Your lawn needs water. Here's what you should know this summer

Amazingly, the flowers in my yard that can take the heat look fantastic. And when the grass isn’t wilting, it seems to be surviving pretty well too. We go through this every year: the hot, dry, drought that precedes our hot, humid and rainy summer weather. It’s kind of an endurance trial for the gardeners and the plants.

The plants that do best in my yard get a little break from the sun as the trees shade them a little but still allow them to get plenty of sun. And watering by drip irrigation or soaker hoses ensures that the water goes to the roots and not up into the air where much can be lost to evaporation. Mulch helps hold the moisture in. There are many technological wonders for watering that can automatically water and inform you how many gallons were applied each time. It won’t inspect for pests or diseases but will make sure the flowers are watered in the morning so that they are prepared for the heat of the day.

Lawns need water. That is an advantage and a disadvantage. While it is difficult to grow turfgrass now when it is dry, next August and September when rainfall is heavy, water-loving plants will be more content than the drought-tolerant plants. Few plants are happy in all our seasons.

When you water, be careful to water deeply. Watering shallowly encourages plant roots to stay shallow in the soil. Being deeper in the soil protects the roots from drought and freezes. Also, when everything is this dry, you may have to moisten 3-4 inches of soil depth to be sure the roots get watered.

With our sandy soils, one of the tricky balances we try to strike is providing nutrients for the plants without creating fertilizer runoff. If you don’t live near the river or the ocean, you might be thinking, “Oh, that doesn’t apply to me. I’m not near the river.”

But it actually applies to all of us because all of us are adjacent to storm sewers or tiny streams or creeks which lead to larger streams, which lead to … well, you get the idea. Driving on the roads we have no sense of how close we are always to waterways. Some of the larger waterways are shown here: https://ocean.floridamarine.org/boating_guides/duval/products/boating_zones/pablo_creek_zones.pdf

Whatever you or nature put on your lawn can make its way into the waterways.

And if it contains nitrogen, it will feed the algae in the water. You don’t have to be asthmatic to be affected by the toxins emitted from algae. We all have lungs, and they don’t like the algae toxins.

So, all of us need to be mindful about our fertilizer usage, especially during our rainy summers. So how do we best do that?

It might be best to start with the soil. Soils with organic matter hold on to plant nutrients much better than sandy soils. The extra benefits are that plants develop healthier roots, weeds are discouraged, and diseases are diminished. The little microbes in the organic matter are good workers.

The organic matter can be found in leaves, pine straw, bark, manures, or compost. You don’t need a lot of it. You do need to add it repeatedly because it decomposes continuously, which is a good thing. As it decomposes, it is pouring nutrients into the soil for your plants. More nutrients from organic matter means you can add fewer chemical fertilizers.

Your turf will need more. Late spring/early summer — now — is the time to give turf fertilizer. The University of Florida has long recommended a fertilizer for turf that uses slow-release nitrogen at a rate of 1 pound per 1000 square feet.

If you are growing vegetables or flowering annuals and perennials, some fertilizer is necessary to help provide the nutrients that plants need. Our plants make the food they need from the sun’s energy. Think of fertilizer as more like a vitamin pill, especially since our soils are pretty deficient. If you look at the labels, you will recognize some of the names: calcium, zinc, boron, potassium. These things plants need for function the same elements we also need for our health.

Always follow the directions for application. More is not better. Use granular fertilizers. Encapsulated fertilizers can last 3 months. Liquids are great for indoor plants but are quickly washed away outside with rainfall.

The organic matter will also help reduce the runoff from your yard. While you want to encourage roof runoff to move away from your house, you want to keep the water on your lot if possible. Mulched plant beds can take up the water. More tips can be found at: https://ffl.ifas.ufl.edu/about-ffl/9-principles/principle-8-reduce-runoff/

Citrus trees are also due for a little more fertilizer. Citrus is a difficult plant right now because of the disease citrus greening. The disease clogs up the distribution of nutrients and that complicates the plant’s survival. Some people spray on foliar fertilizer on their trees to give them another way of getting the fertilizer into the plant. However the foliar spray cannot be applied if the temperatures are above 80, so it is not something you can do right now. Light application of fertilizers produces slower growth which reduces the amount of pest pressure. Use Citrus fertilizer to get the right blend of micronutrients.

Use a Palm special fertilizer for your palms. They need micronutrients to stay healthy.

Summer’s challenges in the garden can be managed. We just have be thoughtful in our watering and fertilizing. We all stand to benefit from a careful approach to our landscapes.

Becky Wern is a Master Gardener volunteer with the Duval County Extension Service and the University of Florida/IFAS. For gardening questions, call the Duval County Extension Office at (904) 255-7450 from 9 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and ask for a Master Gardener volunteer.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: How to water, fertilize your lawn in Florida's summer heat