The hot summer months are a stressful time for your lawn, especially if your lawn is just beginning to grow from seed. The following five tips can help your lawn adjust and thrive in the summer heat.

Tip One: Keep your lawn a little taller than usual. The taller your lawn is allowed to grow, the better your lawn can keep the little water that it has available. A slightly longer lawn will allow a little more shading of the soil, which allows a little more water to remain in the soil when compared to a shorter lawn.

Tip Two: Hold off on the fertilizer. Most lawn fertilizers contain nitrogen, which has the ability to burn your lawn even under the best of conditions. As the hot summer temperatures take their toll on your lawn, adding fertilizer can be a hindrance instead of a help. If you really need fertilizer in the summer, consider a slow release fertilizer to reduce the amount of nitrogen that is reaching your lawn.

Tip Three: Water your lawn in the morning or the evening. Any water that is applied to your lawn is only useful if the water reaches the roots of the lawn. So watering during the cooler parts of the day, like mornings or evenings, will allow more water to soak into the soil instead of being evaporated away by the hot sun.

Tip Four: Water for longer periods of time during the cooler hours. When you water for longer periods of time, you allow more water to soak down into the soil. This prompts the roots of your lawn to grow deeper into the soil where the roots may find water even when the top inch of the soil becomes dry.

Tip Five: Don’t mow in the hotter part of the day. Mowing your lawn causes the lawn blades to leak fluids until they can heal themselves. By mowing your lawn in the hotter parts of the day, your leaf blades will lose more water than if you mow during the cooler parts of the day; such as morning or evening.

Rob Wendell is the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Granite Seed Company, the country’s leading supplier of premier seed and erosion control products to commercial customers and government agencies. Rob led the launch of NaturesFinestSeed.com, a division of Granite Seed focused on bringing superior seed products to consumers nationwide. Rob’s relationship with the company stems from his role as a Principal with Marwit Capital Partners, a private equity firm with a controlling interest in Granite Seed since April 2008. Rob received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Washington and M.B.A from Pepperdine University.

http://www.naturesfinestseed.com/