For you to maintain a lush green lawn, you need to carry out proper watering. Too little water will cause the grass to dry up, and on the other hand, too much water will make it highly saturated and die. Watering a lawn is an easy job, but most guys are confused about how and when to water the lawn without excessively watering it. Here is all you need to know about watering your lawn.
Best Time to Water the Lawn
Early in the morning, before 10 am, is the very best time to water your lawn. Calm breezes and cooler temperatures minimize evaporation and prevent scalding of grass. Additionally, watering your grass in the morning keeps the turf cooler, which leads to less stress on the grass during the hottest times of the day. If watering in the morning is not suitable for you, the next best time is late afternoon. You shouldn't wait too long, though. While it might seem wise to wait until evening, watering at night leaves lawns moist overnight because temperatures are colder, this may make the grass vulnerable to disease and lead to fungal growth.
How Often To Water the Lawn
The number of times you water your lawn depends on several factors, such as your type of soil. Clay soils should be watered once a week, while sandy soils should be watered twice a week. Many homeowners think that they are required to water the lawn as much as their plants. However, this should not be the case as you may over water your grass. Interchangeably, very light or too frequent watering can cause fungus growth and a root structure that is not deep enough to support the grass. When your watering soaks the soil deeply, it facilitates the roots to grow stronger and deeper.
How Long To Water the Lawn
As a general principle, you should water your soil down to around 6 inches – this is the normal depth of a healthy root structure. Lawns have different soils; therefore, each lawn has different watering needs. There are some methods of determining if your grass is getting the correct amount of water. The easiest method of evaluating if your lawn is adequately watered is to carry out the screwdriver test: After watering the grass, take a long screwdriver and shove it into the grass. The screwdriver should go 6 inches down the soil smoothly. If it doesn't, the soil is dry and hard, and you have not watered it enough. You can also lift the soil with a shovel and dig 6 inches deep, but the screwdriver test is more straightforward.
Best Way to Water the Lawn without a Sprinkler System
Apart from using a sprinkler system, there are many other ways of watering your lawn. However, they are not ideal for every type of soil, and therefore you have to select one that's suitable for your lawn.
Here are some of those methods:
- The traditional method – This is a manual way of watering lawns that is used by many homeowners. It has minimum issues since you will be able to pay close attention to every detail. With this method, you can use either a hose with a nozzle or a watering can.
- The Irrigation system method – This method is increasingly becoming popular as it makes the lawn watering process easier. All you are required is to put it in place and set a timer; it will do the rest. Its most significant advantage is that you can water large lawns without moving a muscle.
- The drip irrigation method – This method utilizes a network of pipes and channels linked to droppers located close to each plant's root. When you run water via the pipes, this directly brings water, drop by drop, to the plant root.
Should You Water The Lawn Before Or After Mowing?
You should water your lawn after you have completed mowing it so as not to damage your lawnmower. When you water before you mow, the moist grass blades stick together and may end up getting trapped in your lawnmower. Patches of moist grass on your lawn can be uninviting.
How Long Should You Wait To Water After Fertilizing Your Lawn?
You don't want the fertilizer that is supposed to make your grass green washed away or cause burns instead of helping you. Fertilizers are made from Urea or ammonium, which are water-soluble and only mix with the soil when wet. The ideal time to water your lawn after fertilizing it is immediately after you have applied it. You can also wait up to 24 hours after applying the fertilizer to water the grass, without risking the health of your lawn.
