How do i keep my grass alive?
Question:We're in a pretty extensive drought and I have two dogs in my fenced in back yard. How do I keep from getting dirt patches where they walk and lay everyday? Watering bans have been implemented due to the drought, but while providing fresh water daily, I'll take time to atleast water the entire back yard, not soak it, just wet it.
Answers:
If this is a recurrent problem, and keeping the changing climate & weather in mind, maybe you could consider making their favourite running paths into actual garden paths - just make it part of your garden landscaping. You could use gravel (with a boarder) or interlocking bricks. The other grass will come back when it rains again - we had the same thing here 2 years ago. I know it doesn´t look so nice, but of course, there are more important uses for water than grass. The brown grass can just serve as a reminder of how we should/shouldn`t be using water in the first place :-). The rain will come and make it green again soon enough, I hope!
Good luck!
same way you keep your dogs alive - lots of love and devotion.
just kidding.
i have no idea.
however,
i just got two points. :)
Just leave it. The grass will recover by itself when the rains return, and if you don't water the grass properly, you will weaken the roots.
Don't water your grass during a drought, it is in a sort of hybernation.
A few years ago that happened to us and since we have a well, we didn't water at all. It was completely brown. Then when it finally rained it came back fine.
A sprinkle won't work either and may do more harm than good.
The key to a living, healthy lawn is water. In addition, you are going to need to have it fertilized. If you allow dogs, cats and other animals onto your lawn, they will provide fertilizer.
You should also provide grass seed when the lawn needs it.
Also, mowing the grass is helpful.
Edging the grass is optional but looks nice.
Be careful of large oak trees. If they are over 50-75 years old they likely have large roots that will disrupt the grass. These trees will need to be cut down and removed from the yard. Often these are large, historic trees so always consult a professional to be sure that they are removed completely and provided as firewood or taken to a landfill.
Also, never allow people to walk on your grass, and this includes you. They may destroy some blades that may take days to recover. This will disrupt the beauty of your yard.
If you check the pH of the grass you can make the proper adjustments in accordance with local guidelines and regulations.
Remember, watering plants (including grass) sown in ground, means you don't have to kind of spray them and keep them moist,.It means, wet spells, followed by dry times...wait till the plant or the grass or whatever asks for it, then water it...flood it. IDont give urea/ any other manures which may dry the grass up further. Water.Water.Water. If big patches exist, transplant a few blades. No point in watering the bald patches. Water the surrounding grass, to encourage it to grow. Remember, lawns are fun, because they always ask you to be doing something, finding solutions...You'll never have the perfect lawn. Fun is in striving for it...somewhere along the line you'll realize that you have already surpassed your ambitions.
I have a similiar problem. Two dogs who love to patrol and leave wear patterns and dirt patches. :) Due to the water restrictions i have as well it is a headache. This year I finally found my answer! I have put up wire fencing to partition off a 1/4 of the back yard for the dogs. lengthwise along the fence as a dog run. now 3/4 of my yard is given a chance to requoup. use revive in spray or hard form, it'll help the grass utilize most of the water plus I believe it has iron to green it up. use "patch" from homedepot for the dead spots, its a green paper? mulch containing seed/fertilizer that helps retain moisture, just wet it down in mornin and night. This year I am winning the "battle" against drought! once the yard is at 100% (it's about 90% now) I will move the fence to the other side of the yard to fix the 1/4 used now by the dogs. And continue the rotation to keep the yard healthy(actual dog run fence is expensive, so I'm using green 4' stakes and 4'chicken wire. it depends on your dog sizes and nature.This fencing encloses the back sliding door so all we have to do is open it up and out they go. I did buy a dog run gate and icorporated it into the fence so i could get the mower in their part of the yard) Hope this helps! Good Luck. :)
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