How to Water Your Lawn?
A lot of people ask how to water your lawn? And most of the lawns don’t even need to be watered. There’s enough rain throughout many parts of the country that your lawn is going to be just fine without extra watering.
Turfgrass is a really hardy plant that can withstand periods without water. The first thing to do is take a look at the grass. Is it still looking green? Is it bouncing back after mowing it? You know footprints and such the longer those stay in the ground the means the grass doesn’t have enough moisture. It needs a little extra water.
So, in general, it is likely to shoot for around an inch of water per week and you can break that up into daily watering. But rather do it about 10 15 minutes per day than one inch all at once.
Because in the spring and the fall or when the roots are a lot deeper. But in the summer, they start to die back and you need to water more of the surface more frequently than once a week.
Let the rain do the majority of my watering. But if we get a really dry period and it’s been three-four weeks without any rain. Then throw the sprinklers for about 10-15 minutes just to hydrate the turf. You just need to keep it wet.
If the lawn is in a drought summer or if it’s July and August. Then let the lawn go for a little while here because it’s going to bounce right back when the rains return in the fall.
Calibrate Your Water System
A real simple way to calibrate your irrigation system is to take any little container a plastic container or a can. Put those out around where your irrigation is heading and then run your system for 10 minutes. Then measure how much water your system delivers every 10 minutes. A very easy and inexpensive way for you to understand what your system delivers and how much you need to replace.
What is the Best Time to Water Your Lawn?
Do it in the heat of the day to cool the plants down. And do it in the morning or at night. But my favorite time is in the morning. Because if irrigate in the morning, it’s like drinking water before a race.
If you go at the end of the day, the problem is you still watering the plants but if you go into the night and the plants are wet. Then you’re going to be more prone to certain diseases throughout the season. So, watering in the morning is the best time.
Dormant Watering
The other strategy for watering your lawn is dormant watering. For those who don’t water daily. Let’s say, we don’t get rain for a month. Your lawn is going to go from that greenish color to a purple to a brown. And not until we get to about four or five weeks, do you want to do this dormant watering.
And the reason is we want to hydrate that turf just to keep it alive. Because it’s been four weeks without any rain. It’s not going to green up here but rather this one-time watering says for 10-15 minutes.
You water your whole lawn just to hydrate the grass to ensure that it survives and then if the drought continues for another week. Let’s water again just to keep it alive. As our grass goes dormant, there’s no green left.
Read: The Best Way to Water a Lawn without a Sprinkler System
Those plants are going to snap back into the fall. If it starts to turn gray, that’s an indicator that the grass is starting to die. We want to put more water down there to make sure that we help it survive into the fall.
How to Determine How Long to Water?
Here are 5 steps for determining how long to water your lawn each time.
- Wait until your lawn actually needs water
- Turn on the lawn water sprinklers
- Run for a while (for 15 minutes)
- Do the shovel test to check if the water is penetrated 6-10 inches into your soil. It is best to check in several locations to check if the water is entered your lawn. If not, then water more.
- If your soil is not wet deep enough for an initial 15 minutes. Then run the sprinkler for another 10 minutes and water your lawn deep.
What are the Problems with Watering Too Short or Too Long?
- Watering too short cause shallow root syndrome that encourages weed germination in your lawns and gardens.
- And more watering can turn a lighter shade of grass to green or yellow. It also causes young shoots to wilt, promotes excessive growth, and grows algae, fungus, and mushrooms.
Read: How to Conserve Water in Your Lawn?
Lawn Watering Tips
Summarize
Let the rain do the majority of your watering. If you do water, it’s about an inch per week and you want to break that into daily watering. The best time of day to water is early morning. By following these tips, not only will you save water but you’ll have a happy healthy lawn.
Reference
https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/faq/when-best-time-water-garden
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278788700_Are_you_watering_your_lawn
https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g6720
I am Ricky Martin, a seasoned landscape designer, a passionate gardener, and a barbecue enthusiast. With 12 years of experience in building and restoring, I welcome you to my website lawnscanner.com
