well what's the secret sauce, that's better than my TTTF at 4 inches
You must have irrigation 👍


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

@Ecubed I do not have irrigation. I use 2 orbit gear drive sprinklers linked together that I lug out the night before and set up on a timer.

No secret sauce. Just hard work and knowing what my lawn needs and when.


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## Ecubed (Apr 26, 2018)

Harts said:


> @Ecubed I do not have irrigation. I use 2 orbit gear drive sprinklers linked together that I lug out the night before and set up on a timer.
> 
> No secret sauce. Just hard work and knowing what my lawn needs and when.


Well it looks beautiful. I skimmed your lawn journal, you use PGR? In your opinion, does it help with the heat stress?


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## Harts (May 14, 2018)

I haven't had a chance to get PGR down yet. A) it just arrived last week and B) I have a fungus that I am dealing with and need to grow out first.


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