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Large cracks in yard from summer drought??
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Author:  kcw983 [ Mon Sep 05, 2011 7:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Large cracks in yard from summer drought??

Hello,

We have a year old lawn that really started cracking up last month with the hot weather. We have a large lot and have 2"-6" wide cracks running throughout. The cracks average 2-3 feet deep with some as deep as 6 feet! I am very concerned, and want to know what we can do to alleviate the problem? I am worried they will get worse and eventually break our sprinkler lines or cause larger problems.

Has anyone had a problem like this before? How would I get rid of/fill in the cracks?

Thanks

Author:  Doug [ Tue Sep 06, 2011 5:24 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Large cracks in yard from summer drought??

I have a neighbor with a large property who got frustrated with the drought, started to give up on his yard and cut way back on his watering. He started to get cracking in his yard like you are experiencing. He started watering more and I helped him fill in the cracks with compost. His yard is looking good again.

Author:  kcw983 [ Fri Sep 09, 2011 5:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Large cracks in yard from summer drought??

Thank you very much. If I fill in the cracks will that stop the problem? Will it happen again next year? What can I do to stop this in the future?

Thanks

Author:  Onward and Upward [ Wed Sep 14, 2011 1:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Large cracks in yard from summer drought??

Hello!

Before we went organic, we had major cracks in our yard as well - not as deep - but as long or longer. I haven't seen cracks in at least a year or two, and we've been organic for about three years.

This year, I put down a very small layer of compost and cow poo; and combined with the watering, there was nary a crack to be seen - even in this wild weather!

Author:  kcw983 [ Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:38 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Large cracks in yard from summer drought??

I have been told that it is unwise to fill in the cracks and holes because when the moisture returns to the soil, it will cause problems. Has anyone had experience with this?

I am not sure what to do here, and cannot get a definite answer anywhere I turn.

Author:  raichovasilev [ Thu Sep 29, 2011 6:07 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Large cracks in yard from summer drought??

I would rather not fill the cracks, leave them as they are for now... water more frequently, and when the rain season is about to start aerate your lawn and over seed it, aeration should help normalize your lawn and over seeding will help in getting over the damage done by drought, if you live in an area where the summers are very hot its always a good idea to water your lawn two times a day 1) At dawn 2) At sunset (you will love watering at sunsets.... you can actually feel the lawn taking a sigh of relief when the water hits

Author:  kcw983 [ Tue Oct 04, 2011 1:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Large cracks in yard from summer drought??

Thank you. That sounds like a good start to aerate it and over seed. What would you consider the rainy season? I am in Dallas and am not sure to Aerate this fall or in the spring??

Thanks

Author:  user_48634 [ Sat Jan 21, 2012 4:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Large cracks in yard from summer drought??

kcw, you might not be getting a satisfactory answer because we need more details.

Where do you live? Give at least the town.
What kind of grass do you have?
How often do you water and for how long?
How often do you mow and how high/low?
What fertilizer are you using, how often, how much?
Do you have much shade?

Author:  kcw983 [ Sun Feb 12, 2012 11:26 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Large cracks in yard from summer drought??

Hello,

Answers to questions:

-I am in Frisco
-Bermuda Grass
-Once per week watering for about 20 min per station (usually has some runoff by this time)
-Mow once per week at lowest setting
- I fertilized the yard 4 times last year, every couple of months. I believe it was organic cornmeal. I would have to check.
-There is no shade at all.


Thanks

Author:  user_48634 [ Tue Feb 14, 2012 10:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Large cracks in yard from summer drought??

Good answers. Thanks.

Do you know how much water you get in 20 minutes? If it is close to the top of a tuna or cat food can, then that would be fine. Otherwise you should give the water 15 to 30 minutes to soak in and water it again working your way toward 1 inch per week. That should be plenty to keep your soil together.

4x per year with corn meal is not nearly enough to really "densify" the grass. Bermuda needs much more serious fertilizer and schedule to look good. You could use soybean meal every month at 80 pounds per 1,000 square feet and just be telling the bermuda you were sincere. Corn meal is at the lowest end of the nutrient scale and soybean meal is at the upper end. Now corn gluten meal is at the very top of the list, so if that was a typo on your fertilizer, then still, 4x is not enough to help your lawn to help itself.

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