Is my yard dead?

It's been a hot summer already here in Indiana. When you couple that heat with no rain, it's a recipe for a brown lawn. The question is whether or not the yard is dead or dormant?

In most cases, the uniform brown yard that you see simply means dormancy. The grass is stressed and dry, but it ALL looks that way. Dead grass will be more patchy. A simple test is a "tug test" where you pull on the grass a bit. If there is any resistance, then its just dormant. If it pulls out easily, it's dead.

During dormancy you need to be careful with the lawn. Don't fertilize, reduce foot traffic, mow only as needed and WATER!

Your yard needs water to wake up from it's sleepy brown state. Watering in the early morning or late evening is best. Watering during the heat of the day can scorch the grass and cause more damage.