Watering instructions for the Summer Heat.

Posted by admin on August 23, 2011

It is very hot outside and if your not watering your grass is really feelling it.  It is turning brown and in some case dying.  Follow the watering guide below to help your grass survive. 

Quantity: The quantity of water your lawn receives is very important.  You want to provide your lawn with 1 of water in the hottest season.  This will provide enough water to soak the soil 6 inches deep.  Light watering promotes shallow root growth which will not allow the grass to receive the most benefit from the fertilizers applied and cause the grass to burn more easily in the summer heat.  You can measure your sprinklers output by placing large cans or buckets on your lawn and seeing how long it takes to fill one inch of water.

For customers with automatic sprinkler systems we recommend that you water every 3 days for about 30 minutes to 1 hour per zone. You will have to take into account the amount of sun and angle of the slope to be watered. Watch the weather and adjust accordingly.  Break the watering period up if you notice the water pooling or running down a sloped lawn.

Best time:  The best time to water is at sunrise when evaporation is at its lowest point and winds are generally calm.  Naturally I don’t expect you to be up with the sun when you want to water, but it would be best if you watered first thing in the morning or set your water sprinklers to go off at that time.  The problem with watering at midday is you can lose up to half your water to evaporation.  Evening water promotes disease problems.

How Often:  This question can best be answered by you watching the weather.  You have three factors to consider; rainfall, heat and direct sun exposures.  If you are having a rainy week you will not have to water.  If its hot and dry you will have to water every few days.  The important question to ask with rainfall is, how much did we get and how fast did it come?   Remember you will need 1 inch to get the proper soil penetration.  If the rain came as a down pore most of your water may have been washed away.   The third factor to consider is how much shade your lawn gets.  You don’t want the soil in shady areas to stay wet.  This will promote moss growth.

You first sign of under watering will be loss of springiness   in your grass. Your grass will not bounce back up after you walk on it.  This is a warning sign that you need to get the sprinkler out.  The next sign on extremely dry condition is that the lawn grass blades will change from bright green to a grayish –green tint and if left any longer the grass will turn yellow and then brown. 

We recommend watering once a  week in the Middle Spring,  twice a week in the Late Spring, and three times a week in the summer.  Then watering twice a week in the Early Fall and once a week in the late fall.   Again this varies with the rainfall, heat factor and shade your lawn gets.  Please follow the service instructions that  you will be receiving with each service for specialized instructions.

 

 

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