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Upstate New York is experiencing a severe drought that I never even thought was possible in what I have always known as a permanently wet and cloudy region.

I have left my lawn unmowed for over a month and in my neighborhood, more ground is brown than green, which is a first for me. We have some trees providing shade so certain areas are better than others, but overall things are pretty dry.

Should I leave the lawn as it is and wait a while until we get more rain, or should I mow it sooner rather than later? And for either action, is there a significant downside?

rm -rf slash
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    In Massachusetts our poor lawns have the same problem, so I'm glad you asked this. In fact, I've been calling our lawn "crunchy" for weeks, which is the same word @Bamboo used! – Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL Aug 04 '16 at 03:05
  • In some parts of the country. droughts don't stop thistley things from sprouting up. If you don't mow, high at least, they'll get established. – Wayfaring Stranger Mar 13 '17 at 14:40

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Not normally, it's considered a "cover crop" to protect the soil, and will help more moisture stay near the surface. A few years ago we had almost no rain all summer, and living on a creek the grass was just fine, then took off when it rained.

Left to right based on clipping length in a rotational grazing system: enter image description here

black thumb
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    Sorry, sweetie. Lawn grasses ARE NOT CONSIDERED a cover crop. Only annuals that can be turned into the soil are cover crops. – stormy Aug 03 '16 at 22:14
  • @stormy i think we're thinking of cover crops in a different way, one is to keep the ground protected so you can get water closer to the surface, another is to increase biomass on the soil. I'm using the cover crop concept to keep moisture in/near the surface of the soil – black thumb Aug 04 '16 at 02:10
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    But better would be training roots to grow DEEP so that 'cover crop' lawn uses less water and stays vigorous and healthy. Also the higher the grass is cut reduces evaporation. Cover crops are traditionally used for winter bare soils, especially vegetable gardens; to inhibit weed growth and add biomatter to the soil. There is a language between us gardeners a gardener needs to learn. And that language is always being added to...and changed of course. – stormy Aug 04 '16 at 21:31
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    This picture is wonderful! Totally shows the longer the top growth, the deeper the roots! As well as infrequent but deep watering. Also, the taller and denser the top growth the less water is able to evaporate, moisture stays around longer. Is there another reason you want to keep the moisture at the top, within the first couple inches? – stormy Mar 13 '17 at 18:28
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Lawns allowed to go dormant do not do well. Sure, some will come back but weeds will be able to take hold.

Have you TRAINED your lawn grasses to become drought tolerant? When the roots are made to grow DEEP by watering very deeply and then allowing the lawn to dry until one can see their footprints on the grass before watering deeply again is the best way to save on one's water bill and in times of drought, your grass will be able to thrive far better and come back sooner without the weeds. Aerate once per year, water deep deep deep (4-6" below surface) and do not water again until the grass stays down after stepping on it, MOW ON HIGH!! Do not mow shorter than 3"!! This helps with evaporation and doesn't allow weed seeds to germinate. Grass (cool season grasses) have genetically huge root systems that have to have enough top growth to feed those roots. 3" is the LOWEST one should mow to prevent any stress, prevent weeds and reduce water loss. I am not kidding!

Mowing dead grass leaves is no big deal! Do NOT FERTILIZE!! Now that would kill your grass if it isn't growing because of drought!! Shallow watering is the worst thing people can do with any lawn. OK when a baby lawn but if you don't train your grass, drought will pretty much screw up all the work you've done.

stormy
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  • https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/ky/newsroom/factsheets/?cid=stelprdb1101721 – black thumb Mar 12 '17 at 23:46
  • @rm-rf slash Dunno if we emphasized this but ALWAYS mow once per week, on high. Sharp blades! When you keep your lawn mowed you should be able to not bag as the blade growth slows way down at that height. I love the look of swirled, long grasses but at that length they will shade themselves out and start killing grass with its own shade and weight. And fungus will also love those conditions. To allow grass to get to that swirly phase, you need a special kind of grass. Plug aeration gets moisture down into the lawn's soil profile where the water can then be protected from evaporation. – stormy Mar 13 '17 at 18:40
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This happens a lot in the south of the UK - we still cut if its growing, but with the blades set high, and let the clippings fly, leaving them on the lawn, only clearing them away (if they haven't shrivelled and disappeared completely) when rain is coming or has arrived. Parts of the cricket field opposite where I live are currently brown and parched, are still being cut, but higher, and will green up very quickly when rain arrives. Some years though, the grass stops growing altogether, becomes crunchy to walk on and is completely brown, then there's nothing to cut, and yours may be in this state in more exposed areas. But it may be that your lawn grass is not the same type of grass we use here in the UK...

Lawns which have suffered in this way in usually wetter regions do tend to produce more moss growth in the following months, and more weeds if recovery is patchy, so more maintenance is required, particularly in spring.

Bamboo
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