Water is key to growing and maintaining a healthy lawn in the North Shore whether you have clay or sandy soil. It’s also just as important to water properly. Knowing proper summer irrigation methods can save you from dealing with lawn diseases, pests, and spending too much on your water bill.
Water In The Morning
The best time to water your lawn is in the early morning before 10am. Cool temperatures keep water from evaporating too fast, giving your grass plenty of time to soak up what they need. Watering during the hottest parts of the day is just a waste of water because most of it will evaporate away before water penetrates to the root system.
Watering at night is one of the worst things you can do. Leaving your grass wet overnight can make your lawn vulnerable to diseases and fungus. It can also lead to increased insects so try to avoid watering at night if possible.
Make Sure Your Soil Is Soaked
Generally speaking most lawns need between 1 and 2 inches of water per week to stay healthy. In high heat and low rain conditions like we’re experiencing now, you may want to increase your watering because the amount of water in the soil will evaporate more quickly in these conditions.
When you water make sure the soil is soaked at least six inches down which is where the roots are. Since every yard is different, it’s best to use the screwdriver test to check how far down the water is. Just stick a long screwdriver into the soil six inches. If it doesn’t push through easily, then you might need to water some more. If water is running off and not soaking in, then your soil might be compacted and require aeration.
Use The Right Sprinklers
A lot of suburban homeowners have lawn irrigation systems that water their lawn on a set schedule. This is one of the best and easiest ways of watering your lawn. But, if you don’t have the benefit of a sprinkler system, then a common lawn sprinkler like a pulsating sprinkler will work just fine. These sprinklers are better than oscillating sprinklers that lose a lot of their water to wind and evaporation. Whether it’s underground sprinkler heads, soaker hoses, or any other type of watering system your lawn will benefit greatly from getting the water it needs each week. Spraying your lawn down by hand with a garden hose is better than nothing!
Get On A Watering Schedule
You don’t need to water your grass everyday. In fact, that’s a great way to get a lawn disease. Clay soils should only be watered once a week; you don’t want a permanent puddle in your yard that could become a mosquito breeding area.
Most other soils should be watered every 3-7 days. Remember, frequent watering can lead to disease and shallow roots. When you do water make sure the water soaks the soil thoroughly to encourage deep root growth. Water deeply a few times a week as it’s more beneficial to the root system than watering every day for short periods of time. If you want, you can make it easier by hooking your sprinkler up to a water timer so you never have to worry about watering too much or too little.
Take It Easy On Hard Soils
When it comes to proper turf care, you have to take the type of soil into consideration. Sometimes soil is too hard or compacted for water to sink in. In cases where you have a new house or heavy traffic across your lawn, water might take a long time to sink in or not at all. To help the soil loosen up, water for a half hour, let it soak, then repeat. If water is still not soaking in, then you may need to consider yard aeration.
Get More Info From The Pros!
Looking for more information on proper watering techniques or just ready to let the professionals take over your lawn care needs? The Grassmaster Plus team is ready and willing to answer any questions you have and can provide you a free quote on your lawn care services for the season. Contact our local office today!