Watering your lawn

We get asked a lot of questions when it comes to lawn watering. Here are some tips and practices to help you get the best results throughout the season.

-Every time you water your lawn the goal should be to get the water down to the roots.

-Avoid short frequent waterings. This leaves the grass wet, but the roots dry and can promote fungus diseases.

-Focus on watering amounts rather than times. Idealy, you want to water 1 inch per watering. Use a cup or tuna can to see how long your system takes to water 1 inch (do this for each zone), this will give you proper watering times.

-Add and take away watering days as needed rather than changing watering times.

-Check your sprinklers for proper coverage throughout the season.

-Spring and fall your lawn will be pretty forgiving, but any weather over 80 degrees will show areas that may not get as good of coverage as others. It may be necessary to water problem areas in addition to your sprinkler system.

-Always check any browning areas as soon as possible. Dig into the dirt to check the moisture. Soil should be moist just past the roots.

-If the lawn develops drought stress and isn't handled quickly it can take over a week to recover, even with heavy watering.

-Keep in mind that most rainy days only supply 1/4 inch on average and areas under trees still need watering to supply the water needed.

-Be proactive with hot weather. Make watering adjustments before weather changes so the roots have plenty of moisture to handle the heat.

-Most waterings should be in the morning. Watering at night can cause disease problems.