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How Much To Water Your Lawn

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How Often To Water Your Lawn

How much and how often you should water your lawn.

Watering grass daily will result in a shallow root system. And shallow root systems dry out fast, weakening lawns. Infrequent, deep watering encourages grass roots to run deep, developing strong systems below-ground. This allows lawns to be more resilient to changing weather while becoming hardier and disease resistant.

The average lawn needs to be watered three times per week during warm months, providing a total of about one inch of water over the course of the week. Lawns can be watered as little as one to two times per week to achieve the same goal in cooler seasons, when there is naturally less evaporation and a higher chance of rainfall.

How Often Should You Water Your Lawn In The Summer

In Lawn & Garden by JamieMay 15, 2021

Temperatures are rising. The rainy season is over, or yet to begin. Its now up to you to keep your lawn happy and healthy with regular irrigation. But how much water should you be giving your grass? And how can you keep your water bill low?

You should water your lawn in the summer deeply every 3 days for warm-season grasses, and for cool-season grasses, lightly every 3 days for sandy soil, and deeply every 1 2 weeks for loam and clay. Track rainfall and adjust the amount of water accordingly. You can also let cool-season grasses go dormant and water them only once every two or three weeks.

Contents

How Much Water Does A Lawn Need To Stay Green

Grass requires different amounts of water depending on how much sun the lawn receives. For instance, a south facing lawn in full sun will require .6-.7 of water, a normal facing aspect with partial sun will require .5-.6 of water, and a north facing aspect or lawns in full shade will require .4-.5 of water per watering.

Every sprinkler system is different and the output of each sprinkler zone on an irrigation system is different too. The best way to determine how long to water a lawn is to get an accurate measurement of each zone in a sprinkler system. Using a rain gauge or a flat-bottomed flat-sided container is the best way to get an accurate measurement.

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When Should I Water My Lawn

Water your lawns in the early morning before 10am. Particularly with lawns this is the best time to water as night watering can increase the amount of leaf wetness which causes fungal problems in all lawn types. However, common sense must prevail, if you can’t water in the morning of cause water at night.

Home Lawn Watering Guide

How much you should water your lawn, according to a golf superintendent ...
Reviewed by Brad S. FresenburgDivision of Plant Sciences

As much as 80 percent of the water used around the home during summer is used outside. Watering the lawn is the main outside water use. During dry summers, local water authorities may cut off water for outside use or only allow watering on certain days. Both measures are necessary and effective means of reducing water use and relieving the strain on city water supplies.

To avoid severe loss of turfgrass and to conserve water, homeowners should manage their lawns each year in anticipation of water restrictions.

This guide describes that will reduce the need for irrigation while improving the competitiveness and appearance of your lawn.

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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.

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Under Regular Summer Weather Conditions Continue To Water Your Lawn 1

However, under heat waves and weeks of consistent, hot temperatures increase the monitoring of your lawn to watch out for signs of drought. If you notice any of the following signs, increase the frequency of your watering:

  • Dormant, dull and frail looking brown or green grass

  • Grass fails to bounce back after being stepped on

  • Grass feels significantly warmer in the evening

Once cooler temperatures emerge and the heat breaks, your lawn should bounce back.

Always make sure to respect local water bans. Turf grass will be able to survive periodic droughts with little to no water.

The Best Time Of Day To Water Your Lawn

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

In the spring and summer, afternoon heat can evaporate up to 30% of the water as it jets out of the sprinklers. And watering in the late evening doesn’t give the grass enough time to dry, leaving it vulnerable to fungal disease. So what is the best time to water the grass?

  • The #1 best time to water is before 10 a.m. In the morning, temperatures are cooler, and winds are calmer. As a result, the water has time to soak into the soil, and the grass roots can absorb it before it evaporates.
  • The #2 best time to water is 4-6 p.m. You won’t lose as much water to evaporation as you would in the afternoon, and the grass has time to dry before sunset.

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Determine Your Lawns Watering Needs

One of the first things that you need to understand about your lawn is that it has specific needs when it comes to the amount of water it needs. There is a simple method you can use to find this out. Each week, most lawns need about 1 1/2 inches of water, but there are some things to keep in mind. The type of turf grass you have i.e. cool season or warm season and the time of year are two huge factors in determining how much water your lawn needs.

