Why grass turns brown

“I’ve been having my grass turn brown every summer and I water it 3-4 times a week. What am I doing wrong?” – Jim, Minneapolis

Jim, I’ve got some bad news for you and your lawn. First, have you checked for grubs? One way to tell if you have grubs is by the shape of the yellow damage in the grass. If you have round circles, you’ve got grubs and I’d suggest removing the grass and the soil underneath and start over.

If not grubs, then odds are you have a lawn that is full of Kentucky Blue grass. Now before you ask why this could possible be a bad thing, Kentucky Blue grass has this amazing ability to go dormant in the hot summer months. When it goes dormant, it turns yellow! This is a natural occurrence and not something you can fix with more water. Instead, try top dressing the patchy areas with a combination of a fescue grass seed and top soil. Make sure you mix the seed well in the soil before you put in on top of the lawn as it’s the seed to soil contact which will make it grow.

Before you go, let’s talk about a bigger issue that you probably didn’t even realized you have. When watering your lawn, never water more then once a week. When you water 3-4 times a week, you’re actually hurting the roots! One deep watering is the best way to grow healthy roots because the roots will grow deep versus the shallow roots which are caused by more frequent watering. Consider trying the Pure Rain™ sprinkler system. Not only do you use less water, you provide more oxygen to your plants. It’s almost like being in charge of the weather! Your lawn loves a rainfall, and Pure Rain™ gives you all the benefits of rain from your garden hose! What could be better? That said…you will have to cut your grass more often, but I promise that it will be green!

— Carson