Handling Droughts

Once your geographic area is in the midst of a drought, it's too late to apply preventative measures (these will be discussed at the end of this article). It's now time to take damage control measures. Here are the tips:

If you're already in a restricted water use condition:

• Don't over-fertilize your lawn. Studies have shown that lawns on regularly scheduled fertilizer applications recover faster than those that aren't. Don't apply fertilizer to your brown lawn in hopes of turning it green like your neighbor down the street that is secretly watering his lawn during the night.

• Avoid all excessive foot traffic on the lawn.

• As the weather heats up, mowing your lawn at a higher than normal height, that is if it's still growing. This increased height will help shade the roots and slow down soil evaporation. It also helps trap any dew that may form during the night.

• Don't water a little here and there or now and then—it just makes the lawn worse. Lawns are designed by nature to shut down (go dormant) under extreme conditions. Putting a little water on the lawn fools it into thinking, "hey, maybe things aren't so bad" instead of preparing itself for a continued period of no water.

• If you're allowed a little watering, concentrate on making certain your important trees and shrubs have an adequate water supply. These costly investments won't die right away from a drought and you may not see the damage for a year or so. Weakened woody plants are more susceptible to insect damage that may go unnoticed until it's too late.

• Don't over-seed or try to rejuvenate the lawn until fall when rainfall is usually more plentiful.

Read "How to make your lawn more drought resistant"