When drought conditions hit, your lawn feels it first. Without adequate moisture, grass blades struggle to stay green, resilient, and healthy. While some varieties can go dormant and bounce back when rain returns, prolonged dryness can cause lasting damage.
Lawn care is a year round effort, so if you experience dry spells, learn how to prepare for the effects of droughts, and put actions into place to prevent a brown lawn.
Grass struggling with drought stress will first fade from green to a dull blue-gray before becoming thinning yellow or brown patches. A simple footprint test—where imprints linger instead of bouncing back—can indicate dehydration.
While some grass goes dormant during dry conditions to conserve energy while staying alive beneath the surface, dead grass pulls up easily with dry, brittle roots and won’t recover after rain.
Catching drought stress early is important. Prolonged water shortage weakens the lawn, making it more vulnerable to weeds, fungi, and compaction.
Most lawns can survive 3-4 weeks without water before showing signs of dormancy. Some grass varieties can last longer before experiencing signs of stress, but after about 6 weeks without moisture, permanent damage may occur.
No, you should not fertilize a dry lawn. The solution is mention to force active growth which can stress your lawn further when it is already experiencing a lack of water. Wait until the dry, hot weather subsides, then apply a balanced fertilizer to aid recovery.
Letting your lawn go dormant is often the best option if watering restrictions are in place. Remember, you can always reseed a dead lawn later. Light, frequent watering isn’t beneficial—deep, infrequent watering is more effective when possible.
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In the world of high school football, earning a coveted fifth star is a huge deal. It signifies being a truly elite talent and brings all the big-name schools into the mix. Earning that fifth star and being labeled an "athlete" is even more appealing to major programs. A player with the athlete label can play multiple positions and is essentially a versatile football player. Xavier Sabb of Glassboro HS (NJ) just received that coveted fifth star and is now ranked as the 14th overall recruit in the nation. Xavier is a 6-foot-1, 180-pound versatile player who has played defensive back, running back, safety, cornerback, and even taken snaps at quarterback, where he used his speed and elusiveness in a "Wildcat" type of setup. Xavier also comes from a bloodline of talent, as his older brother Keon started his career in Ann Arbor, winning the 2023 National Championship with the Wolverines. Following that championship season, Keon surprised many people and transferred to Alabama, where he has continued to excel. Both Keon's current and former teams are in hot pursuit of his younger brother's talents. This recruitment feels like one that will drag out for quite a bit, and the younger Sabb may not commit until closer to the 2027 Signing Day. Whatever team lands Xavier is going ot get a player that can make a difference in a variety of ways and may not find his true postion until he reaches his program of choice.
The Cleveland Browns are giving Shedeur Sanders special treatment in training camp, but it's not the type of favoritism the fifth-round pick would necessarily want. Per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN, Sanders is the only Browns quarterback who has not been taking reps with the first-team offense during OTAs or the first two practices of training camp. Former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Kenny Pickett, veteran Joe Flacco and rookie Dillon Gabriel have all split reps with the first team. Despite being asked to throw passes to members of the equipment staff amid a shortage of professional pass-catchers for a four-quarterback roster, Sanders said he's thankful for the opportunity to show the Browns coaching staff his talents. "I feel like that it's not in my control, so I'm not going to think about that or even have that in my thought process of why it is," Sanders said to a question as to why he's not getting first-team reps. "There's a lot of people who want to have the opportunity to be at this level, and I'm here and I'm thankful to have the opportunity. So, whenever that is, that is." Sanders, 23, believes that he can contribute more to the Browns than what the coaching staff is asking of him. "It doesn't make me feel down or left out because I know who I am as a person," Sanders said. "I know who I am as an individual and I know what I could bring to this team. So, I can never feel less than any circumstance." The Browns selected Sanders with the No. 144 pick in April's draft. As a player whom many draft analysts thought was a first-round talent, Cleveland took what could be the steal of the draft in the fifth round. It's curious why the Browns aren't giving Sanders a shot with the first team early in training camp before the quarterback race becomes more serious. Cleveland should see what Sanders has to offer this summer. Flacco, 40, isn't a long-term solution at the position. Pickett failed in Pittsburgh. The Browns need to gauge what rookies Gabriel and Sanders can do with the first team. Having Sanders throw balls to the equipment staff is a waste of everyone's time. But then again, Cleveland has wasted plenty of quarterbacks.