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How Much and How Often

The right amounts of water delivered at the right times will help you have a beautiful and happy lawn. Proper watering is key to helping your grass develop deeper roots. Deeper roots mean greener, stronger, more drought and stress tolerant grass.

Note: These watering tips are for established lawns. More frequent watering will be needed when starting seeds or new sod has been installed.

How Much?rain_gauge_2

Most lawns and grass types in the Virginia Beach area will do well with 1 to 1-1/2 inches of water per week. Over watering can contribute to fungal growth, unwanted weeds, thatch buildup, insect pests, spongy soil, and oxygen deprived root systems. Under watering will result in browning, dry blades and eventually, a very thin lawn. To measure how much water your lawn is getting, place a rain gauge or empty tuna can on your lawn and monitor it.

Water Deep and Less Often

How and when that water gets delivered is as important as how much. The goal is to keep the soil moist about six inches below the surface. Deep moisture equals deep roots. Some experts suggest applying the desired amount of water only once a week. Others recommend breaking it down to 2 or 3 times a week. Soil, grass type, and weather conditions will have some impact on which method would be best for your lawn.

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Short and frequent watering sessions will result in shallow root systems and a weak lawn susceptible to weeds, drought, and disease.

If you’re unsure, 20 to 30 minutes in each zone 2 to 3 times a week is a good starting point. Go DEEP!

Earlier is Better

Early morning watering will allow the water to soak deeper into the soil before the sun starts beating down. During the hottest times of the day, you will lose a good amount of moisture to evaporation. Sprinkling too late in the day can leave the surface soggy for longer periods and encourage disease and fungus growth.

4 Signs That You’re Over-Watering

In the heat of summer, you might be concerned about your lawn drying out and decide to make some adjustments to your timer. Be careful with that, because over-watering can be as detrimental to your lawn as under-watering. If you think you might be running the sprinklers a little too often, here are four signs your lawn has had more than enough water.

  1. Squish: If you’re lawn is constantly wet, soft, muddy, and squishes under your feet, that’s a good indication that you should cut back on the water.
  2. Runoff: If water is running off into the street or pooling in parts of your yard, scale down the sprinkling. Your soil is saturated.
  3. A wilted lawn: This one can be confusing because some of the signs that your lawn needs water–like not springing back up when you step on it, and blades of grass curling up–can also be signs of over-watering. If you’ve been dousing your lawn and it still looks like it “needs water,” it’s most likely wilted from over-watering.
  4. Fungus and weeds: Fungal lawn diseases and some weeds take advantage of moist conditions to spread and thrive. If your lawn has a blight, mold, or patchy weed problems, you’re probably over-watering. You could also be watering at the wrong time of day. Again, early morning is best, so surface moisture can evaporate, as opposed to night, when moisture sits on the lawn for hours before the sun rises.

 

Related articles from other sites:

Video from Organo-Lawn in Colorado, but information is applicable anywhere.

Avoid Over-Watering Your Lawn

Popular Mechanics – 8 Watering Tips for Healthy Lawns

Southern Living – Don’t Be A Lawn Watering Dummy