Your Guide To Summer Lawn Care In New Jersey
New Jersey is a beautiful state, and we take pride keeping it that way. At Lawn Tech, we create and maintain beautiful lawns all across Hunterdon, Somerset, Morris and Warren Counties in New Jersey, and we do that by addressing the individual needs of each lawn. It is no secret that summer in New Jersey can be hot and be devastating to your lawn. That is why we wanted to give some tips on how to keep your lawn healthy and green while also saving you time and energy.
What To Do When Its Really Hot Outside
When summer temperatures reach 90 to 100 degrees and stay there, youll have to water your lawn more than just 1.5 inches. Increase your watering time from 20 minutes three times per week to 30 minutes. You may also want to water a little bit every day to cool your grass off.
With proper lawn care, your grass can be lush, green, and healthy, even when summer temperatures soar. Follow these tips and watch your grass thrive!
Am I Watering My Lawn Too Much
To calculate how much water your lawn is actually receiving, put several containers with straight sides on the ground around the yard . Then use a ruler to measure the depth of the water in the container. You may be surprised at how long it takes to collect that much water. Move hose-fed sprinklers after collecting 1 to 1 ½ inches of water.
If you ever have questions regarding watering your lawn, or if youâre worried your lawn may need professional care, feel free to call the Nutri-Green lawn care professionals at ! Our 15 years of experience providing in Oklahoma proves we know how to take care of your lawn!
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Lawn Care Is Hard Work
A lot of time and energy has to be invested in a lawn in order for it to receive the proper care. Here at Lawn Tech, our professional lawn care services can save you time and energy, but also provide you peace of mind. Youll be able to spend more time enjoying your yard with friends and family rather than every waking moment caring for your lawn.
Signs Of An Overwatered Lawn
Overwatering the lawn is more common than you may think. If you have well-draining soil and an even cross-slope, your lawn can put up with some overwatering without incident. But dont make the mistake of thinking that if some water is good, more must be better.
Excessive lawn watering invites a whole set of problems that will make your lawn look terrible. Common signs of excessive lawn watering include:
Fungal diseases
Fungus loves warm, wet soil and grass blades, and will thrive in overwatered lawns. You may see mushrooms, mold, blight, and even algae in an overwatered lawn. Because symptoms of overwatering are often mistaken for water stress , many people end up watering even more when fungal diseases take hold, compounding the problem.
A yellowing, wilting lawn
Too much watering leads to saturated soils and low soil oxygen levels. Your lawn can drown when theres no oxygen available for grass roots, turning it pale green/yellow and making it wilt . Its better for your lawn to get a little dry than to be too wet.
Muddy, compacted, rutted soil
Saturated soil turns into mud. This will compact when stepped on, further reducing oxygen available to the grass. Mud and soggy soil will also slip out of place under the weight of feet and machinery, making ruts and ripping out grass roots as it goes.
Thatch buildup
Lots of weeds
Runoff
Fungal problems, such as dollar spot, are common on overwatered lawns.
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How To Make Sure You Got It Right
When you first change the watering routine, you must inspect the soil about 15 minutes apart. This will help you determine how much water is getting soaked and how long it is taking to do so. You can also get the screwdriver out and see how long it took for the water to reach 6 inches of depth.
Now, if you are using sprinklers, you can do the same by measuring against their flow rate. The manufacturer will be able to help you with this. The formula for that is:
Time to run sprinkler = / flow rate
You can also place small tuna cans in the lawn to check the time it takes for an inch of water to gather in the can. This is because the coverage differs depending on the sprinkler.
Should I Water My Lawn Every Day
No lawn in any season needs daily watering. Water no more than three days a week during the summer and add a day if the heat becomes extreme. In order to ensure penetration of the water into the soil, watering should be done in a way that keeps the water out of the soil.
If youre going to water your lawn, its best to do it in the morning, Baird said.
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When It Comes To Watering What Does Deep Mean
Deep means reaching the roots. Deep watering is more effective than surface watering . Deep watering helps your grass grow healthier and stronger compared to surface-watering only.
Deep watering is better for your lawn because when you apply water only on the surface of the soil, most of it evaporates before reaching the roots. While some moisture reaches deeper into the soil profile , much of that moisture will quickly evaporate or soak into the ground.
