proper maintenace improves your lawn's health
Watering tips for your lawn
How much water does your lawn need? In general, grasses need about 1" to 1.5" of water per week to maintain green color and active growth. This amount of water will provide the optimum growth for your lawn.
Many factors such as the soil and weather all have a role in your lawn's water needs. Here are a few guidelines to follow:
Water thoroughly and less often so moisture soaks down to the roots. For example, if you've had no rainfall for the entire week and your lawn requires 1" of water for optimal health, applying 1/2" of water twice a week is better than applying 1/4" of water four times during the week. These lite-waterings aren't sufficient to penetrate down to the root level where the water is needed most. In fact, these lite-waterings encourage shallow root growth and actually do more harm than good. Exceptions to this general rule would be for newly seeded lawns where the surface needs to stay moist, newly sodded lawns that have not yet rooted into the soil, or when summer patch disease is a problem.
Water early in the day when lawns are normally wet from dew. Avoid midday due to evaporation, and at night due to increased chances of some diseases taking hold. Early in the day watering reduces the amount of evaporation that takes place during the very hot day and allows more water to actually reach the critical root zone.
Water uniformly across the lawn. Sprinklers vary in distribution patterns and require spray overlap for a uniform coverage. Placing coffee cans or similar straight-sided containers on the lawn can help measure water application rates. Avoid flooding areas, or missing other spots. On heavy clay soils and slopes, watch for excessive runoff; it may be necessary to apply the water in several applications to allow for adequate penetration.
Lawn watering is one aspect of maintaining a beautiful, healthy lawn all season in all weather conditions.
If you are serious about your lawn and want to do all you can to maintain its attractive, green quality, an automatic lawn irrigation system may be the best thing.
Automatic lawn irrigation systems actually conserve water when properly setup and maintained. Some systems even have rain monitors that adjusts the amount of irrigation is provided according to the amount of rainfall.
