So, how much water does your lawn need?
This can be a tricky question especially in the Texas summers. Most people we
speak with in Katy tell us they are not sure and they just guess. If you just guess
and turn your sprinklers on two or more times a week you might be over watering.
Over watering is not
just wasteful, it can harm your lawn. Here at Katy Lawn Service, we recommend a
deep and less frequent watering schedule for a lush and healthy lawn. This
schedule helps to grow deeper roots, which helps with disease and winter
freezes. A good rule of thumb is to water 1 inch per week. If you are looking
for a more specific recommendation, then we suggest that your water penetrate 6
inches into the soil. Here is a simple test you can run to see how much water
you are getting on your lawn.
•Put
out five or six cans in your grass, like tuna or pet food cans. Make sure you
put out enough cans because sprinkler heads do not spray evenly and some area
of your lawn will get more water than others.
•Turn
on your sprinkler for at least 30 minutes.
•Check
and measure how much water is in each can.
•Next
you need to get an average water depth. To do this just add all the depth measurements
and divide by the number of cans.
•Now
that you know the depth, just run your sprinkler long enough to allow 1 inch of
watering. For instance in the above step you found out that your sprinkler
averaged ½ inch in 30 minutes then you know you would have to leave your
sprinkler running at least an hour.
Pretty simple but also pretty important for
a beautiful lawn.
Here
in Katy Texas we have a lot of clay in our soils and this can be a drainage
problem. Clay will not absorb all the water and you will have run off, which is
wasteful and does not benefit your yard. We recommend you splitting your times
to allow for absorption. Water 30 minutes, wait an hour than water for another
30 minutes.
If
you are wondering how far down your soil is getting water, simply use a shovel.
You spade will easily penetrate the wet soil and stop on the dry dirt. If you
find that you are only going down 3 inches, then double your watering to get down
to the desired mark of 6 inches.
Here
are a few more watering tips:
•If
you have a new lawn, you will need to water more frequently but less time. Meaning
instead of watering (2) 30 minute cycles per week as we described in our example
you can water (4) 15 minute cycles 2 times per week. If you see that your lawn
is not responding well or turning brown, the increase your watering.
•Make
sure you adjust for rainfall.
•Watering
in the morning is ideal as your lawn is cooler and there is less evaporation.
Watering in the evening can encourage disease.
•Grass
near trees need more water as trees suck up a lot of the water in the soil, so keep
this in mind.
•Check
your sprinkler placement or sprinkler heads to make sure they are covering the
lawn and not your driveway or sidewalks.
Follow
these tips and you should have a beautiful lawn this summer! If you need the
Katy experts to take care of your lawn, please contact us!
Katy
Lawn Service
281-784-0330
its cool
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