During these dog days summer, your lawn needs water now more than ever. Without a sufficient amount of rainfall, these hot weather conditions can be a killer for your lawn and garden. You may find yourself working harder this season to keep your grass lush and green. Keeping your lawn hydrated is very important, so here are a few tips to help you water your lawn and keep it healthy all season long.
Watering Tip #1 – Water your lawn before the heat kicks in. This way water is less likely to evaporate before it reaches the roots of your grass. It’s not a necessity, but it is recommended to water your grass earlier in the day – ideally before 10:00 am. Another important consideration to make is what time you mow the lawn. Mowing in the morning is better for your grass, but you shouldn’t mow after you water the grass. Wet grass causes clumping and ruts and leaves your lawn vulnerable to certain diseases.
Watering Tip #2 – When watering, you need to water deeply. Water your lawn every 3 to 5 days, but only enough to wet most of the root area. Allow your lawn to dry out between watering. Frequently watering the grass keeps that root area consistently wet, reducing the amount of soil oxygen that is available to the roots and inviting fungi that can cause lawn diseases. Different types of sprinklers put down different amounts of water. Spray heads (which are the smaller heads) that stay in one position put a greater amount of water down. These zones are usually set for 10-15 minutes. Oscillating or gear driven heads put down less water since they have to move. These zones are usually set for 20-25 minutes.
Watering Tip #3 – Look for signs of drought. While you shouldn’t water your lawn too frequently, you shouldn’t go too long without watering it either so look for signs of drought. Sometimes the grass leaf doesn’t have enough water to bounce back after foot traffic and just lies over. Look back on an area that you have walked on. If you still see the footprints, this is an early sign of drought stress, and you need to water your grass.
Also, consider the color of the grass. A purple-blue color often indicates drought stress. Before the grass turns brown from lack of water, it fades to a purple-blue color. If you see these colors, it’s time to water your lawn.
Watering Tip #4 – Adjust your sprinkler system. Be mindful of the weather – rainfall, hot temperatures, etc. – and adjust your sprinkler system accordingly. Avoid setting it at the beginning of the season and forgetting about it. Another thing to consider is adjusting your sprinkler pressure to water with large droplets, which are less likely to be blown by the wind and more likely to fall and penetrate through the soil. Most lawns right now need the system running every day. Zones that are in full sun will obviously need more water than zones in the shade. At my house, my front yard faces the south. I need to run the zone along the hot asphalt street more than ever now to keep green. My backyard, which faces the North has ample shade so it does not need as much.
Watering Tip #5 – Set a schedule. Choose to water either in the early morning or evening to minimize water lost to evaporation. If your lawn is subject to fungi, water in the early morning to allow excess moisture to evaporate.
The hot, humid weather that comes with the spring and summer seasons is not always kind to our lawns. With consistent care, regular watering and these tips, you’ll be able to keep the lawn cool and healthy.
Many of our clients are frankly just too busy to properly adjust their sprinkler system throughout the season. Unless we have access and can change ourselves or we communicate it to our clients to adjust themselves it just doesn’t happen. During droughts like this we get calls from clients asking why their lawn is “dyeing”. The irrigation contractor turns on the system in the spring and that is where it stays throughout the season. Many years, sprinklers are not even needed until late June or early July. We get plentiful of rain in April, May and usually June to keep the lawn and plants healthy. This year has started early and most of all lawns in the area are stressed out. Even though turf is very resilient, coming back from the yellow of yellowest looking we want it to face the least amount of stress as possible. We have been installing smart Wi-Fi irrigation controllers on our new systems as well as encouraging clients to upgrade their older systems to the Hunter Hydrawise System. This type of irrigation controller saves water during moist conditions and keeps your lawn looking great during these droughts. You can control it with a smart device from your backyard or couch and you can even allow us to control the system to keep your landscaping looking the best as possible. Please call us if interested in upgrading.
