Watering Your Lawn
If you live in a zone that is hot and dry you may want to buy a turf grass that is drought tolerant. If you water too often your lawn will not be strong. In the summer, you should give your lawn about an inch of water a week. The right amount of water will not only make your lawn stronger and greener, but it will also save you on your water bill.
To determine how long you water you lawn, water your lawn for 15 minutes, wait twenty-four hours and dig a small hole in the ground to determine how deeply the soil is moistened. Divide 120 by the depth of the moistened soil in inches to calculate the number of minutes to water your lawn. For example, if the water soaked in 4 inches, figure 120/4 = 30 minutes. It would take an hour to soak in 8 inches. Once you know how long to water your lawn, use the same period each time you water, no matter what the season.
You may want to decide before the summer heat if you want to water consistently or let it go dormant as conditions turn hot and dry. Not watering the first few days during the summer will allow your grass to increase rooting. When you do water make sure you let it soak down to the roots. There are exceptions to this rule, such as when you have a newly seeded lawn where the surface needs to stay moist, a newly sodden lawn that has not taken root yet, or when there is a patch of disease. It is best to water either in the early morning or late in the evening, this reduces evaporation that takes place during the hot part of the day, allowing more water to reach the root zone.
You also want to use a rain gauge to measure how much water you are applying. Over watering depletes the water supply, makes plants prone to pests and adds to storm water run off. Choosing the right watering system reduces your water bills and it will cut down on insect and disease problems.
If you have just fertilized your lawn, lightly water your lawn to give the fertilizer an opportunity to be absorbed by the soil.
One inch of water per week is just a guide, if your lawn does not get one inch it is not going to die, but it is something to shoot for.
Bill Doane is a regular contributor to modern-japanese-gardens.com and is currently landscaping his gardens. Visit Modern Japanese Gardens, Home Garden Designs, and Garden and Lawn Sprinklers where you can find information on creating a magnificent garden.
Tags: drought tollerant, lawn disease, rain gauge, watering lawn
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