I enjoy the snow in winter, but not now. Actually the snow did more good for the garden than bad. The moisture was really needed. I think the worst thing about this dry year is now we have to listen to the 'water experts' whine about our water supply all year long. I agree water is precious and we need to conserve, but it's always gloom and doom with these guys.

We got the snow over here too and the moisture was welcome!
The storm sure greened up the grass too.
I don't think my lawn has ever needed mowing in April but it does. I threw out some grass seed on the bare spots hoping the predicted storms this week will bring it up quickly.
We had rain in Randolph but snow in Bear Lake. My daughter drove through Logan canyon and the plows had been out.

Lori

I've already mowed my front lawn 4 times and my back lawn twice. I blame all the coffee grounds I've thrown down.

My once crispy front/side lawn greened up nicely after the on/off stretch of snow/rain/hail. But because I hadn't watered since before it all started, it'll soon start browning again.

And I saw the "forecast" calling for upper 60s to low 80s throughout the next 10 days. So I better start watering it again or it'll quickly go dormant again. GRRR

At least I can hold off watering the back lawn a little longer because most of it stays green longer than the front/side & doesn't need as much water as the front/side. Until the dead heat of summer that is!

Libby--how quickly does your lawn go dormant? It sounds like it happens pretty fast. I haven't watered yet either, but my lawn has been nice and green all along. I always wait until it hasn't rained for at least a week before I even test my sprinklers. I usually wait until it starts to look stressed before using them (sounds like your lawn already passed that point).

I know I've suggested similar things before, but even though your soil is sandy, I think you should try to force the grass to put down deeper roots. Grass can have very shallow roots if it's watered frequently. But if you suddenly start watering less frequently, it can wither and die because it doesn't get a chance to grow the roots.

I think I remember you're now watering three times a week (basically every other day, with one three day stretch). Try switching to every third day (I know it means resetting the timer every week, but in the long run it may pay off). Then, after a month of so of that, simply set it to run twice a week. The initial switch simply stretches each dry run to the current longest, and after a month, you've managed to eliminate one cycle.

The front/side lawn is exposed to the harshest sun, the soil is sandy & contains the majority of the utility wires & pipes, may be filled with building debris too & seems to be the most attacked by sod web worms.

It goes dormant probably two or three times faster than the backyard.

The backyard's somewhat thick, less holey, & gets some of the harsh southern sun, but mostly eastern & western.

The watering "every 3 days schedule" I relayed were just approximates.

There's really no set-in-stone schedule.

I have above-ground sprinklers (oscillating & impulse, 1 each) attached to hoses to move around & can't get the whole lawn at once.

So that throws the approximates off; for instance, when it's been dry & the grass is starting to dry up, one section gets watered one even-numbered day (I live in an even-numbered house & am allowed to water on even-numbered days) & the next even-numbered day the next section gets it & so on, then it's back to the first position.

There might be some overlapping though.

And if the area gets enough rain, that needs factored in & such throws off the "schedule" & approximates.

I thought last week a contractor was starting to dig trenches for in-ground sprinkler systems, but I guess I was wrong.

Instead someone must have been having a problem with a utility of some sort & the problem was obviously in-ground.

Libby--It sounds like you've got awful conditions for trying to improve your lawn. With the watering restrictions, you can't even do the "stretch an extra day" idea, since stretching one day means stretching two. I think that if I were in your shoes, I'd just do what I could to keep the lawn alive until it's time to move on. If you were going to be there for 20 years, it would be a different story, but I'm not sure it makes a lot of sense to try to improve something that is in such bad condition and is only temporary for you.

Well, according to people who have seen our lawn, our backyard is one of the best compared to what everyone else in the housing complex deals with.

That's why I was so frustrated with & wanting to protect it from "the fields of screams" on each side of it!

The front/side "wasteland" is nothing I'm going to work on other than just keeping it watered, fertilized & mowed because we'd have to tear it up, put down topsoil and/or compost & sod, all paid for & done by us as renters.

I've tried putting in topsoil & grass seed in a lot of the holes/pockets, but such attempts failed.

It makes me wonder if the dirt came from a Nevada test site!

bp,

I've been thinking of doing the "stretch an extra day" by watering the other section in the evening. I did last year because it used to be written in the housing newsletters that we could. I don't think I had any fungal problems doing so, but maybe that warning is more for moist air areas & those with clay soil.

The recent spring newsletter didn't say give permission for evening watering, that I remember. It did say to water deeply to 1" once a week. These people aren't familiar with the different soil & water problems in housing! I didn't retain the letter & housing inspectors are only on the job during the day. I think if I can get away with it, I should do it.