July Gardening Tips for the Midwest

Irrigation

Reset your automatic irrigation system for summer. Inspect sprinkler patterns; ensure they're not watering driveways or sidewalks. It's best to angle heads low to deliver water to soil.

Grass roots grow 4 to 6 inches deep. To ensure your irrigation system is releasing enough water to soak soil near roots, dig into soil after watering. Or, you can push a screwdriver into soil. It will slip easily into soil that's wet; dry soil offers resistance.

Cool-season grasses, such as Kentucky bluegrass, often go dormant when drought occurs. If your turf goes brown, don't water it to green it up unless you will commit to watering it the rest of the drought. Awakening grass from dormancy uses energy reserves and weakens the lawn. If you let grass remain dormant, it will awaken from dormancy naturally in fall.

Sharpen mower blades regularly to ensure you make clean cuts on grass blades. Time mowing to remove no more than one-third of the leaf surface.

If your lawn or a neighbor's had grubs last year, apply grub control. Beetles are laying eggs now, and grubs will start feeding later this month.

One of the best defenses against lawn weeds is to set your mower high. Keep your turf about 3 inches tall in the summer months. It shades the soil, retaining moisture and blocking seed germination.