Summer Drought Protection.
So July does not wreck it.
Brown and crispy every August is not the weather. It is shallow roots. The work that keeps a lawn green through a Somerset Hills summer happens in spring and fall, and the rest is how you cut and water it.
Pick what you need. We look at the property and text you a number, usually the same day.
Summer Lawn Care and Drought Protection
Summer lawn care and drought protection in the Somerset Hills
A lawn with roots six inches deep laughs at a dry August. A lawn with roots two inches deep browns off in the first heat wave. Everything on this page is about growing the first kind.
Turf grass here goes semi dormant in real heat. That is normal and it recovers. What does not recover is a lawn that was already weak going in: fed too hard in June, cut too short, watered every evening for ten minutes so the roots never had a reason to go down. By August that lawn is not dormant, it is dying, and the crabgrass moves into the gaps.
What summer drought protection includes
- Mowing height set high for summer, three and a half inches or more
- Watering plan for your soil and slope, deep and infrequent
- Light slow release summer feeding, never a heavy one in the heat
- Grub prevention so the roots you built do not get eaten
- Fall aeration and feeding so next summer starts with deeper roots
Roots are built in the fall
You cannot grow deep roots in July. The lawn is just trying to survive. Deep roots come from fall aeration, which opens the soil so roots can push down, and from the fall and winterizer feedings that store energy in those roots. A lawn that had a good fall has a good summer. That is why summer protection is a program, not a spray.
The cut and the water
Cut high in summer. Three and a half inches or more shades the soil, keeps it cooler and slows evaporation, and taller grass grows deeper roots to match. Water deep and rare, about an inch once a week early in the morning, rather than a little every night. Shallow nightly watering trains roots to stay near the surface and invites fungus. We set the mower height and send you the watering schedule for your soil, because a slope in Far Hills and a low lot in Basking Ridge do not water the same.
Light summer feeding only
A heavy nitrogen feeding in July forces growth the roots cannot support and burns the lawn. The summer application in the feeding program is deliberately small, slow release, and paired with grub prevention, since grubs hatch in the same heat and eat the roots you are trying to protect.
Drought protection is one of the a la carte lawn services.
Sick of a brown lawn every August?
Tell us what the lawn does in summer. We look at it and send a number the same day.
How it works.
Three steps. No contract before anyone has seen the property.
We look at the lawn
Roots, soil, slope and shade tell us why it browns. Number by text.
Spring and fall build roots
Aeration, feeding and seeding so the lawn goes into summer strong.
Summer, cut high and water deep
Height set, watering schedule sent, light feeding and grub prevention down.
More services
Everything else on the property.
One quote covers all of it. Pick what you need and we sort it out.
Pest control plan, $80 a month
House perimeter every quarter, ticks and mosquitoes all season, one licensed tech. Month to month, no contract.
See the planLawn care
Aeration and seeding before October 5, the winterizer feeding before December 1, weed control while the kill holds. Sold a la carte.
Lawn servicesTick and mosquito control
Barrier spray on the perimeter and shade, April through October, so the backyard is usable all summer.
DetailsMice and rodent control
Mice move in when it gets cold. Found, sealed out and dealt with. Plan members get it at a member rate.
DetailsPlant and shrub care
Six visits a year for the hedges, shrubs and ornamentals. Feeding, bugs, disease and a proper trim at the right month.
DetailsLandscaping
Fall cleanups and leaf removal, mulch and edging, hedge trimming, weekly mowing, patios, walkways and retaining walls.
DetailsWhere we work.
Based in Bernardsville. The Somerset Hills and the Morris County towns around it, about 20 minutes out. Close by and not on the list? Ask.
Quick answers.
Why does my lawn go brown every summer?
Shallow roots. Usually from short cutting, nightly shallow watering and no fall aeration. It is fixable in one season.
How often should I water in summer?
About an inch once a week, early morning. Deep and rare beats shallow and often.
Is a brown lawn dead?
Usually dormant, not dead. Water it deeply once and see if it greens. If it pulls up like a carpet, that is grubs.
What height should I mow in July?
Three and a half inches or more. The taller the grass, the deeper the roots and the cooler the soil.
Ready for a number?
Call or text, or start the quote form. We look at the property and reply the same day, most days.
(908) 210-3835