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How Long Should I Water The Lawn

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Can I Water My Lawn At Night

How Long Should I Water My Lawn after seeding?

Depending on where you live, it can be challenging to find that sweet spot regarding the best time to water your lawns. Not everyone has time in the morning to do it before the suns intensity increases, so they may decide to do it at night.

But ask any lawn or garden enthusiast, and they will warn against watering at night. Why is that, and can you water your lawn at night? Its not particularly ideal. When you water your lawns at night, youre increasing leaf wetness. This can lead to fungal problems regardless of whether you believe your grass type is hardy or not.

Given New Zealands extended daylight hours in summer, there is a little more wiggle room to water at night. However, youll need to make sure that nightfall is still a way off. When in doubt, water before 10 am.

Top 5 Tips For Watering Your Lawn

Watering your lawn is one of the most important parts of caring for your lawn. Not watering enough leads to a range of different lawn problems and can ultimately lead to your lawns demise. On the other hand, watering too much can have adverse effects on your lawn as well.

So here are the top 5 tips we recommend in keeping your lawn well hydrated and drought tolerant, so it performs at its best.

  • Use sprinklers and soaker hoses for a more consistent spread of water to your area. Try not to hand water with a hose as this will only lead to inconsistencies in your watering.
  • Water your lawn in the morning and in the evening. You are best watering when its not the heat of the day. You also dont want to water at night, as this can cause fungal issues in your lawn.
  • Water for longer time periods, less frequently. Watering your lawn 2-3 times a week for an hour each time is much better than watering your lawn 6 times a week for only 15 minutes. You want to train your lawn to be more drought tolerant. Frequent short waterings will only cause your lawn to become thirstier and less drought tolerant.
  • Different lawn types require different amounts of water, so take this into consideration when choosing a new lawn.
  • It is also important to abide by any water restrictions in your area. By ensuring you select a drought tolerant lawn and follow these simple steps it will be a lot more manageable for your lawn to cope during these restrictions.

    About Green Bee Lawn Care

    Green Bee Lawn Care is your reliable, family-owned Houston Lawn Care Company. We offer professional lawn care services to customers in the Houston, Texas and surrounding areas. We pride ourselves on providing a one-stop shop for all of your lawn care needs including, weed control, lawn fertilization, aeration, seeding, fire ant control, tree & shrub care, mosquito spraying, and more.

    Love lawns as much as we do? Browse our lawn care blog for more helpful lawn tips and information.

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    How Do I Know If My Lawn Needs Watering

    As temperatures rise, the grass plants require more water to stay hydrated. Between April and October, if there has been less than 20 minutes of continuous rain during the day, your lawn will most likely need watering. You can also check how dry the soil is to determine if it requires watering.

    The easiest way to check is to use a metal object such as a screwdriver and insert it in to the soil. If it can be easily inserted, that generally means it is damp enough. If you are unable to insert the screwdriver or if it is dry when you remove it, you should water your lawn.

    There are also several signs to look out for:

    1. The first sign that your lawn will show is one that isnt so obvious. When the grass plants in your lawn detect a lack of water, they will enter survival mode. This will force the grass plants to try and reproduce by creating seeds.

    Above: Grass seeds will rise above the lawn in an attempt to reproduce when in survival mode

    2. If your lawn is left unwatered or there is a reduced amount of rain for much longer, the soil in the first few inches of your lawn will dry out, and the grass plants will no longer be able to sustain their green leaves. Some areas of your lawn might start to go brown quicker than others. These areas, often the ones that are walked upon the most, are referred to as localised-compaction areas. Although in some lawns localised compaction can happen anywhere.

    How Frequently To Water Your Lawn

    How Long Should You Water Your Lawn?

    How you parcel out the water is important, too. You might think that watering a little bit every day is a smart approach, but youd be wrong. Its better to water deeply and infrequently, Cutler says. About a third of an inch every two to three days is a good goal.

    Why is this so? Turns out your lawn is not unlike your kid: pampering it in the short run doesnt do it any long-term favors. If you water lightly every day, your grass never has to reach deep into the soil to get a healthy drink. The roots become shallow. And grass with shallow roots is susceptible to wilting and other woes.

    If, instead, you wait a day or two before you water, then give the turf a little more to drink, the water will seep deeper into the soil, and the roots will stretch down deeper in pursuit of it. A deeper root system is what you want.

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    How Long Should You Water An Area Of Grass

    If youve found that your lawn requires 30 minutes of water per time you water it, divide it by half and water it once a week. You should water your grass at least once every two weeks, but if you have a lot of grass, you may need to water more often. You may also want to check with your local water supplier to see how often they recommend watering lawns.

