Has your lawn fallen victim to the heavy rains?
Sometimes too much of a good thing could become a bad thing.
Let’s discuss some of the after-effects that you may be experiencing before jumping into a preparation and treatment plan.
After-Effects of Heavy Rains
- Weak grass: This is caused by the wash away of important nutrients resulting in stunted roots and weak grass that struggles to grow.
- Damaged roots: Water will fill any gaps in the soil, blocking air supply and suffocating the roots. This immediately damages roots and stunts their growth, but over time can kill them. Other effects can include a shallow root system developing as the roots do not need to go far below the surface of the ground to find water. In the long run, when conditions become drier, roots will be damaged by being overly exposed.
- Fungus: Excessive water can essentially drown the soil, causing the roots to rot. This can become a breeding ground for fungus, resulting in lawn disease often seen as unsightly yellow patches in your lawn.
- Weeds: While torrential rainfall can damage healthy grass, it can have the opposite effect on weeds. If left, your lawn could see the tide turn over time as healthy grass makes way for unsightly weeds.
Preparation and Treatment Guide
PREPARE FOR THE FORECASTED HEAVY RAINS
- Take photos – this will enable you to pinpoint hotspots in your garden that suffer from poor drainage. These areas will need to be repaired by levelling the ground.
IMMEDIATELY AFTER HEAVY DOWNPOURS
- Never walk on your lawn. At this point the soil is saturated, any traffic on waterlogged grass can compact the soil and cause damage to the ground below turning your lawn into a muddy swamp, as well as creating deep ruts in the ground that will destroy your turf.
- Remove and rake debris and silt – the more you can clear off your lawn, the better it will be able to recover.
- Do not mow wet grass - mowers are unable to cleanly cut your grass, damaging the blades of grass by tearing them. The wet clippings can clog your mower and if left on your lawn will smother the grass they cover.
AS THE GROUND BEGINS TO DRY
- Aerate the ground: Apart from the fact that your fertile top layer has been stripped away, the soil below becomes easily compacted. Aerating will improve drainage and aid the flow of oxygen to the roots.
- Treat fungus and weeds: Contact your nearest nursery for a suitable programme.
- Top-dress: Heavy rains wash away important nutrients in the soil. If your lawn is looking yellow or faded, you will need to apply a top-dressing. By topdressing your lawn, it will also fill the holes in your ground created by aerating, which will boost the long-term drainage quality of the soil.