Lawn Watering Tips
Together we can make your lawn beautiful!
Proper watering techniques are a key component is creating a beautiful lawn. Like all other aspects of lawn maintenance, moderation and consistency is key. Amount of water, duration per zone, watering days, time of day, soil type and rainfall are all factors deciding how much watering is necessary.
First things first. If you use and automatic sprinkler system, a rain sensor can save wasted waterings immediately following rainfall. Every year homeowners waste millions of gallons by watering when its unnesessary. We’ve all seen it – passing by the home that has the sprinklers on while it’s raining. Meanwhile, the homeowner is away at work, unable to turn the system off. A rain sensor will save money and help you create a beautiful lawn. Moderation is important. Overwatering can be just as detrimental as not watering enough.
Duration of watering per zone can vary depending on soil type and shade level. As a guideline, any mist head zone should be approximately 12-15 minutes per zone. Any zone using larger rotating heads should be roughly 20 minutes. The reason for this is quite simple. Although mist heads don’t use a lot of water, they cover the area constantly. Rotor heads are quite different. Although they put out a much greater volume of water, they are constantly moving. Because of this rotor zones will always require more run time. Another factor to consider is the amount of sun exposure. For full sun exposure OR periods of sunny weather, increase the run time by 20-30% per zone. For shady areas OR periods of cloudy weather, reduce your run time by 20-30% per zone.
As a guideline, set your sprinklers to run every other day. Keep the weather forecast in mind and be sure to turn the system off during periods of wet weather if you don’t have a rain sensor. During the peak of summer, it may be necessary to water more often that every other day. Rather than setting your sprinkler system to automatically run every day, consider turning the system manually on days that you feel it is necessary. Much too often, once it’s set to automatically run daily it is quickly forgotten – that is until you get the water bill! Once again moderation is key. Keeping your lawn green and actively growing durng the hotter part of the season will produce a beautiful lawn you can be proud of. If you let it go into heat stress and summer dormancy, you will find that your lawn will become thinner and have more weeds as compared to a properly maintained lawn.
Whenever possible, water in the morning and daytime hours. The reason for this is to water the roots and get the soil wet, and allowing the blades of grass to dry as quickly as possible. For example, watering in early morning is optimum because temperatures and winds are low. This allows the maximum amount of water to reach the root zone without evaporation or the wind blowing the irrigation off target. Soon after watering, the sun, wind and warm temperatures will dry the blades of grass. Daytime watering including the hottest part of the day is beneficial because it will cool the plant and provide necessary water. Avoid watering in the late evening or overnight because the blades of grass will stay wet until the sun comes out the following day. Over time this will create mold, mildew and turf diseases. Watering during hottest part of a sunny day will not burn your lawn like a magnifying glass. This is a myth.
This seems like a lot to remember...
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If you are in need of proper lawn maintenance, we service Livonia, Northville, Plymouth and more. Call now at 734-451-2929 for a free lawn care estimate and we will inspect your lawn, identify any problems and get your lawn service started today. You can also request a lawn quote online.
