Grass first aid: this is how you keep your lawn green and healthy now that it’s very dry | Living

2023-06-05 19:25:44

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05 jun 2023 om 21:25

After a cool and fresh spring, the Dutch are currently enjoying the sun en masse. However, that nice weather is less good for your lawn. Despite the drought, how do you ensure that your grass is greener than the neighbors?

Sun, sun and more sun: the coming days will be warm and dry. This can cause the grass in your backyard to take a beating. “But grass doesn’t just die one-two-three,” Erwin Beltman reassures us. He took care of the turf in De Kuip, Feyenoord’s stadium, for nine years.

Drought mainly causes the grass to look less attractive. “If the drought lasts for a long time, it is better not to use too much water,” explains Gerard van ‘t Klooster. He works for SGL System, the company that provides the grass for the Wembley Stadium in London and the Wimbledon tennis tournament, among others. “If too much drinking water is irrigated, drinking water shortages will quickly increase once more.”

“The really high temperatures are not there yet,” says Beltman. “But if it is thirty degrees later, the grass will of course not like it. Then you will have to sprinkle a little every evening to keep it nice.”

‘Don’t spray too much water’

Beltman therefore advises to spray every evening at really high temperatures. “But not too much,” he warns. “If you spray too much, the water will run off and you will be wasting. People with automatic sprinkler systems are better off spraying four times for 15 minutes during the night than once for an hour,” he explains.

Furthermore, according to Beltman and Van ‘t Klooster, it is important not to spray during the day, but rather in the evening, at night or early in the morning. During the day, most of the water evaporates before the grass has absorbed it.

“It is best to spray around 8 or 9 p.m.,” says Beltman. Van ‘t Klooster: “Early in the morning the grass leaves don’t stay wet for too long and the temperature is the lowest. The risk of unwanted fungal diseases is then smallest.”

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Heavenly water is the most beautiful thing there is. It falls in all places at once.

Erwin Beltman

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Mow higher and start on time

There are also other things you can do to keep the grass healthy. “It is smart to mow the grass a little higher. Then the grass plant retains the water better,” explains Beltman.

There are also agents that ensure that the grass retains moisture better. This keeps your grass healthy and you need to use less water.

It is also advisable to start the grass in your garden on time. “Make sure you prepare well in the spring so that the roots of the grass are deep,” says Van ‘t Klooster. He also recommends taking a good look at which type of grass you have in your garden. “One type of grass needs more moisture than the other.”

And if all that doesn’t work, according to Beltman, it’s best to wait for a good downpour. “Heavenly water is the most beautiful thing there is. It falls in all places at the same time,” he explains.

“The ideal would be if we get a rain shower every night, and then it’s around 25 degrees during the day. But we’re not going to manage that, I’m afraid.”

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