However, deep watering has less evaporation because youre applying water directly where its needed: near plant roots! Also, since most lawns are fairly sandy soil types without much clay content, like clay soils tend to hold more moisture longer, there isnt as much need for frequent irrigation sessions anymore, which means less wasted water and lower bills!
Best Time To Water Grass
Posted on February 13, 2020 by Lawn Doctor
Green and lush lawns can be hard to maintain and care for. And when your lawn isnt growing as green or as thick as you would like, it can be hard to know why. Often, the grass might be struggling because its not getting enough water or not getting water at the right time. Or maybe your grass looks fine, but you want to know how long to water turfgrass or the best time of day to water your lawn to help save water. Read on to learn about the most common watering mistakes you might be making with your lawn, the best time to water grass, and how to remedy them to help your lawn grow healthy and strong.
Watering the Right Amount
Many people water too much or too little. How much water does your lawn actually need? You might think that the amount of water each lawn needs varies, but it actually doesnt vary much. Your lawn needs about 1 -1 ½ inches of water each week to grow healthy and strong. More water than that can cause your yard to get saturated, which is one of the leading causes of disease, fungal growth, and soil compaction, all of which can result in unattractive, unhealthy grass. Too little water will dry your grass out and turn it yellow and parched. The key is to try and give your yard about that ideal inch of water each week even during the winter. Watering the lawn is a year-round project.
Best Time to Water Grass
Watering Often Enough
How Long to Water Your Lawn
Watering Grass Seed
The Bottom Line
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Alternatives To A Sprinkler System: Can I Water My Lawn Using A Garden Hose
A garden hose with a suitable sprinkler can work for smaller lawns. The main problem with using a hose for larger lawns is the amount of time it will take to ensure each part of the lawn gets sufficient water. Another issue can be getting the water flow just right: too little and it will take many hours to sufficiently irrigate the lawn too much and there is a risk of rapid run-off, rather than the soil absorbing the water.Water is the one resource that can make or break a lawn. You can have the best yearly program with the best products in the world, but with improper watering, you are throwing money into the ground.
With the unpredictable weather commonly experienced in the midwest, relying on mother nature to water your lawn can lead to disastrous results.Given all the reasons lawn watering is important, we recommend investing in a suitable sprinkler system.
Contact us to find out more about how to get the very best care for your lawn.
Adjust Your Lawn Watering Schedule
Timing is important when watering your lawn. The best time to water your lawn is early in the morning really early! Between 4 AM and 7 AM is optimal. If you water during the day, sun and heat will evaporate 20-25% of the water, leaving much less water for your grass. To help with this watering schedule, use a timer on a sprinkler or irrigation system. Its much better than waking up at two in the morning!
You may notice that some people water their lawn every day, sometimes for as little as 10 minutes at a time. Please dont do this! Like most plants, turfgrass does best with infrequent, deep watering that encourages it to grow deeper, stronger roots. Shallow, frequent watering leads to shallow roots that make the plant wilt, and even die, during hot, dry weather.
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What Is A Good Time To Water The Lawn
As a rule of thumb, watering the lawn early in the morning is the best option. Experts recommend that you do this between 5 and 10 am. This is because you get there before the day gets hot because that is when a lot of evaporation takes place.
So, you want to give the grass a little something to feed on before the sun gets to them. This is also a good idea because later in the day the wind interferes with the pattern of your sprinklers which makes them inefficient.
You could neglect this advice and water your grass at night, but then you would be opening the doors to mildew and fungi. This happens because the grass stays moist for too long at night.
This is particularly true after mowing the lawn because the terrain is vulnerable after getting chopped by a blade. Yes, plants have those feelings too. Thats why you must give them a day to get over the trauma and then feed them some water.
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.
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How Much Sunlight Does Your Yard Need
There are several varieties of turfgrass, and each requires a unique amount of sunshine for maximum growth nonetheless, they all need at least some light to survive and thrive. The majority of standards for the management of turfgrass agree that lawns should be exposed to at least 5-6 hours of sunlight each day, with about 20 percent of that sunlight being blocked by trees.
