Resilience is the one word that keeps surfacing in my mind during my recent travels. When you really break it down, most of the planning, preparation, and work we put into managing turf comes down to one goal: building resilience to prepare the grass to withstand whatever each season throws at it.
When I talk to clients about this, I often use the analogy of raising children. It seems to click. In my experience, if you’re always stepping in to do everything for your kids, they may struggle later when life gets tough. At some point, they must join the real world, earn a living, take care of themselves, and navigate challenges. Ideally, their upbringing prepares them for that.
Turfgrass is no different.
If we constantly water to keep conditions perfect, the grass has no reason to grow deeper roots in search of moisture. Why would it? The same goes for fertilizer. When grass is hungry, it will find nutrients if it must. But if we spoon-feed it every time, it won’t develop the mechanisms it needs to survive under stress.
Of course, sometimes conditions get so extreme that you do need to step in, just like a parent would when a child is truly struggling. There’s nothing wrong with lending support when it’s needed. But resilience is built in the in-between moments, the manageable struggles, the small droughts, the slow nutrient releases.
So, the next time you reach for the irrigation controller or fertilizer bag, pause for a second. Ask yourself:
• Does the turf really need this right now?
• Is this a window for it to “grow” a little instead?
• Will it be stressed—or will it be stretched just enough to adapt and strengthen?
There’s nothing I enjoy more than my relationship with grass. Watching it become more self-sufficient, season by season, is one of the most rewarding parts of this work.
