The Importance of Proper Lawn Watering

A healthy lawn is one that is provided with the proper amount of sunlight, oxygen, fertilizer, and moisture.  Unless your lawn is receiving plenty of water from consistent rainfall, then it is important to ensure that your lawn is given water on a regular basis.  The ideal amount of water that a healthy lawn needs is about one inch per week, especially during the warmer season.  By using a rain gauge (bought inexpensively at a garden supply store), you can easily measure how much water your lawn has received each week.  Remember that the one-inch recommendation includes rainwater, as well as water that you provide for your lawn.
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Most lawn care professionals agree that watering a lawn in the early morning hours is the best option, preferably between the hours of 5am-9am.  As the sun rises, the water droplets will have plenty of time to be absorbed into the grass blades, before evaporating due to extreme heat from the summer sun.  Later in the day will probably prove to be too hot for proper watering, because the water will evaporate too quickly, and will not have time to be absorbed by the plants.

Additionally, if you choose to water late in the day, or in the evening, all of the water may not dry quickly enough from the grass blades, and a fungus may form.  A growing fungus on grass blades can be detrimental for the healthiness of the plant.

There are many ways that a person can water their lawn.  For each watering, it is best to water about 15-20 minutes at a time, and allow the grass to dry completely between watering (or between rainfalls and watering).  There are several types of sprinklers that are recommended for lawn watering.  Options include hose-end sprinklers, pulsating sprinklers, or in-ground sprinklers.  Some sprinklers can even be set on a timer, so you can set for them to come on between the hours of 5am-9am, without having to crawl out of bed in order to turn them on each time.  Note that watering by hand, using a hose, is not recommended because it is very difficult to water evenly across a wide expanse of a yard; therefore, creating uneven and unattractive splotches across the lawn.

Of course, not every property owner has accessibility to watering equipment or time allowances needed for watering, so rest assured that a healthy lawn should be able to go for about 3-4 weeks without a proper watering treatment.  When grasses are not watered as often, they will probably go dormant.  When this happens, it is best to limit the foot traffic on the surface of the grass, in order to prevent further damage.  Also, remember that rainfall definitely does help!

​While we do not come water your lawn at Mighty Green, we are the ones to call to keep your grass healthy with fertilization, weed control, and other lawn treatments.