Tips For Watering Your Lawn

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Tips For Watering Your Lawn

Do you worry about whether or not you’re watering your lawn correctly?  Too much or too little water can be damaging to your grass. Follow these tips to ensure an evenly green yard all summer long:

 

How much to water

If you water too much, you could create an environment for disease.  If you water too little, your grass could scorch in the hot summer months.  The perfect amount is done infrequently and long enough to get deep into the root zone.  A good rule of thumb for this is ½ an inch twice a week, or an inch once a week.

 

When to water

There are several reasons as to why it’s not a good idea to water your lawn in the middle of the day.  Watering in the hot afternoon sun makes you lose most of your water to evaporation and wind.  Contrary to popular belief, watering at night also isn’t the best option.  Watering your lawn in the evening and leaving your yard soaked all night is an invitation for mildew and fungus.  The best time to water your lawn is early in the morning so the roots get the water, but your grass has a full day to dry out.

 

How to tell if your efforts are soaking in

Use the screwdriver test.  Stick an 8-inch screwdriver into the ground after watering.  If it goes in 6 inches, you’ve watered well.

 

Water evenly

Sprinklers have the potential to create uneven watering in your lawn, which can create dry patches.  To test that your sprinkler is reaching all parts of your lawn evenly by placing empty soup cans around your yard and running your sprinkler for about 20 minutes.  Your sprinkler is doing the job well if water collects evenly in the cans.  If not, consider investing in an irrigation system.

 

Gauge your efforts

You can keep track of how much you’ve watered by using a rain gauge.  At a glance, you can tell how much water has gone on your lawn.  So, if it rains but you’re not sure if it rained enough, you can easily tell if you need to finish the job with your sprinkler.

 

Does it seem like you’re fighting a never ending battle with your grass?  Call McDonough Landscaping today for a consultation.  You may find that you’re doing everything right, but it’s the grade and drainage of your lawn that’s causing your watering troubles.  To learn about the different ways McDonough Landscaping can help you with your landscape design, connect with us on Facebook!

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