Labor Day weekend is the unofficial end of summer and lawns are suffering from a lot of normal heat and drought stress associated with this time of year.  Although we started off the year with heavy rains in April and adequate rains in May the lawns dried up quickly in June, July and August.  June ended up at around normal rainfall due to a rainy last weekend of the month, but July and August are way behind in normal rainfall totals.  In fact according to Weatherbug as of today August 30th, August rainfall is a mere .17" in the Gurnee area.  Remember, 1-2" of precipitation is needed per week for turf grass to remain vigorous during the growing season.  As a result many non-irrigated full sunny areas of grass are fully dormant and brown.  Irrigated and or shaded areas are hanging on with green color but a heavy rainfall is definitely in order. Non-irrigated full sun turf 8/30/2013 A lawn can resist the stresses of summer better when irrigated properly...

Once again this year,  a week or two makes a huge difference in the Midwest weather.  Throughout this week the soil temperatures have shot up into the 100 degree plus range in most sunny areas.  Rainfall has been non-existent since July 1 and we are only at .18" of rainfall so far for the month.  This is the opposite of my July 5 post where I was looking backwards at the conditions of the end of June and praising mother nature for cooler temperatures and rainfall.  This turn of events has been ideal for the growth of lawn diseases such as rust and has severely dried out the clay-based lawns found in most of the Lake county area.  The high heat and lack of rainfall has also resulted in many brown and low-growing lawns across the area.  We all have to remember this is normal for the month of July and early August and every fall when the temperatures drop and rainfall is more common the lawns return to their full green and thick appearance.   ...

Wow, what a difference a week makes in the weather patterns in the Midwest.  Less than 14 days from the last post indicating the start of near-drought like conditions we have more than made up for the month end rain fall requirements.  As of Friday June 28, Antioch received 4.78" of rain month to date and 11.94" rain year to date.  This means that since my last post we received 3.45" this past week.  Along with the added moisture the lawns are also cooling down due to the increased cloud cover and cooler temperatures.  The passing storms also help keep the suns radiation at a lower level of intensity.  Rain water often falls at 50 degrees and since water transfers heat more efficiently than air, this also greatly reduces soil temperatures.   The average soil temperatures have dropped down from the high 90 degree range early last week to the mid 80 degree range this week. The lawns are rarely this green the week of July 4. Although we have caught ...

June 21 is a happy day for most of us in the Midwest.  It is the official first day of summer!  The winter/ spring season is finally over and we all expect blue skies, sunshine and temperatures approaching 90 degrees.  The occasional thunderstorm and shower doesn't last long and we are all heading to the pools, golf courses, lakes and outdoor entertainment venues.  However, our lawns and plants encounter a much different experience starting with the longest day of sunshine for the year.  Lawn grasses and plants are exposed to longer times of sun radiation and direct heat, high temperatures and limited precipitation.  This means the lawns begin showing signs of stress including slow growth, limited leaf blade size and some even begin going into a dormant state.  This results in a lawn that looks like it is browning and shrinking in thickness.  The initial response from most homeowners is that this problem is from an insect, disease or even a misapp...