The amount of sunlight and shadow that your lawn receives is entirely dependent on the specifics of your homes surroundings and landscaping. Some peoples front yards are completely in the shade, whereas the backyards are completely exposed to the sun.
Its not difficult to cultivate a healthy lawn in shade as long as the type of grass you use can tolerate shade and you provide it with an adequate amount of sunlight.
But for lawns that dont get enough sunshine, the effects can be disheartening: long, slender leaf blades with brittle stems deplete their carbohydrate reserves until the lawns vigor eventually gives out and its health eventually diminishes.
When Should I Water My Lawn In Texas
The best time to water grass, especially during the hot summer months, is before 10 in the morning. Watering early in the morning helps your lawn thrive in 2 ways:
By watering in the morning, your lawn has the rest of the day to absorb the water. Without sunshine to evaporate excess water, watering later in the day can cause stagnant water and ultimately lead to lawn disease and fungus.
Too much water evaporation can harm your lawn, too. Watering at the hottest part of the day can cause significant evaporation leaving your grass thirsty and your water bills higher. Plant leaves and grass blades can also become scorched when watered during the hottest part of the day.
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How Long Should You Water Your Grass In The Summer
During the summer, most lawn irrigation periods last between one and two hours. During the winter, however, you should water your lawn at least once a week. The amount of water you need depends on the type of lawn you are irrigating. For example, a grass lawn requires less water than a turf lawn, which requires more water.
In general, the more grass you have in your yard, and the larger the area of the lawn that is being irrigated , the greater the need for irrigation. On the other hand, if your area has lots of grass and you want to keep it that way, it may be necessary to water more often than you normally would.
When Using A Sprinkler
If youre using lawn sprinklers or irrigation systems to water your lawns, you should always make sure that they are hitting the right points. Its no good having a sprinkler that misses out, watering only half of your lawn. It needs at least 1 inch of water to make sure its soaked.
You should ensure that youre using the right type of irrigation system for your lawn care, as you dont want to damage it by using one thats too powerful. At the same time, you dont want to just dampen an established lawn by using a sprinkler thats not powerful enough. You should also make sure that the sprinkler heads you choose are suitable for your grass.
Oscillating sprinkler systems are gentle and are best used on a new lawn or when you have added grass seed to your lawn. A pulsating sprinkler system is great when used on an established lawn thats mature enough to handle the power thats given out from these types of sprinklers. Of course, the sprinkler system cost will probably be a major influence over which type of irrigation system you have.
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How Long Can A Your Yard Go Without Water
Depending on the state of the lawn, the soil, and various other environmental circumstances, grass can typically survive for up to six weeks without any supplemental watering. It takes approximately two weeks of sufficient precipitation to bring dormant grass back to life.
Lawns that are in good health and have been growing for a while are in the best position to endure dry circumstances. If it does not receive enough moisture, the grass will become dormant and eventually turn brown. It will maintain this appearance until it receives sufficient water.
What Are The Signs Of An Overwatered Yard
If you give the grass too much water, you can determine this by doing a little research. The fact that your grass becomes mushy a few hours after you water it is a warning flag. There is a possibility that dying areas of grass are a result of overwatering.
Other signs include a profusion of weeds such as crabgrass and nutsedge, an accumulation of thatch, and the growth of fungi such as mushrooms. Another symptom is runoff after watering, in addition to grass that has begun to turn yellow.
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How Often Should I Water My Lawn Make It Green
Watering your lawn seems a lot more complicated than it is. Sure, there are a lot of factors to consider when deciding how much and how often to water, but once you know the basics and get into a regular watering routine, caring for your lawn becomes second nature. So whats the secret to keeping your grass green? We are glad you asked. Heres everything you need to know about watering your yard:
If youre like those, you have a soft spot for your lawn. The green grass and healthy vegetation are the first things friends, family, neighbours, and other visitors see when they come to your home. So, it makes sense to ensure its always in its best shape. But what does that mean? How often should I water my lawn? Well, as it turns out, there isnt one answer to this question.
Many factors go into how often you should water your lawn to ensure it stays healthy and thrivingand how much water you need to give it each time depends on all of them. To figure out whats right for your unique yard, lets start by taking a look at some of the key factors in determining how often you should be watering your lawn.