    How To Tell If Your Grass Isnt Getting Enough Water

    There are several tell-tale signs that you need to water your lawn. Its simple as can be, but if your once-vibrant green lawn has taken on a gray shade, you need to water. Curled grass blades are another indicatorit means your grass is thirsty.

    If youre unsure, consider tackling one of two tests. For the step test, simply walk on your lawn. If your lawn is well-watered, your grass should spring right back up where youve stepped. If it doesnt, its lacking moisture, so it needs water.

    The screwdriver test is another classic. See if you can drive a long-bladed screwdriver 6 inches into the soil. If you cant push the tool down that far or you meet a lot of resistance, its time to water.

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    Figure The Water Output Of Your Sprinkler System

    To calculate how much water your sprinkler system puts out per hour, place six straight-sided containers of the same size and shape in one area of the lawn where your sprinklers hit and run your sprinklers for 20 minutes. Measure the depth of water in each container with a ruler and calculate the average depth across the containers.

    Multiply the depth by three to figure out how many inches of water your sprinkler system puts out per hour. For example, if the containers each had , ¼, ¼, ¼, ¼, and inches of water, the average water depth would be ¼ inches, and your sprinklers water output would be 1½ inches per hour .

    How To Water More Efficiently

    How Much Should I Water My Lawn? | Lawn Watering Tips

    Pure, fresh water is fundamental to human life, yet we waste it in so many ways. So how can you have a nice lawn while using a modicum of water? Let me elucidate.

    Choose a grass well-adapted to your region. Here in north-central Alabama, most people grow either zoysia or Bermuda. Both are naturally drought-tolerant and don’t need regular watering. My Bermuda-grass lawn is rarely watered. When it doesn’t rain, the grass goes dormant and turns brown. OK, fine. Eventually, it rains and the grass wakes up and turns green again. Simple. Now you can try to grow tall fescue here, but unless you water it regularly, it dies in a heartbeat. St. Augustine grows well here, but needs more water than zoysia and Bermuda. Bottom linepick a grass suited to your climate that doesn’t need a lot of water.

    Don’t make the lawn bigger than you need. Devote more area to natural areas and drought-tolerant plants and ground covers. Watch your water bill shrink.

    Water at the right time. The best time to water is very early morning before it gets hot. Most of the water will make it to the roots. Plus, the grass blades will dry quickly, preventing disease problems.

    Don’t mow your grass during droughts. Cut grass loses lots of moisture through cut blades and turns brown if you don’t water it. So don’t cut. My rule during hot, dry summers is, don’t cut the grass until it rains two days in a row.

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    Signs Of An Overwatered Lawn

    Adding too much water to your lawn prevents the grass from accessing the other elements it needs to survive. It also keeps the grass from growing deeper roots because water is so available higher in the ground. Look for these signs to determine if you’re watering too much:

    • Mini streams of water running off your lawn
    • A lawn that squishes when you step on it
    • Thatch or weeds crowding out the grass
    • Discoloration from fungus

    Using Irrigation For Lawn Watering In North Texas

    We know that there is a lot to keep in mind as you perform lawn watering in North Texas. What is often thought of as a really simple thing to do can be a bit more complicated than people realize.But as weve said, to achieve the best results, you really do need to follow through on best practices.As weve alluded to several times, rather than figuring all of this out on your own, you can remove the guesswork and use irrigation for lawn watering in North Texas. The goal is to make sure that you have an irrigation system that is ideally matched to the needs of your property.

    Keeping up with regular irrigation maintenance is important to ensure that your system continues to operate optimally and that youre getting the best results. Tweaks, adjustments, and repairs are needed over time. At Grassperson, we offer ongoing irrigation maintenance to ensure that all of your lawn watering needs are met. This begins with an early-season analysis in which we can make recommendations and improvements as needed to ensure that you get your season off on the best foot possible. After that, if you are truly going for the best-looking lawn on the block, then you would also want to consider a mid-season analysis at the time that we are most likely to be in drought. Its windy and hotand that can have a negative impact on the lawn. Your system may need to be dialed up in some areas and dialed back in others. These decisions are site-specific and therefore require a customized approach.

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    Watering Different Types Of Lawns

    During the first year of your lawns growth, whether it’s a newly seeded, sodded, sprigged, or plugged lawn, don’t rely solely on Mother Nature to do the watering. Additional irrigation should always be provided.

    When watering a newly seeded lawn, the key is to keep the top inch of soil consistently moist but not soggy. You will likely need to mist the seeded area once or twice a day . Once the seeds start to germinate, continue to keep the top 2 inches of soil moist until the new grass reaches a mowing height of around 3 inches. After that, begin to cut back watering to twice per week and soak the soil deeper, about 6 to 8 inches, to encourage the grass roots to grow down deep into the soil.

