Other Watering Guidelines To Consider:
- Proper watering is critical to your lawns health and vigor. Deep and infrequent watering is the best practice. During the hotter months of the year, the lawn will require more water, so that may mean ¾ of irrigation at a time rather than the ½ of irrigation typically required in the cooler months. This means wetting the soil to a depth of 4-6 inches per irrigation.
- Water at times of low wind.
- Water during the very early morning rather than in the afternoon or evening to minimize risk for disease.
- To reduce water runoff and to help water penetrate and soak deeply into the soil, we recommend Cycle and Soak watering schedule. Instead of watering for a long period of time and allowing the water to runoff into the street, divide the total watering time per zone by 3. Water 3 shorter intervals . For example at 3am, 4am, and 5am, before winds pick up. Each cycle, water for 15 minutes for rotor heads, 8 minutes for stationary pop-ups, and 30 minutes for low volume MP Rotator heads. Water less in shaded or poorly drained areas.
- Do not water every day or two. Frequent, short watering encourages shallow roots, unhealthy grass, plants, and leaves turf susceptible to drought, weeds, and disease.
Tips To Care For Your Sprinklers
Just as with your car, after a while, your system needs a good tune up. Small changes can make a big difference and if each sprayer needs just a little attention, your lawn will seriously benefit from a one a year adjustment. Many lawn care programs will not only turn on your sprinklers in the spring and winterize them in the fall, but will also inspect and adjust your sprinklers.
This sprinkler check up is crucial to making sure your lawn is getting full coverage and that youre not spending extra in water bills.
How Long Should I Water My Lawn In Utah
During spring and fall, opt to water your lawn three times a week for up to 30 minutes. In the summertime, grass will need a more extended watering schedule, with 45-minute sessions or longer. Water your lawn, so it receives enough moisture up to 2 inches in depth during the spring and up to 3 inches in depth in the summer.
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Should I Have A Sprinkler System Watering Schedule
A sprinkler system watering schedule is a good way to water more efficiently. If you use a regular hose and sprinkler or if you have an automatic sprinkler system, it is best to water during the early morning so the grass can dry before nighttime. This helps prevent fungal problems.
Allow your sprinklers to run long enough to give your grass an inch or two of water each week. If your soil doesnt absorb water quickly enough to prevent runoff, divide your watering time in half and do it twice a week.
Keep in mind that you may only need to do this in certain zones of your yard. Other areas that better absorb water may be able to be watered with one deep watering a week. Pay close attention to how well the water is absorbed and adjust your schedule accordingly. Be careful not to allow the water to run for too long so you dont waste water and damage your lawn.
How Much Water To Use
When watering an established lawn, its typically recommended to water until the top 6 to 8 inches of soil is wet. Most lawns need 1 to 1.5 inches of water per weekeither from rain or wateringto soak the soil that deeply. That amount of water can either be applied during a single watering or divided into two waterings during the week. Just be sure not to overwater your lawn.
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What To Do When Your Lawn Is In The Shade Or Sun
Every lawn is different, and your grass will respond to your layout, grass type, and climate. Most grass should be watered in the morning before 10 am, whether it is in the shade or the sun. If you are worried about keeping a watering schedule, consider getting a water timer. Grass that is in shady areas should not be overwatered or left soggy at night because of the increased risk of disease. Sunny areas are more likely to lose more water to evaporation and may need more frequent watering.
Overall, remember that grass growing in the shade and the sun both need enough time to lose any excess moisture. You want the root systems of your turf to get adequate moisture, but not end up drowning in water because of negligence or overcompensation. When in doubt, choose to water your lawn at varying intervals within the week and allow enough moisture to penetrate the roots. Check on grass that is shaded by trees or shrubbery, and dont overlook a lawn that is constantly in full sun to ensure balance.
How To Properly Water Established Fescue Turf:
- The recommendations below are meant to be starting points to help you find out what your lawn needs. You should check the moisture of the soil throughout the lawn daily and weekly. If the soil is too wet reduce the minutes you water for that section of the lawn. If the soil is too dry add more minutes to that section of the lawn. If that doesnt help, then you can try adding or reducing a day of watering to help reach the proper moisture level.
- Fescue turf is established after it has been through one complete 12-month cycle. If more than 50% of your lawn was newly seeded in the past 12 months or your lawn has had new sod in the past 12 months this watering schedule may not work for your lawn. You will need to watch your lawn and water more as your lawn shows signs of stress.
