I started Village Green in 1980, a year that shattered the previous longest heat wave record. When summer was finally over that year, North Texas had hit the century mark a total of 69 times!
This may not sound like a smart time to start a lawn care business, but it did teach me something very valuable in the early days of Village Green. North Texas weather, especially in the short term, is unpredictable. And most important, it will (and does) change.
I feel almost bad writing that in this quick tip. I can picture readers shaking their heads and saying, “Big shocker Ken! Weather is unpredictable and ever changing.” But please hear me out, because I feel we often forget this simple fact, especially in today’s hyperbole media world where stories are often written to shock and scare.
This year is a great example of my point. Recently we’ve had record-breaking cool nights in July. And the single wettest day in August in 20 years! This is great news for our customers under water restrictions because the timing is perfect for preventing damage to lawns (especially St. Augustine.) Normally at this time of year I’m seeing many lawns that have taken a beating from the heat and water restrictions. Typically in North Texas we start getting cooler weather in mid-September and it starts to rain (usually on the opening day of the Texas State Fair!) This change in weather signals that we should only have a month to month and half more of potentially hot, dry weather in our area. Since we’ve had the cooler July and more rain this summer, most North Texas lawns are in better shape than I’ve seen in a long time for this late in the summer (and again, I’ve been doing this since 1980 so I really mean long.) I would like to point out that this isn’t true of all lawns though. There are a few out there that look bad which I chalk up to watering issues that aren’t related to the area water restrictions. Many people water well during the summer, but then stop their program when the temperatures cool down or we’re getting more rain (It’s ok to back off during rains, as long as they remember to go back to the watering schedule when the rain stops).
I’ll give you a great example. I had freeze damage this year in my lawn, like many of our customers. In fact, I feared I had lost all of my St. Augustine it was so bad. Today, it is back and as strong as ever, which is what happens most years because I know to water consistently. All year. When you don’t water year round you compromise the roots, and that makes your grass weaker and unable to bounce back. You can do everything else right, but this simple mistake can lead to a lawn that is in bad shape when it should be strong.
But like I was saying, most lawns in our area are in good shape, and I think we’ve almost weathered another North Texas summer and as we move into fall we can start praying for more reasonable water restrictions next year!
I’ve seen a lot of crazy weather the past 34 years. And the only thing we can count on regarding our weather is that it will be unpredictable. Which is why it is so very important to look at weather long term. And more importantly exercise common sense and do everything in your power to keep a healthy lawn (download the Village Green Secrets to a Healthy Lawn here.) If you do these things, your lawn should be fine regardless of the weather in North Texas.
If you have specific questions about your lawn and landscape please give us a call at 972-495-6990, email me at [email protected] or fill out our contact form. I’d be happy to answer any questions.