As we come out of another Kansas summer, this is one of the best times of year to take an honest look at our lawns. Summer has a way of exposing weaknesses.

Areas that looked perfectly acceptable in April may be thin by September. Grass along sidewalks and driveways may have browned. Certain sections may have struggled repeatedly while the rest of the lawn remained healthy.

Fall is not just the time to repair the lawn. It is the time to study what summer revealed.

Our first reaction is often simple. Let’s put some seed down.

Fall is certainly the best opportunity for renovating many of our tall fescue lawns, but before we overseed the areas that struggled, we should ask an important question.

Why did the grass become thin in the first place?

If we do not answer that question, we may grow beautiful new grass this fall only to watch the same area struggle again next summer.

That is where good fall lawn care should begin. Look at the pattern of damage.

If the entire lawn struggled similarly, we may be dealing with a broader issue. But if the problems are concentrated in particular locations, those areas are giving us clues.

Sidewalks, driveways, curbs, foundations, and other hard surfaces deserve special attention.

Concrete absorbs a tremendous amount of heat during summer. Turf growing immediately beside it can experience a much harsher environment than turf growing only several feet away.

There may also be less usable soil along those edges.

During a recent lawn evaluation, we found a section beside a sidewalk where something extremely hard was located just below the soil surface. Whether it was excess concrete, construction material, or another obstruction, the result was limited soil volume for the grass roots.

That matters.

Tall fescue needs a healthy root system to tolerate heat and moisture stress. When grass is trying to survive with shallow soil, restricted roots, additional heat from concrete, and inconsistent irrigation, summer stress can show up quickly.

This is also where the sprinkler system needs more attention than simply asking whether it turns on.

A sprinkler can operate and still fail to irrigate the lawn properly. The better question is whether water distributes evenly.

We want to look at sprinkler overlap, nozzle size, head position, arc, pressure, and whether anything is blocking or disrupting the pattern.

A sprinkler that has settled too low, tilted slightly, become partially plugged, or is fitted with the wrong nozzle can create a dry area that becomes much more noticeable during July and August.

Nozzle sizing is especially important.

Sprinklers operating on the same zone should apply water as uniformly as reasonably possible. If one portion of a zone is applying water at a much greater rate than another, increasing the run time to correct one dry area may simply saturate another part of the lawn.

More water is not always the answer. Better distribution often is.

That is why I like using fall renovation as an opportunity to evaluate the irrigation system.

Before overseeding, identify the areas that struggled most this summer. Run the irrigation. Watch the patterns. Look for gaps in coverage. Check the nozzles. Pay attention to how well one sprinkler overlaps with the next.

Sometimes a relatively small irrigation adjustment can make a significant difference. Then we can address the turf itself.

Core aeration can help relieve surface compaction and create better opportunities for seed to contact the soil. Overseeding can restore density and introduce healthy new plants into areas that have thinned.

But establishing that seed requires a different irrigation strategy than maintaining an established lawn. During germination, we want the upper portion of the soil to remain consistently moist. That will usually require shorter and more frequent irrigation cycles at first.

The important part is remembering that this schedule is temporary.

As germination occurs and roots begin developing, irrigation should gradually transition away from frequent surface watering toward deeper and less frequent watering. Leaving a lawn on a germination schedule too long can create overly wet soil and encourage shallow rooting.

Our irrigation habits should also change as the weather changes.

A watering schedule that may have been appropriate during 100-degree summer weather should not automatically continue into cooler fall conditions.

Pay attention to the soil rather than relying entirely on the calendar.

For established fescue during the growing season, early morning irrigation is generally preferable. In many situations, watering between approximately 1 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. allows us to reduce evaporation while giving the turf canopy an opportunity to dry as the morning progresses.

During extreme summer heat and wind, we may also occasionally use a practice called syringing. This is a very brief irrigation cycle, run during the hottest portion of the day, designed primarily to cool the turf canopy rather than deeply water the soil.

It can be a useful tool during severe summer stress, but like every irrigation practice, it should be used intentionally rather than automatically.

Fall lawn care should be about more than repairing what summer damaged. It should be about learning from what summer exposed.

Before you overseed that thin area, ask why it became thin. Before you increase the watering time, make sure the water is being distributed properly. Before assuming the grass failed, look at the soil, the heat, the irrigation pattern, the nozzle sizing, and the maintenance practices surrounding it.

Seed can replace the grass we lost. Better soil, better irrigation, and better maintenance habits are what give that new grass a chance to still be there next summer.

‘Well Rooted’ is written by Jeremy Elliott. Elliott owns a lawn care business and lives in the Great Bend area.