Here are some things you can do to get yard get back to normal amid Pennsylvania drought conditions
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Many people throughout the Pittsburgh area are finding themselves frustrated with trying to keep their lawns in good shape amid drought conditions in western Pennsylvania.
We had a lot of rain in the spring, but then the spigot was turned off for the summer and brown has become the dominant color in the yard.
Is there anything you can do? KDKA's John Shumway put out an SOS to the lawn guru to try and find out.
Remember the words of reassurance from the summer that said the grass was just dormant and would come back on its own? That may not be the case.
The hot sun and a lack of rain has made it a difficult year to try and grow grass if you didn't have irrigation in your yard.
"I don't like to say those words 'dead grass,' but that's the reality of what happened to us this summer," said Jeff Fowler, a turf management educator at Penn State.
Fowler says the dormant grass will reveal itself as the temperatures cool and we get some rain in the fall, but when it comes to the dead stuff, you'll need a combination of aeration, top dressing, and overseeding.
Aeration means getting one of those machines that pulls plugs out of your lawn and opens it up so it can breathe. Then comes the top dressing, which Fowler says should be around 1/4" of organic matter, compost, or mushroom compost.
"Putting that stuff in a wheelbarrow and a shovel, and just kind of, you'll kind of get the hang of throwing a nice, even coat of it out there," Fowler said.
Then you come in with the grass seed, with a little extra in the brownest spots.
"If you do nothing this fall, will it all miraculously return next spring? Unfortunately, the dead spots are going to be dead."
Fowler says that weeds will gladly fill in those spots.
"If you do those things that I that we talked about, the aerification, top dressing, and overseeding, you're going to want to make sure your lawnmower blades are sharp because you're going to be using them a lot," Fowler said.
After you get the seed down, you'll want to do some watering everyday it doesn't rain. The best bet is to follow the instructions on the grass seed bag.
It may be a lot of work, but it's designed for maximum return. If you just want to treat your brown spots by tearing up the soil, put down some fertilizer, seed, and water, and hope for the best. Make sure you're getting the seed into the soil, otherwise it's just going to become bird food.
