How much should I water my lawn?

During the warmer months, it is recommended for lawns to be watered an inch per week and even less during cooler months. Watering too often may cause weeds and fungus to develop.

Proper watering is critical in order to ensure that you have a lush, green yard year-round. Yet, many homeowners do not know when and how much they should be watering their lawns. Unfortunately, watering too little can cause your lawn to become dry and patchy, and watering too much can lead to weed growth, disease, and fungus development. So how much should you be watering your lawn, and how often? Keep reading as we go over how to water to ensure a pristine lawn.

How Often to Water

The biggest misconception about lawn watering is that grass needs to be watered every day. However, in most cases, this will lead to over-watering and high water bills. The fact is that most lawns need to be watered no more than three days a week in the spring and summer, and two days a week in the fall and winter. Of course, how much water your lawn requires will depend on your local climate and the type of grass you have. If you live in a hot area that sees little rainfall, you may need to add an extra day each week. If you are unsure what type of grass you have, or what your lawn's specific watering schedule should be, consider asking a lawn care professional.

When to Water

When you water your lawn is just as important for your lawn health as how often you water. One of the biggest mistakes people make is watering in the middle of the day or the late afternoon, as this will cause water to be lost to evaporation, preventing your lawn from getting the proper amount of water. Late morning also isn't good as this can extend the amount of time your lawn is wet from dew, which can increase the likeliness of diseases occuring. The best time to water your lawn for optimal health is in the early morning hours, preferably between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.

How Much to Water

To ensure proper watering, you should aim to water deeply and infrequently, as this will promote stronger root development than watering briefly every day. As a general rule, grass needs about 1 inch of water per week in order to ensure healthy root growth. How long you will have to let your system run to achieve this will depend on the type of sprinklers they have. On average, most sprinklers will take one hour to put out the required inch of water. You can then divide this hour across your watering days each week. If watering 3 days a week, this translates to 20 minutes in each zone each day you water.

How to Tell if You Are Watering Properly

So how can you be sure that you are watering your lawn properly? Fortunately, there are a few tell-tale signs that you can look out for indicating that your lawn may be over or under-watered. If your grass is being under-watered, it may turn gray or yellow. It will also be more limp and won't bounce back when you walk across it. Overwatering can be just as detrimental as underwatering, and you may notice that there are bare spots in your yard, mushrooms are growing in your yard, or it has a spongy feel when you walk across it.

Finding the right balance when watering your yard is essential in order to ensure the health of your lawn. Feel free to contact us for additional advice on how to ensure that your lawn is getting the proper amount of water.