Watering a newly seeded lawn:
The seeded area should be watered regularly with a light spray so the surface of the soil is never allow to dry out, consider frequency rather than duration. Frequent light irrigation cycles provide more consistently available water to the seed. Make sure the seeded area is moist late in the day, this will ensure water is available for many hours because night time evaporation is low. Once the seed is crowned it is important to continue watering until the grass plant is firmly established, other wise the tiny delicate seedling will die.
Watering established lawns:
No need to water in the Spring unless natural rainfall is delayed more than 10 days. There after, deep watering will help the turfgrass establish adequate roots and provide sufficient moisture between watering cycles. To determine when to water use a probe that removes a core of soil at least four to six inches below the surface.
When watering does take place, it should moisten the soil to a depth of at least four to six inches. This will cause the plant roots to sink deeper, seeking the reservoir of moisture.
It will take an inch of water to wet the soil four to six inches deep. To achieve this, it will take about 45 minutes of watering.
If not sure and want a better understanding without the testing:
A lawn needs about an inch of water a week, be it from rain or sprinkler. This can be accomplished with one good thorough soaking instead of daily watering for a few minutes at a time. It’s fairly easy to determine how long a particular sprinkler needs to run to provide an inch. When watering, place a couple of coffee cans or other containers in the path of the sprinkler. Note how long it takes to get one inch of water in the containers.
The best time of day to water is in the early morning because generally there is less wind and helps to reduce problems associated with disease.
Home owners with irrigation system in place:
To prevent over watering that causes root rotting, nutrients to sink too deep or wash away from plants and turf area and the creation of an environment for fungus and disease.
We recommend to turn-on irrigation system in June rather than in April or May unless nature has delayed rainfall for over 10 days. Doing so, not only will help eliminate over watering problems, but also save money by reducing unnecessary water usage...
However, this only applies to systems that relies on timers rather than system with moisture sensing capabilities that tells the systen to turn water on when sensors read the level of moisture is too low.
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