Water becomes more precious with each passing year. As a gardener or homeowner, it is imperative to know as much as possible about using water wisely and doing what you can to improve your lawns, plants and soils so as to obtain the best possible water management. The holistic approach asks that you see how all things interact. Choosing the best grass for your climate, giving it the best care to promote health and deep rooting, and improving the soil so it holds water better are all going to influence your water needs.
According to an article in last years' USA Today, entitled A Drought For the Ages, one third of the country is experiencing drought, and in some areas this has been going on for nearly a decade! For those living where water is in short supply, the use of it for lawn care is controversial. Many communities have a ban on lawn watering in one form or another. When there is a lack of water - whether short term or long, it is going to affect your soil and everything that grows in it.
If you are living in an area where lawns can not grow without daily watering , we suggest finding an alternative to grass for your ground cover. In most areas of the country there are grass types that are suited for your climate and will actually survive without watering at all, or with just a bit of water to help it through weather extremes. They may go dormant for part of the year, but they'll survive. We will cover the subject of “choosing your grass type” in a later section.
The Need For Water
Grass plants have to take in most of their basic nutrients dissolved in water and through their roots. Without enough water in the soil, a lawn can't get to the nutrients it needs for food production, growth, defense and reproduction. In this situation, the grass normally shuts down, dries out on top and goes dormant. When dormant, it is not very attractive to most insect and disease organisms. The grass will come back to life when there is sufficient soil moisture. It is actually better for grass health to let it go completely dormant than to keep it just barely green and growing with light watering.
Keep in mind that water is not just to keep your lawn green - water is also needed when you want to keep the soil improvement processes going. If you are working on improving your soil with organics, compost or any of the soil improvement products on our site at natureslawn.com, you want to keep the soil somewhat moist. When soils dry out, earthworms disappear and microbial activity and thatch decomposition ceases. It doesn't begin again until there is sufficient moisture in the ground.
Hold Off Watering Too Early In the Spring
This applies more to northern lawns. There is no point in watering the lawn before the grass actually needs it, and there is some benefit to delaying watering. You want to get the roots of the grass to dig deeper for water as the soil dries out. If the soil is constantly saturated with water, the roots won't have the incentive to go deep. If you want to know how dry the soil is, dig into it with a spade to see for yourself.
Begin watering your lawn when soil has dried out well into the root zone. This will usually mean 3-4 inches deep on a healthy lawn. (Higher mowed grasses should have deeper roots.) When the grass needs water it will take on a bluish or darker tint from wilting. It will also start to show footprints after you've walked over it.
The Best Time to Water
Watering in the morning, before the heat sets in is considered the best possible time to irrigate a lawn. The next best time is late afternoon/early evening when the sun's rays are less intense. Night time watering is generally frowned upon due to higher disease potential. However, if you are in a heat wave and night time temps are staying above 70, there should be not problem.
Mid day watering is also fine if the sun is not out. And even if the sun is out and baking the grass, watering at that time won't hurt the lawn. Contrary to what you may have heard, there is no magnifying glass effect of water that is going to burn a grass by concentrating the sunlight. The reason for not watering in the heat of mid day is simply that you are going to waste some water due to evaporation.
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