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Keep These Tips In Mind When Watering A Cool
- Tall fescue has a deep root system and the highest drought tolerance of all the cool-season grass types.
- Lawns that are a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and fine fescues will go dormant during drought if not watered, but will revive when rain returns.
There are tons of ways to water your lawn, from sprinklers to smart watering solutions. Each has their own sets of benefits, so choose the solution that works best for you and your lawn. Below are a few methods to consider.
Pulsating sprinklers : These shoot water horizontally at a high velocity so the water isnt affected by wind.
Hose-end sprinklers: Great for small- to medium-size lawns. There are many different types, so you can choose the one that fits your lawn best.
In-ground sprinklers: These can deliver water in the most efficient pattern. Choose sprinklers that are low to the ground and use a horizontal spray pattern for best results.
Watering Techniques Make A Difference
Peak summer heat is just around the corner, and itscrucial that your yard gets the proper amount of water in order to thrivethroughout the spring and summer.
Our Top 4 Watering Tips:
1. Prep.If you have an irrigation system in place, itsimportant to do an audit at the beginning of each season to ensure thateverything is working as it should. Each head of the sprinkler system should bechecked to make sure its firing at all cylinders. You dont want to wait untilyou have a glaring patch of dead grass to realize that one of your sprinklerheads is broken or clogged.
2. Timing.Early birds rejoice, because the best time to wateryour lawn is between 4am and 8am, before the days heat kicks in. This allowsthe best chance for the grass to absorb the water. Watering in the afternoonincreases the rate of water evaporation and increases the risk for diseaseactivity in the grass.
3. Frequency.Its ideal to water deeply 3-4 times per week, ratherthan watering shallowly daily. This encourages the grass to develop deeper,stronger root systems. On the other hand, watering daily can create shallowroots, weed issues and cause the yard treatments we apply to break down morequickly than they should.
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How Much Water For A Healthy Lawn
Your grass needs up to 1½ inches of water per week in the summer, but you dont have to do it all at once. You can spread waterings out in two sessions. This will help to further protect your lawn against drought.
There are a few ways you can tell if youve given your lawn the right amount of water
- Check your soil every 15 minutes during your first watering to see how long it takes to get soaked. Then take a shovel or a screwdriver to get a measurement. When youve determined the water has gone six inches deep, note the time. Thats how long it should take in the future.
- If you have a sprinkler system, find what type of sprinkler head youre using and determine its flow rate. If you multiply the square footage of your lawn by 0.62 gallons and divide that figure by the flow rate, youll find out how many minutes to run your sprinkler.
- Place empty tuna cans around the lawn and measure how long it takes for the sprinkler to fill each can with an inch of water. The sprinkler coverage will vary, so use the average time it takes to fill the cans.
One other thing you can try is the 20-minute method. Typically, it takes 20 minutes, 3 times per week to get an inch of water on your lawn. And 30 minutes, 3 times per week, will get 1½ inches down and reach even deep root systems.
But keep this in mind: During extreme heat, you will need to water more, due to evaporation and heat stress on the grass. Thats why you should try watering your lawn early in the morning.
Sprinkler Run Time Calculator
If youve had a hard time calculating your lawns sprinkler run time, you can download a sprinkler run time calculator. There are several you can access online. A few includes:
- Hunter Run time calculator
- Pennington seed watering calculator
- Irrigation run time calculator
You dont have to worry about poor timing, lousy watering practices, and the results. With these calculators, you can easily figure out important information and apply it.
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Skip These Watering Tricks
Using sprinklers in the blazing hot sun. Hello? Using sprinklers when it’s sunny and 95 degrees is dumber than swimming with polar bears. Practically all the water applied will evaporate into the hot air before ever reaching the roots. You might as well water the storm drain.
Using sprinklers when it’s raining. Most people guilty of this use in-ground sprinklers set by a timer. Having to eat boiled yak every day for a year is not too harsh a punishment.
Using sprinklers to water the street. Again, in-ground sprinklers are the culprit. People set them to go off in the middle of the night and never see where the sprinklers are pointed. As I’ve said before, you can water asphalt all you want, but that stuff just ain’t gonna grow.
Giving your flowers, shrubs, and trees the same amount of water that you give your grass. Different plants have different water requirements. Treating them all the same means one will be happy and the others will hate you. Who practices such idiocy more often than anybody else? Owners of in-ground sprinkler systems.
Recommended Sprinkler Run Times
Lets face it, for everyone, American or not, one of the conventionally shared dreams is owning a house. Not just any home, but one with perfectly mowed and healthy lawns, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, sophisticated interiors, white picket fence, and more.