Overall, cool season grass requires more watering than warm season grass. In addition, the amount of water needed is greater during the active season, which is spring and fall for cool season grass and mid-late Spring until early fall for the warm season grass. Seasons that fall outside this are considered dormant seasons. During this time, you should water your grass less. Its important to know the type of grass you have so that you can water it appropriately. Some grasses require a whole inch less of water weekly in the dormant season then in the active season, while others need just a quarter of an inch less.

Tips For Responsibly Watering Your Lawn This Summer

There are simple ways you can save water this summer. Some of it requires a change of thinking. For example, if your region is prone to drought, you may need to give up the idea of a perfect evergreen lawn as it wont hold up in your region of the country in those extremes.

Likewise, if you have sandy soil thats unable to hold water, you should add soil amendments to make it loamier. Loamy soil is like the forest floordark, rich, and able to store water underground.

Here are those 12 tips to help you save water and keep your lawn alive:

  • Make the soil more water-friendly. As stated above, sandy soil wont hold water. It absorbs water, but sandy soil cant store it underground. Clay soil, on the other hand, does a great job of storing moisture underground. But it compacts quickly not allowing roots to grow deeply.
  • So, add soil amendments, such as compost, to loosen up the soil and help its absorption rate. Brinlys tow-behind carts help you tote your soil amendments to your lawn for a makeover. Use our tow or push spreaders to broadcast the amendments and fertilizers throughout your yard.

  • Water your lawn in the earliest morning hours. You dont save water when you spray water on your lawn during the hottest part of the day because itll evaporate.
  • Let your lawn grass grow longer. Set your mower blades at the highest setting to take off only the top third. When you mow higher, your turfgrass develops those deep root systems.
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    Watering The Wrong Amount

    While overwatering is a common mistake, it happens to be one of the most detrimental. Unless watering newly planted grass seed, dont water every day.

    Frequent, shallow watering wastes water and money. It also leads to a number of lawn problems, including diseases, insect infestations and damage from heat and cold. On the other hand, watering longer but less frequently, deep watering, produces deep roots that mean lawns can better survive periods of drought. The ideal watering schedule is once or twice per week, for about 25 to 30 minutes each time.

    Taking care of a lawn doesnt have to be an overwhelming, all-consuming task. Once all the tips and tricks are in your back pocket, it will be easy to come up with a routine that results in a gorgeous green lawn.

    Previous Article

    How Much To Water Your Lawn

    How much water does my lawn need? ~ Lawn &  Pest Solutions

    Watering the proper amount is criticaloverdo it, and your grass, your water bill, and the environment will suffer. The amount of water you need is generally 1 to 1.5 inches per week, but it can vary depending on your grass type, the climate you live in, your soil type, and the age of your lawn.

    Established Lawns

    In general, you want the top 6-8 inches of soil to be moist, but not soggywhich translates to 1 to 1.5 inches per week. Watering deeply, but infrequently, leads to stronger root development and drought-resistance than watering briefly every day. You can break up these waterings into twice a week during most of the year, or three times a week during the hot summer months.

    Newly Seeded or Sodded Lawns

    To encourage proper growth, newly seeded or sodded lawns need moisture in the top inch of their soil, but not so much that they turn soggy. Instead of watering a few times a week, you will need to take a mister and gently spray the newly seeded areas once to two times a day, depending on the weather.

    As the seeds germinate, keep the top 2 inches of soil moist. Once the grass grows to a 3-inch mowing height, you can reduce watering to twice a week. Then, you should soak the soil down 6-8 inches, like you would an established lawn.

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    Knowing When To Water Your Lawn

    The best time of day to water isearly morning. When the sun is low in the sky, there will be less evaporation, giving the water a chance to seep down into the root zone. The grass blades will have all day to dry out before nightfall. The longer grass blades stay wet, the greater the chance they can succumb to fungal diseases.

    Artificial irrigation should be used only to supplement rainfall. Do not water your lawn if rain is coming, it is currently raining, or it has just rained.

    You will not have to supply the same amount of artificial irrigation year-round. Grass needs that one inch of water per week when the weather is hot, and/or the grass is actively growing.

    So, for example, for a cool-season grass in the Northeast, you will be watering most in late spring, in summer, and in early fall. However, do continue to water throughout fall to make up for the fact that your grass will largely be deprived of water during the winter.

