Keeping Your Soil in Tip-Top Shape
Without good soil health, the great green grass you desire wouldn’t be possible. Hot Tennessee summers bring the humidity, sweat, and high utility bills we know so well, but this time of the year can also do some damage to the soil in your yard, keeping your grass from reaching its full, beautiful potential. That’s why it’s vital you care for your soil as part of your regular lawn care routine.
Why Tennessee Summers and Your Soil Don’t Mix
Healthy soil is the unseen anchor that helps your lawn look great throughout the year. It’s responsible for a variety of benefits, such as:
- Allowing your grass to grow strong and resistant to disease
- Feeding your grass vital nutrients to survive
- Supporting your lawn’s root growth
- Enabling proper drainage and grass aeration
So, when the summer heat arrives, it can cause several problems for your soil, which in turn, impacts the health of your lawn. For example, summer in Tennessee is notorious for grubs, which can live in your soil and damage root systems, creating unsightly clumps of loose grass in your yard. Harsh summer droughts and high temperatures can also dry out your soil and cause your grass to wilt. Before you know it, your once healthy lawn doesn’t look so lush anymore—and your neighbors are saying “bless your heart” behind closed doors.
How to Keep Your Soil Healthy This Summer
With all the troubles summer brings to your soil, it can feel like your lawn is under attack. Thankfully, with over 40 years of caring for Middle Tennessee’s lawns, we’ve got a few expert pointers for protecting your soil all summer long:
1. Test Your Soil, Then Fertilize
As the summer begins, get a soil test from your local garden supply store to determine your soil’s current pH condition—whether your soil is acidic, alkaline, or neutral—and uncover any nutrient shortages. Once you know the state of your soil, you can purchase the proper fertilizer so your soil can get the vital nutrients it actually needs, stabilizing its chemistry as well.
2. Prevent Soil Compaction with Grass Aeration
Hard, compact soil prevents water, oxygen, and important nutrients from reaching your lawn’s root system, so it’s a good idea to aerate your soil, especially in the summer if you have warm-season grass. Grass aeration involves creating small holes in your lawn to give your soil easier access to water and nutrients, stimulating deeper roots, and allowing new seedlings to grow.
3. Water Your Lawn Frequently
One of the best ways to combat dry soil from Nashville’s summer heat and drought is to water your lawn at least twice a week. We recommend watering in the early morning hours to avoid evaporation and fungal disease, ensuring your lawn gets 1” to 1 ½” of water weekly.
4. Boost Your Soil with Compost
Working compost into your lawn will greatly improve your soil health. Compost feeds your soil, helps it retain nutrients better, aids drainage, and also feeds earthworms, which naturally provide soil aeration.
Give Your Soil the Best Lawn Care Treatment with Pure Green
Perhaps the best pointer for keeping your soil healthy this summer is to partner with Middle Tennessee’s lawn care treatment experts. At Pure Green, we provide year-round care for your lawn, including grub treatment, organic fertilizer treatment, weed control, and more. This means healthy soil—and great green grass that’ll be the envy of your neighbors. Get an instant quote from us today to learn more.