Part of proper landscaping care is knowing how to water your lawn, especially during hot and dry seasons. In today’s post, local landscape contractor Landscaping by the Yard shares a quick guide on how to properly water your lawn.
How Much Water Should You Use?
An established lawn needs to be watered until the top 6 to 8 inches of soil is wet. Most lawns need 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week from either rain or irrigation. You can choose to water your lawn with that amount of water once a week or divide it into two waterings twice in a week.
How to Check If You’ve Put Enough Water In Your Lawn
It’s easy to overwater your lawn if you’re not keeping an eye on how much water you put on it, unless your landscaper has made that calculation for you. One way you can determine is to manually check the soil using a screwdriver; dry soil will offer more resistance than wet soil. Mark the time when you’ve started your sprinklers then periodically check the soil by poking it with the screwdriver. Once it can penetrate the wet soil at least six inches, that’s the amount of time you need to turn on your sprinklers.
You can also use some math to calculate how much water you need. 1 inch of water is equal to 0.62 gallons. Most water sprinklers have their flow rates (in gallons per minute) included in the product specifications. Take the square footage of your lawn, multiply it by 0.62 gallons, then divide the result by the sprinkler’s flow rate. The resulting number is the minutes you need to run your sprinkler system.
The Best Times to Water Your Lawn
Pay attention to the color of your lawn. If it’s starting to turn gray or dull green, it needs rehydration. You can also check by walking on the lawn. Healthy, hydrated grass blades should spring back, which means your footprints should disappear quickly. The best time to water the lawn is around ten in the morning when it’s cooler, as water will soak into the soil instead of evaporating quickly under the sun. Alternatively, water the lawn a few hours before sundown, ideally between four and six.
Landscaping by the Yard is your leading provider of landscaping services. Give us a call at (928) 285-1373. You can also fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment.