Guidelines
for Watering
The most important concept is to water for longer periods of time on
a less frequent basis. The reason for this is that the roots of the
grass will only grow as deep as they need to find water. If you water
every day for a few minutes, the roots will not grow very deep because
they can stay near the surface and get plenty of water. The problem
with this is that as temperatures rise, these grass roots at the surface
will dry out very quickly. Water between 3 a.m. and 10 a.m. to reduce
loss to evaporation.
Never
water your lawn with a hand spray gun– you cannot provide
enough water to make a positive impact. If you have an automatic
irrigation system, consider installing a rain sensor that will
cut the system off during rain showers.
Many people with irrigation systems over water their lawns. Less is
more! Run the irrigation less days in the week, but for longer times
per zone. A good general rule is to run the pop-up heads (stationary
fan spray) for 10-15 minutes per zone and rotor heads (rotate back
and forth in a stream) for 30-45 minutes per zone. Set your controller
to come on 2-3 days per week.
Adjust your watering routine to the weather patterns - a rainy spring
will require less watering, while a dry period requires a more intensive
watering schedule.