    Does Having A New Lawn Change My Watering Schedule

    Yes, when you seed a new lawn or install sod, you need to change your watering schedule. The soil of a newly seeded lawn needs to be kept consistently moist but not soggy, requiring daily or twice-daily mistings. Once theyve germinated, you need to keep the top 2 inches of soil moist until the grass grows 3 inches tall. After that, start pulling back on frequency to encourage the grass to grow deep roots.

    Ideally, youve installed a new lawn around Labour Day, after the summer heat has passed, giving the new lawn the whole autumn and spring to establish itself before facing a new scorching summer.

    If youve seeded in spring, you may need to keep irrigating the lawn throughout the summer as the lawn establishes itself. It may not be strong enough to survive the heat without that extra water.

    Avoid seeding or sodding new lawns during the summer.

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    How To Water Your Lawn In The Hot Summer Season

    While Calgary is known for its sunny summer weather, average temperatures reach just above tepid conditions for most of the summer. At an average daily high of 23 and 22 degrees Celsius in July and August, respectively, watering schedules for Calgary homeowners will stay relatively consistent unless there is a week of soaring temperatures.

    How Much To Water

    How Much And How Often You Should Water Your Lawn | Smart Irrigation Tips

    Thoroughly wet the soil to a depth of 6 inches with each watering. Shallow watering produces weak, shallow-rooted grass that is more susceptible to drought stress.

    Soil type, sprinkler style and water pressure determine how much water is needed to wet the soil to a depth of 6 inches and how long a sprinkler must run. Use the following steps to determine how long to run your sprinkler or irrigation system.

    • Set five to six open-top cans randomly on the lawn .
    • Turn the sprinkler head or system on for 30 minutes.
    • Measure and record the depth of water caught in each individual can.
    • Calculate the average depth of water from all of the cans. For example, you have used five cans in your yard. The amount of water found in the cans was as follows: 0.5 inch, 0.4 inch,0.6 inch, 0.4 inch, and 0.6 inch. Add the depths together and then divide by the number of cans you used
    • 1.5inch + 0.4 inch + 0.6 inch + 0.4 inch + 1.6 inch = 2.5 inches, 5 cans = 0.5 inch of water in 30 minutes
  • Use a garden spade or a soil probe to determine how deeply the soil was wet during the 30-minute time period. The probe will easily push through wet soil but less easily into dry areas.
  • From the amount of water that was applied in the 30-minute cycle and the depth that it wet the soil, you can then determine how long the sprinkler must run to wet the soil to a depth of 6 inches.
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    When To Water Your Lawn

    As youve probably heard, watering early is the way to go. Cutler recommends the window between 5 a.m and 10 a.m., and for a couple of reasons. Not only do you want to beat the heat of day, when too much H2O gets lost to evaporation, you also want to get the job done before the wind kicks up and messes with your sprinkler patterns, making it tough to water evenly. Breezy conditions = inefficiency.

    Golf courses sometimes water in the dead of night, but thats out of necessity, Cutler says , and he doesnt recommend it. When you water after dark, you open the door to fungus and mildew, which creep in when moisture sits for too long on the grass.

    When you water after dark, you open the door to fungus and mildew

    getty

    The perils of these problems are especially pronounced right after mowing, when turf is in a bruised and vulnerable state . So, when you cut your turf, allow it time to recover before you water . And, of course, if you mowed that afternoon, its an especially bad idea to water that night.

    How To Water A Lawn With Clay Soil

    Proper lawn watering using the 1-2-3-2-1 lawn watering technique is the best way to water a lawn with clay soils because it will help prevent soil compaction. The best way to improve a clay soil is to create an environment that is teaming with microbes, a.k.a. a living soil.

    A wonderful organic lawn care products that is designed to bust up clay soils is Humate soil conditioner. Humate is scientifically proven to stimulate microbial activity in the soil. Lawn aeration is also an important lawn care service that will help alleviate soil compaction and break up the heavy clay content of soils.

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    When The Grass Is Growing

    The growing season for most grass types is generally during the spring and fall months. These months are part of the warm season without being too hot, and the morning dew still appears on the lawn at times. This is when your type of grass will thrive, and it needs the most care and attention.

    If you are planting grass seed, the best time to do this would be in spring. This will give the seeds time to start growing before the hot summer heat kicks in.

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