Watering Grass
A Useful Program For Watering Grass
Get into the habit of watering grass when it requires it, instead of hit-or-miss watering, and you'll have a better lawn to show for it. We tend to water our lawns at one extreme or the other. Some water hardly at all, and have a brown lawn, or a lawn with bare spots much of the time. Most of us, on the other hand, have a tendency to over water. While not as bad as no water at all, over watering brings with it its own set of problems. It's best therefore to know when the best time to water is, how frequently to water, and the influence your soil makeup and grass type has on watering needs.
You've probably heard that a high percentage of the human body consists of water. Well, grass is no different. A healthy grass plant consists of around 80% water. Obviously, if you let that water get away, there's not going to be too much left. When you look at a grass plant's ability to retain adequate water, its enemies are wind, low relative humidity, heat, and high light intensity. That should give you a clue as to some of the conditions which, when encountered, might tell you that it's time to water the lawn.
The type of grass in your lawn also dictates how often you need to water. The cool season grass types are the most susceptible to dry conditions. Kentucky Bluegrass can manage drought reasonably well. It will go dormant if drought conditions persist, and then return, once moisture again becomes available. Fescues generally have deeper root systems, and can survive a dry period reasonably well. Perennial Ryegrass on the other hand, does not tolerate dry conditions. The warm season grasses, such as Buffalo grass, Bermuda grass, and St. Augustine grass, do well in warm conditions, and are fairly drought tolerant. Any grass type is of course going to be stressed during a drought condition, and will benefit from receiving moisture on a fairly regular basis
If you have an established lawn, it's better to give it a good weekly soaking rather than a daily sprinkling. You want to get the ground moist to a depth of 4 to 5 inches to encourage deep root growth. Then the grass will be able to do quite well when you water weekly. An exception is when you are first putting in a lawn. You'll have to keep the surface continuously moist when the seeds sprout, and as the blades begin to shoot up. If you plant late in the spring, and hot weather hits before the grass has become established, you may have to water several times a day.
You'll find you don't necessarily have to water more frequently during the summer months. For one thing, growth tends to slow during hot weather, and the grass requires less moisture. You can help the situation by setting your cutting height higher, perhaps to around 3 inches. The taller grass will retain moisture better, as well as keeping the roots moist. When you do water, early morning watering is best. When you water during the heat of the day, too much of it will be lost to evaporation, before it has a chance to soak into the earth. The worst time to water is early evening, as water will tend to stay on the blades overnight, which can encourage fungus and other diseases. The best time is actually just before the sun comes up. If you don't want to be out in your pajamas at 4 AM, you can always put in a sprinkler system with a timer.
We usually don't think much about watering grass in the winter, especially in cool season areas, where rain or snowfall usually provides more than adequate moisture. A lawn will benefit from winter watering though, if you're experiencing an extended dry period. Even if the grass is dormant, the ground should not be allowed to dry out completely.
Taking grass type, soil conditions, and weather patterns into account, should allow you to put a watering regimen in place that's not difficult to follow, and will keep your lawn fit and attractive.