NJ Lawns Community

Hey neighbors—been battling the July heat with my tall fescue lawn in Englewood and hitting a wall. I've been watering every other day for about 45 minutes and honestly it still looks rough—browning in patches, some compacted areas I think. My soil is that typical Bergen County clay-loam mix. Has anyone found the sweet spot for tall fescue here? I'm wondering if I'm overwatering and causing shallow roots or if 45 min every other day just isn't cutting it. I know deep watering less frequently is the goal but seeing dead spots appear is stressful. What are you all doing?

Hmm, 45 min every other day might actually be working against you. That's a lot of water in one session—probably causing runoff before it even soaks in properly. And with our clay soil, you're probably just wasting water. I've had success with deep soaking once a week—like 20-25 minutes per zone but doing it FIRST thing in the morning (like 5am, I know—brutal but necessary). Also stopped fertilizing after June—that's a common mistake people make here, feeding in summer when grass is stressed. Waited until early fall and my yard bounced back nicely.

Fair point about the timing. I'm watering at night which I know isn't ideal but getting up at 5am with two kids is tough. Maybe I need to invest in a smart controller. But here's where I push back—are you saying I shouldnt aerate in summer either? Because I've been thinking about dethatching and aerating soon. What's your take on that for fescue?

Depends on what you're aerating FOR. If you have severe compaction then yeah, late summer (late August) can work but NOT when temps are staying above 85. Wait till we get those cooler nights in September. That goes for any major renovation work too. Another thing—have you actually tested your soil? I picked up a cheap pH kit from the Garden State Rose Nursery in Hackensack and found my pH was way off. Turned out I needed lime. Now I aerate annually with a plug aerator and it's made a huge difference in how water absorbs.

Wait, you used lime? That's interesting because I've been using Milorganite and sulfur to lower pH based on a soil test I did through Rutgers coop extension a few years back. My soil came back at 6.2 which they said was fine for fescue. Maybe I should retest though—it's been three years. Also curious—what height are you mowing at? I'm at 3.5 inches right now but wondering if that's too short for July. Getting conflicting advice everywhere.

3.5 is definitely on the low side for tall fescue in summer. I'd bump it up to 4 inches minimum. The extra leaf area shades the soil, keeps roots cooler, reduces evaporation. This is literally the oldest trick in the book and people still mess it up. On the lime vs sulfur thing—that's exactly why soil testing matters. Every yard in Bergen County is different depending on what was previously nearby. I'm in an older neighborhood near the Hackensack River so my soil chemistry is totally different than someone in Ramsey or Ridgewood. Don't just take advice from YouTube and apply it blindly.

That's a good point about location. I'm in Englewood near the flatlands so it's heavier clay than my buddy's in Ramsey. Makes total sense. Okay so summarizing what I'm taking away: - Water deeper but less frequently, morning watering - Raise mower height to 4 inches - Skip summer fertilizer - Get soil retested - Wait until September to aerate Think I'm going to try the morning watering this week and see if things improve. Will report back! Thanks for the info.