Lawn Tips
When is the best time to water?
Don't water at night! When possible, water as early in the morning as you can. Watering early in the morning will ensure that your lawn dries completely before nightfall. A wet lawn at night, on a regular basis, can lead to fungus and disease problems. Also, it’s cooler and less windy in the morning, so you have less evaporation, which will save money on your water bill and take less time to get the water on your lawn. If morning watering is impossible, watering at any time is always better than not watering at all!
How much should I water?
Don't water too much or too little.
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Your lawn needs at least 1”-1 ½” of water per week, year-round.
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Water deeply 2-3 times per week, rather than daily.
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Water as early in the morning as you can, when possible.
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If you can’t push a 6” screwdriver into your lawn, you’re not watering enough.
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You will need to water more in the heat, especially if you have a fescue lawn.
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Don’t water so long that the water runs down the street.
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If you have automatic sprinklers, check them regularly to be sure you’re getting complete coverage.
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If a brown area doesn’t respond to watering, call us to inspect the problem.
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Whatever you do, don't over water your lawn. Soggy grass or standing water is very bad for your lawn.
How long should you water to get one inch? That's tough to say, because we don’t know what kind of sprinkler system or watering approach you have, or even what your water pressure is like. With automatic sprinklers, it’s usually one hour. But you can measure that yourself. Just get a tuna can, which is 1” tall, (eat the tuna out of it, first) and place it where your sprinklers hit. Run your sprinkler and see how long it takes to get a half inch of water in the can – just like a rain gauge. Usually it’s about 30 minutes. So 20 minutes, three times per week will get an inch of water on your lawn, and 30 minutes three times per week will get 1 ½” of water. Keep in mind that during extreme heat, you will need to water more, due to evaporation and heat stress on the grass.
Correct Mowing Height
Set your mower at the highest preferred setting for your grass type and only cut the top 1/3 of the grass blades at any one time, even if this means you have to mow again in a few days. This is because longer grass blades can grow and support more roots and develop a deeper root system that is better able to find water and nutrients in the soil.
Cutting too aggressively, also called “scalping the lawn,” forces grass plants to focus their energy on regrowing their blades, not deepening their roots. Scalping the lawn also makes your lawn more prone to weeds. Taller grass blades shade the soil and keep it cooler, helping prevent weed seeds from sprouting. Plus, there are lifestyle benefits: taller grass is softer to walk on and helps cushion falls better than short grass.