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been easing their way into training camp ahead of the 2025 season. The players have just been wearing helmets and shorts, and the pads will come on soon. Pittsburgh's training camp is always known as being one of the most intense in the league, and that is because Head Coach Mike Tomlin has his team go full contact, which is something other coaches around the NFL try to avoid. The pads will come on on Tuesday, and fans should expect to see some skirmishes as emotions rise throughout the rest of camp. Practices in just helmets and shorts are difficult for the big guys in the trenches. It is essentially impossible to simulate blocking without pads on, so the defenders and offensive linemen are itching for when the team gets to go full contact. Second-year offensive lineman Troy Fautanu spoke to the media on Sunday, and he shared how things have been going at practice, while also noting that the two sides of the ball have been going at it. "You know, there's a lot of banter going on between the offense and the defense right now." Fautanu said. "As you guys could tell yesterday, things got a little rowdy. I mean, that's something that's normal. I'm super excited just to finally be able to play real football, because as an offensive lineman it's the worst thing to play football in shorts and t-shirts." Fautanu is probably itching to get back to full contact more than others after missing nearly all of his rookie season in 2024. He played in one game in Week 2 before suffering a knee injury that kept him out for the rest of the year. Tuesday will be the first time he gets to put the pads on and get truly physical in nearly a year. The way he described things, it sounds like there will probably be some confrontations as the offense and defense have already been going at it. Training camp is going to be a true test for Fautanu. He is the team's starting right tackle going into the season, and the organization is relying on the offensive line to take a step forward. He needs to try to live up to his first-round label, and he is going to have to do so while blocking TJ Watt in every practice. Watt is going to be moving around the defensive formation more often than usual, but most of his snaps will come when he is lined up over the right tackle. Fautanu is going to be tested on every snap, and if he can handle Watt, he can handle anyone in the league. Having to go up against Watt every day in practice is good for Fautanu in the long run. Practicing against the best is only going to make him better, and he won't have to block anyone during the 2025 regular season that is as good of a pass rusher as Watt. Steelers' Fautanu Could Solidify 2024 Draft For Pittsburgh It is already looking like the Steelers made a ton of right decisions during the 2024 NFL Draft. Zach Frazier had a spectacular rookie season in 2024, and he is looking like he could be one of the best centers in the league. Mason McCormick was a pleasant surprise at right tackle when he was thrust into the starting lineup, and it seems he has gotten considerably better over the course of the 2025 offseason. If Fautanu can prove he is the starting right tackle of the future for the Steelers, then the organization would have nailed three cornerstones of the franchise in just one draft. All contenders have solid offensive lines, and it looks like the Steelers might have one that could be great in the near future.
The Cleveland Guardians are quite a mystery heading into the MLB trade deadline, as no one seems to know whether they will buy, sell or possibly even do nothing before July 31. The Guardians are hovering around .500, but they are still smack dab in the middle of the American League Wild Card race. That's in spite of losing 10 straight just before the All-Star break. Even with Cleveland remaining in contention, there are some who believe the Guardians might sell given their conservative nature, but talk show host Bruce Drennan has provided some rather bad news for the team in that regard: the players they might want to move don't have much value. “No top prospects for a big bat, and I don’t necessarily see us selling players, like Carlos Santana or Lane Thomas. What can you get in return?” Drennan said. Drennan has a point. Santana and Thomas are both impending free agents, and neither has been all that good this season. Santana owns a .665 OPS, and Thomas has been on and off the injured list while hitting just .160 on the year. Of course, the Guardians would surely be able to land a hefty return for players like Steven Kwan and Emmanuel Clase, but it does not seem like Cleveland is going to move either of those two stars. Perhaps the Guardians will surprise some people and go all in by adding pieces at the deadline, but that isn't exactly in their nature. We'll see what happens before the end of the months, but it stands to reason that Cleveland might just stand pat, as Drennan anticipates. Read More Cleveland Guardians Coverage