Last Updated on January 31, 2022 by Grow with Bovees
How often should you water your lawn is a question that can have many different answers
Lawns need at least an inch of water each week, so it should be sufficient if you water the lawn twice per week.
Everyone wants a beautiful garden to sit and look out over, and the main focus of this will be the lawn. The ideal would be one that’s in perfect condition and is suitable for lawn bowling with beautiful green stripes.
However, the reality can be different from this, as getting the picture-perfect lawn is tough.
How Often Should You Water Your Lawn?
Looking after your lawn appears to be a pretty straightforward job, but don’t underestimate the task. However, a well-looked-after lawn will ease the stresses of everyday life when sat out on a warm evening.
Your lawn needs water to be able to survive, but just how much can be difficult to gauge. You want your grass to be strong, healthy, and looking lush at all times. If you give your lawn too much water, it will become oversaturated and die, but too little water and it will dry out and die. None of these options is the way to go.
Weather conditions change throughout the year, and you need to adjust your lawn watering schedule to suit. Just how much water it needs will vary depending on the season and the weather.
People often ask, “how often should I water my lawn?” and we’ll let you know everything to keep it in tip-top condition. We’ll also let you know just how much water it needs.
How To Tell When It’s Time To Water The Lawn
You should be watering your lawn regularly throughout the year but especially during the warm season. If you’re not sure when your lawn needs watering, there are a few sure-fire ways to find out.
When the Grass Is Growing
The growing season for most grass types is generally during the spring and fall months. These months are part of the warm season without being too hot, and the morning dew still appears on the lawn at times. This is when your type of grass will thrive, and it needs the most care and attention.
If you are planting grass seed, the best time to do this would be in spring. This will give the seeds time to start growing before the hot summer heat kicks in.
When You Have Shorter Grass
If you or your lawn care provider keep your grass cut short, it will need to be watered more often than grass that’s kept slightly longer.
Longer grass can retain moisture for longer than short grass. The ground on a shorter grass lawn is more exposed to the elements than on a long grass lawn. This means that it cannot offer the shade needed to keep the ground cooler and keep in the moisture from the hot sun.
When Your Lawn Is a High Traffic Area
If your children use your lawn for playing or your dog running around, you should make sure to water it regularly.
It may just be that there is lots of traffic with people just walking on the lawn. However, this will stress the grass, and it will need more water than usual. This is especially true in the hotter dry months when the grass of your lawn is more dormant.
If the Soil Is Hard
You should make sure that the soil on your lawn doesn’t dry out and become hard and compacted. This means that it’s lacking in moisture and needs water. It could maybe also benefit from lawn aeration.
You can check the moisture level of the soil by driving a screwdriver into the soil to the required depth. During the hot summer heat, you would want the moisture level to be around 8 to 10 inches. If you can’t drive the screwdriver in this deep, you need to water your grass.
When Using a Sprinkler
If you’re using lawn sprinklers or irrigation systems to water your lawns, you should always make sure that they are hitting the right points. It’s no good having a sprinkler that misses out, watering only half of your lawn. It needs at least 1 inch of water to make sure it’s soaked.
You should ensure that you’re using the right type of irrigation system for your lawn care, as you don’t want to damage it by using one that’s too powerful. At the same time, you don’t want to just dampen an established lawn by using a sprinkler that’s not powerful enough. You should also make sure that the sprinkler heads you choose are suitable for your grass.
Oscillating sprinkler systems are gentle and are best used on a new lawn or when you have added grass seed to your lawn. A pulsating sprinkler system is great when used on an established lawn that’s mature enough to handle the power that’s given out from these types of sprinklers. Of course, the sprinkler system cost will probably be a major influence over which type of irrigation system you have.
What Is the Best Time of Day To Water Your Lawn?
You need to be careful to water your grass at the best time of the day to hydrate it and help it to grow strong and healthy.
The best time of the day to water the grass is in the morning. This is when your lawn is at it’s coolest before the sun shines through. This keeps the grass root system and soil cool and moist throughout the hottest part of the day and puts less stress on the grass.
If you water the lawn in the middle of the day, the water will evaporate quickly, and any water on the grass will burn in the sun and dry the lawn out. By watering your lawn at night, it will stay wet overnight and is then a great breeding ground for fungus to grow.
However, it’s better to water your lawn at any time, day or night, than not water it at all.
How Can You Tell if You’ve Watered Your Lawn Enough?
The average lawn needs at least 1 inch of water to 1.5 inches of water per week. This should be continued throughout the year. Even lawns in winter need water as you can’t always guarantee that the rainy weather will give them enough.
To be able to figure out if it has enough water, you should get a rain gauge. This will show you just how much water the grass is getting. If using a sprinkler system, make sure that the water from the sprinkler is going into the rain gauge. This will allow you to measure the amount of water that the grass is getting.
The best thing for your lawn would be to water it twice per week, but water it lots, making sure it has 1 inch of water. By watering it a little every day, the grass roots will be shallow, making it difficult for the roots to support the grass. It can also lead to fungus growth in the lawn.
Water lawns and soak them through twice per week; you will make sure that the water gets deep into the soil. This will promote root growth, and you will have a deeper growing root system. This is great for your lawn as it makes the root systems stronger to be able to support the grass and gives you a great-looking healthy lawn.
Keep checking your lawn to make sure that it’s not too wet and that it’s not dried out as this will burn in the hot sun of the summer months.
Conclusion
We all want to be able to sit out in the garden on a lovely warm summer evening with a cool drink in our hands. It would be great to have a beautiful lush green lawn to sit and look at.
With the right care and attention, and the right amount of water, this is achievable for anyone. All you need is a small bit of space for some grass in your garden, and then you’re off. Grass will grow more vigorously during the spring months, so this is the best time to get started and help mother nature along.
Watering your lawn involves lots of factors that you may not have even considered. However, once you understand just how much water your lawn type needs and how often, the rest is easy.
Once you get into a routine, you will learn how the grass needs and uses the water that you give it. Don’t just water the lawns every day because that’s what you think you should do. Water it in the morning, twice per week but make sure you give it a proper soaking to get right to the roots.
There you have it, the answer to how often should you water your lawn.
Everyone wants a thick, healthy-looking lawn, and you now know just how to get one with the right amount of water. Here’s to chilling on your lawn with a drink in the summer and lots of garden BBQs!
