Watering the Lawn
Water deeply
*The above Lawn Care Products are available in the Lawnsmith Shop and discussed below:
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Watering the lawn is by choice not necessity. Grass unlike most other plants goes into a state of dormancy when moisture reaches critical levels. It will resume growth once water becomes available again.
There are some sound reasons for not watering the grass. For reasons of conservation when reservoirs are not being adequately replenished, when cost is an issue or when watering may do more harm than good.
How Often
Water when the lawn tells you to, not according to some arbitrary plan. Your soil type, grass type, exposure to sun and wind are just a few of the factors that will determine how frequently you need to water. It also goes without saying that an adequately fertilised lawn will tolerate dry conditions better than one lacking proper nutrient levels. This might mean some lawns require watering once a week whilst others only need water once a month in exactly the same weather conditions.
The signs to look for when the lawn is starting to gasp a little are: a change in colour of the lawn as it often takes on a bluey tinge as moisture levels become low. In addition the lawn will lose its ‘springiness’ and foot prints will remain in the lawn when normally the grass would spring back to shape.
If the lawn has started to turn brown however, you’re well passed the watering point and it may be best to let the lawn go dormant!
How much water
Water deeply each time you water – at least half an inch for clay soils and an inch for sandy soils. You can work this out by placing a few straight sided containers (empty paint tins are ideal) in the sprinkler area to catch some water. If you time the process until there is the required amount of water in the container you’ll know how long to water for.
When to Water
You must avoid having wet grass at night as this promotes disease. Therefore, water before the heat of the day so that the lawn has time to dry before nightfall. You can put the sprinkler on anytime from 4am to early afternoon on most days. If the temperature gets above 240C/750F turn the water off.
If you have disease in the lawn watering can make it worse. Red Thread and Fusarium will get worse in wetter conditions whilst watering will help the grass fight off Rust diseases. See Pests & Diseases of Lawns for more detail.
Consequences of Incorrect Watering
Watering too often, too little or at the wrong time of day promotes disease, annual meadow grass infestation and shallow rooting. Better not watering than watering incorrectly!
Water Repellent Soil
Sometimes soil becomes very hard to re-wet once it has dried out. Even though this might be due to a fungal condition such as dry patch using a wetting agent* can aid water penetration and retention in most circumstances.