While all of these arent always attainable, most people have a lawn at least, thats a start!
With having a lawn comes the chore of taking care of it properly. One solution? Sprinklers!
Sprinklers take off a lot of work from your shoulders, but as much as they are helpful, they can also be harmful to your lawn. Knowing when to run your sprinklers, how long they should run, and the intervals at which they should be run is essential.
Theres a significant connection between the right or standard sprinkler run time and a healthy lawn. Heres what you should know.
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When Should I Stop Watering My Lawn In Utah
Watering: Its time to cut back on watering the lawn in September. You should only need to water every six or so days through the month, tapering off to no water in the months of November and December. If you live outside of the Wasatch Front, you may not need to cut back until November.
Set Your Sprinkler System To Proper Schedules
If you set your automatic controller one time and let it run all season without adjusting it, youre wasting a lot of water.
Watering schedules should be based on the Evapotranspiration rate for your area. We can calculate how much water your landscape needs and change your watering schedule throughout the season with ET information.
Water early in the morning set your controller to water before 10:00 AM to reduce evaporation.
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How To Water Your Lawn In The Summer Months
Prior to the summer heat setting in, deciding whether or not to spend the time during the season on watering your lawn is an important decision to be made. A lawns self-defense against summer drought is to go dormant, similar to what a lawn does over the winter. The lawn stops top growth, turns brown and as a result, puts all its energy to keeping the roots alive. If you decide that spending the time and money on keeping your lawn green and growing during the summer months, watering your lawn on a regular basis and before the summer heat hits is imperative. Once a lawn goes under drought stress and turns brown it takes a longer time to green back up. Also, it is recommended that you do not rotate between watering and not watering. We recommend to choose one and stick with it. By rotating, the grass plant is actually using up a lot of its food reserves and weakens the turf even further.
What Time Of Day Should I Water
The best time to water your lawn after the sun is up but before 10 a.m. Its cooler at this time of day and winds are calmer, allowing the grassroots to absorb water before it evaporates.
We realize that not everyone is home in the morning to water. You can remedy this by consulting with your local PA landscape construction company, or just water when you get home from work.
If you have to water in the evening, aim for between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., which during the summer will allow the grass to dry before dark. The later you water, the greater the risk of disease.
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For How Long Should You Water A Lawn
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Theres nothing more satisfying than having a lawn that is healthy-looking, thriving, and brilliant green in color. Depending on where you live, you should understand how much water your grass needs to look its best. Give your lawn too much water, and you will be left with a soggy environment that encourages mold and fungus to take over. If your yard doesnt get adequate watering, you might end up with a lawn that looks more like a dust bowl.
The average lawn during the summertime should get 20 to 30 minutes of watering time a few times a week. Dont forget depending on your geographic zone, the time of day, and the season, you may want to adjust how long and how often you water your lawn.
We have you covered if you are unsure about the best time to water your lawn, how to nurture different types of grass, and even handling water restrictions. Also, this article has some great recommendations on water sprinkling systems to keep your lawn looking lovely. Unleash your inner green thumb, and be prepared to gain a better understanding of your lawn and its needs.
How Long Should I Water
For most Florida soils, an average of ½ to ¾ of an inch of water per application is enough to replenish the grass. It is best to saturate the root zone and then let the soil dry to encourage healthy, deep root growth. During hot, dry months, a full inch is recommended but you must follow local water regulations.
To determine how long to run your sprinklers, place several empty, straight-sided cans or cups at different distances within one zone. Run the sprinklers for 15 minutes and measure the amount of water collected in each can. Calculate an average water depth and determine how long it will take to apply a ½ to ¾ inch of water.
Example:· ¼ average depth of water after 15 minutes water 35-50 minutes in that zone.· ½ average depth of water after 15 minutes water 20-30 minutes in that zone.
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Watering At The Wrong Time
To water well, timing is everything. Water in the early morning between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Midday watering leads to wasteful evaporation, while nighttime watering causes droplets to cling to grass overnight, increasing the chance of lawn diseases.
A Dual Outlet Electronic Water Timer will prove handy for those mornings you are away or want to sleep in. Just program the start time, frequency and duration of watering, and let the timer take care of the rest. The dual outlets make it easy to hook up two hoses at once and program separate schedules for different parts of the yard. We suggest attaching a Flexogen Super Duty Hose, as it easily curves around the yard without kinking and connects to a spigot without leaking saving water and money.
