Question
Hello,

My lawn has always been the talk of the neighborhood.  I try to follow alot of the advice thats given here.(Great website by the way!) But for the past 2 months Ive noticed that everytime I mow my lawn the lines from the wheels stay imprinted.  When I walk on my lawn my foot prints stay imprinted as well.  I water three times a week, 3 times a day for 15 min.  Thats all I can water before the it starts to run into the street.  My lawn is still green and still looks decent but no where as it did 3 months ago.  I know that fall is upon us and my grass will start to go brown but I am nervouse about the imprints that will not go away.  Any help would be great.  I live in El Paso, TX if this helps.  Thank you!!!!

Answer
Textbook trouble, my friend.

To quote the wise ones at North Carolina's Clemson Extension, 'Your footprints will appear in a Lawn when the Grass plants have low levels of water in their tissues.  When the Grass blades are compressed by your feet, the low water levels prevent the Grass blades from springing back up.  If your footprints remain for an extended period of time, the Lawn should be watered to prevent the Grass from becoming dormant.'

See for yourself:

hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1207.htm

But you knew that.

Because you are trying your best to water right, and you have to stop and start again, 3 times a day, or there's a flood.

Your watering schedule is promoting growth of shallow roots.  And you already know how bad that is.

Here's what you've got to do to fix that:

1.  Get your Soil tested.  It's not holding enough water for a reason.  I don't want to guess at the best way to correct your Soil, but you may have a drainage problem.  You can find out what that subsoil is made of and then we can fix it.  Follow instructions carefully:

soiltesting.tamu.edu/webpages/thelab.html

The price: less than the cost of a tank of gas.

A few years ago they did this FOR FREE in Texas, but with War in the Middle East, the megadeficit, and Wall Street falling apart, I think those days are over.

2.  Try a soaker hose; see if that helps at all.  This is not a substitute by the way for Step 1 above.  Get your Soil tested anyway.

Try to avoid chemical fertilizers, and keep Grass clippings and fallen leaves on your Lawn to build up tilth and organic matter.  Let me know when you get your Soil Test results.

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER