YOUR JULY LAWN CARE STRATEGY FOR LAZY PEOPLE

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You might be getting a bit tired of all the lawn maintenance so far this year. Well, we have good news for you—July is a month where you can relax a bit and be a little bit lazy about your lawn care.

July heat and dry weather can be pretty hard on gardens and grass, not just us. This means you should give your lawn a bit of a care break this month. Follow our tips to help you and your lawn enjoy the lazy days of summer in Indiana.

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Let your lawn get longer.

It might seem counterintuitive, but mowing less frequently means less stress on your lawn during hot weather—and it helps conserve water. The longer blades of grass help to shade the soil beneath them and slow down the speed of evaporation. Longer grass also means less water evaporation from the cuts created by the mower on each blade of grass. Take a bit of a break, and let your lawn go a little longer between mowings.

If you’ve been mowing every 5-7 days, wait a little longer in July and see if you can go 10-14 days in between mows.

Raise your mower deck height.

Raising the height of your lawnmower an inch or two helps your lawn stay longer and conserve water, but it also makes your mowing job a lot easier. So pop up the height of your mower deck an inch or two with the height adjustments at the wheels.

Letting your grass get to about 3 inches tall is ideal for July, but you can even go a bit taller if you like. You can also avoid picking up your lawn clippings in July, as a light layer of clippings will also help create a protective layer of mulch over your soil, which will reduce water evaporation. We emphasize the word light here because a heavy layer of clippings can suffocate and damage your grass. So, if you have a few thick places in your lawn where there are lots of clippings after mowing, take care to rake them up or spread them around a bit not to create a mat and completely block the grass underneath from light.

Don’t fertilize in July.

You don’t need to apply fertilizer to your lawn in July. With the combination of heat and the high levels of nitrogen in fertilizer, you run a higher risk of accidentally burning your lawn with fertilizer, so strike that chore off your list this month. In reality, your lawn should only need fertilizing in the spring and fall.

Fertilizing heat-stressed plants, which includes your lawn this month, can actually hinder their recovery. When everything is heat stressed, plain water is the best solution.

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Sharpen your lawn mower blade.

Sharpening your mower blade should be part of annual mower maintenance, but most mowers don’t get sharpened very often. Tip your lawnmower up on its side to look at the blade, and there's a good chance it's looking pretty dull and may even have some dings and dents. Sharpening the blade is well worth the effort.

A sharp blade cuts your grass faster, cleaner, and much easier than a dull blade that’s gummed up with years of grass. A sharp, clean blade is also healthier for your lawn since a dull blade may tear the grass more—which means more damage to the grass leaf.

If you have a grinder, removing and sharpening your mower blade is a reasonably simple task. If you don’t have the tools or experience for the job, take your mower to a local small engine mechanic for a tune-up, or buy a brand new blade for the mower from the hardware store.

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Water your lawn when necessary.

Most lawns need 1-2 inches of water per week through the hottest weeks of the year to keep the grass healthy and get it through a drought. You don’t want to water every day because that will encourage shallow, weak roots. But a deep soak every 5-7 days, if you haven’t had rain, will be plenty. An irrigation system makes regular watering much easier, but even putting out the sprinkler once a week is pretty simple.