    Should The Percentage Feature Be Adjusted

    How Long To Irrigate Lawn : How Long To Water Grass Seed With Sprinkler ...

    Most irrigation systems come with a percentage feature. This feature allows you to control the percentage of the set time your sprinkler system will run. For example, if you have set your sprinkler to run for 10 minutes and the percentage feature is set to 100%, the system will run for the full 10 minutes.

    During the hot summer months, keep the percentage at 100%. During the cooler months , reduce the percentage according to the temperature. You can start to reduce the percentage in September and back off the length of time you water until you shut the system down for the winter.

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    Why Is It Important To Water My Lawn

    A proper lawn watering routine is an essential part of lawn care. Maintaining a healthy lawn is not only important for curb appeal, but also for the plants to ward off pests, common weeds, and lawn disease. Watering your lawn is part of an overall comprehensive lawn care program that can help grass thrive into a happy, healthy, and enjoyable turf all season long.

    The perfect lawn requires more than just a regular watering routine. Other equally important components of a comprehensive lawn care program include weed control and fertilizer to keep your grass strong and thriving.

    Watering Your Lawn: Dos And Donts

    When youre in pursuit of a perfectly lush lawn, its easy to get disheartened by seasonal changes. Summer brings with it irregular rainfall, which increases the chances that youll end up with a dry or even dead lawn.

    To combat that, many homeowners start getting into the habit of watering their lawns. But are they doing it right? Youre about to find out.

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    Youve Watered After Fertilizing Now What

    After this initial watering, avoid watering your lawn for a couple days so the nutrients can settle in. Then, return to your regular lawn-watering schedule, and remember these tips:

    • Dont water every day. Water deeply and infrequently. Water too often, and it encourages shallow, needy roots. Water less often but deeply, and roots will grow deeper and healthier and be happy with less water. Grass needs about an inch of water each week.
    • Early morning is the best time to water. Its still cool, so all that valuable water wont evaporate in the hot sun. Wrap up your watering as close to sunrise as possible. If sunrise is at 6 a.m., you should be done watering at 6.

    When To Water Your Lawn After Fertilizing

    How To Water Your Lawn After Seeding

    If your lawn gets liquid fertilizer, wait until it dries before watering, about 2-4 hours.If its granular fertilizer, water right away. One exception: if you also got spot weed treatments at the same time, wait for that to dry before watering, or the water will wash off the weed killer before it can work.

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    When To Water Grass In Hot Weather

    During summer, many parts of Aotearoa heat up quickly. It can almost seem like youre fighting a losing battle against the mercury to make sure your lawns get enough water. The best time to water grass in hot weather is before the sun burns through the morning cloud.

    Aim for before 10 am ideally between 6 am and 8 am. To ensure you dont forget, consider purchasing a timing system for your water irrigation unit that switches on the water at that ideal time so that you dont have to.

    What Happens If I Don’t Water My Lawn

    The grass plants will eventually become dormant and will dry out. Your lawn will look very brown and yellow, and weeds will start to take over fairly quickly.

    The soil will start to develop areas of localised compaction , and will require some form of renovation to fix.

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    Watering In A Heatwave

    Extreme heat can stress the lawn so under super hot conditions be prepared to give your lawn a cooling shower for about 10 minutes. You can do this in the hottest part of the day and it will bring the soil temperature down considerably. It’s not likely to add much in the way of watering but it will enable the grass plants to access some water more easily and cool themselves down by transpiration the equivalent of sweating.

    How Long Should I Water My Lawn Each Week

    How Long Should You Water Your Lawn

    Since lawns need 1-1.5 inches of water per week, many factors determine the amount of water your grass requires weekly. Watering 2-3 times throughout the week instead of daily or only once per week is the best way to keep your lawn consistently hydrated. Each time you water, it is generally recommended to water your yard so that the soil is wet 6-8 inches under the surface.

    The size of your lawn will be the most significant determining factor in the time it takes to water your lawn weekly. To develop a baseline of how long your lawn should be watered, calculate how much water it takes to reach the 6-8 inches of soil wetness. This baseline will tell you the right length of time to water your lawn each week.

    A simple way to calculate this is to set a timer for 15 minutes and water your lawn during this time. Next, determine how far the water has seeped into the soil by placing a screwdriver into the ground, remove the screwdriver, and measure the inches down it is wet. Add or subtract time from the 15 minute interval to reach the soil wetness depth, and apply this interval to the other areas of your lawn.

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