It may seem obvious, but keeping your lawn watered is critical for lush and green grass. You'll need to assure your lawn gets 1 inch of water per week. If it's not raining regularly, set up a sprinkler. Alternatively, make watering your yard part of your morning routine.
If your turf is dormant, watering the grass can bring it back if it is responding to drought, but it could also require nutrients or is simply responding to excessive heat.
The amount of water you need is generally 1 to 1.5 inches per week, but it can vary depending on your grass type, the climate you live in, your soil type, and the age of your lawn. In general, you want the top 6-8 inches of soil to be moist, but not soggy—which translates to 1 to 1.5 inches per week.
The grass plants may appear dead to the naked eye, but deep inside the plant, there is a small area (called the crown) that is still alive. Once this crown gets moisture again, it will come to life and the turf will green up in 10-14 days. Grass can remain dormant for up to six weeks without any adverse effects.
Adequate nitrogen is crucial for lush, healthy, green grass. However, there can be too much of a good thing. The general rule of thumb is this: you should apply no more than one pound of nitrogen for every thousand square feet of lawn, and you should do so no more than twice per year [10].
Keep a consistent watering schedule year-round to ensure grass always looks its best. But even if you've been neglecting your lawn, getting back into a watering routine will give you green grass fast. Water grass two to three times per week. Allow the water to soak about 1 inch deep into the ground.
1) Watering for Too Long
This should be no more than three times per week. Set a timer for 20 minutes and stick to your schedule, even if you think the lawn needs more water. You don't want to oversoak it.
You will also see the difference when you start to water or when rain returns as moisture will revive brown grass. However, it will not bring dead grass plants back to life.
The grass will break dormancy and begin growing again when the temperatures and/or rainfall levels become more ideal for it. Note that when dormancy ends, grass leaves that have turned brown won't revive, but new leaves will appear.
The ideal watering schedule is once or twice per week, for about 25 to 30 minutes each time. Taking care of a lawn doesn't have to be an overwhelming, all-consuming task. Once all the tips and tricks are in your back pocket, it will be easy to come up with a routine that results in a gorgeous green lawn.
If your grass gets too much water, it doesn't get oxygen and can actually suffocate. Too much water also makes your grass more susceptible to disease.
If your grass is turning brown despite watering, it's possible that you may have a problem with disease, caused by microscopic living organisms. These include bacteria, fungi, and nematodes, among others.
During a dry season, many lawns will show initial symptoms of drought stress, Aaron Patton said. As grass loses water, its leaves become less rigid and wilt; in this stage, grass stays flat after it is stepped on rather than "bouncing back."
To revive stressed, brown grass, you may want to start watering your lawn more frequently, making sure it receives about an inch of water per week.
Avoid watering grass on a hot afternoon when it's 95 degrees or higher. The best time to water grass is at dawn or in the early evening. Water deeply three times a week instead of a little water daily. Test whether your sprinkler system is watering your lawn evenly.
Grass blades turn brown as they lose available moisture. If the drought doesn't last beyond 3-4 weeks, most of these areas can re-grow new, green blades when wet conditions return. However, if lawns don't get 2″ of water weekly for 4 weeks consecutively, permanent damage can occur.
In the blazing summer, when temperatures are between 90-100+, try watering 3-4 times a week.
If the lawn does not get enough water it will turn brown and go into summer dormancy. Once the lawn turns brown from summer stress it will take heavy watering for to green back up. The secret to having a green lawn all summer long is to water on a regular schedule and keep to that schedule.
If you live in a warm climate and your lawn turns brown every winter season, you may have a warm-season grass that naturally goes dormant during winter months. What looks dead should be green again by late spring or early summer. Lawns in cooler climates are a little different.
Nitrogen deficiency can also be a common cause of pale green or yellowish grass. If you feel like you're asking why is my lawn not green yet, it's possible that you haven't given the fertilizer a chance to work. PRO TIP: Applying the right amount of fertilizer at the right times of year is key to a healthy green lawn.
Using Sugar On Your Lawn as a Fertilizer
In rare cases, sugar makes for a decent lawn fertilizer, though not in the traditional sense. Sugar adds no necessary nutrients to the mix but it limits nitrogen absorption. In most cases, you want to give plants ready access to nitrogen but without overdoing it.
The best way to kill the existing lawn and weeds is to apply a nonselective herbicide, such as glyphosate, over the entire area. Glyphosate is a postemergence translocated herbicide that effectively kills turf and grassy and broadleaf weeds. Glyphosate is translocated rapidly in all actively growing plants.
Out of our top picks, the ones with the highest nitrogen content (and the best ones for turning your grass dark green) are Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Food (32% nitrogen), GreenView Fairway Formula Spring Fertilizer + Crabgrass Preventer (24% nitrogen), and GreenView Lawn Food (22% nitrogen).