Lawn Care Instructions

These lawn care instructions are on the topic of correct watering. The frequency and how much water you apply to your grass depends on the soil type, the weather you’re experiencing and the type of grass you have. To establish a healthy lawn you must look beneath to the grass roots. If you do this correctly you will not need to water often. A strong root system needs water, air and nutrients. The process of watering will provide the water and air. If you water the grass and it becomes boggy, and the water doesn’t drain then you will very likely drown your grass.

You need to apply just the right amount of water. Applying too much water too often will lead to a shallow root system. Apply too little water and the roots won’t grow deeply. This will lead to the grass drying out quickly and you’ll need to water often. The optimum depth you want the water to sink to is between 6-8 inches. This is how far down healthy grass roots will grow.

Q. So what affects the water in getting to this point?

A. The type of soil your grass is planted on.

As a general rule:

For sandy soils you need to watch your lawn carefully as the soil can dry out quickly. With this soil, you don’t need to water long to wet the roots. About half an hour with around half an inch of water evenly over the grass is about all it should need.

Clay soils are slow to dry out once wet, but they can be difficult to get wet in the first place. You need to water slowly so that the water has a chance of being absorbed and not running into the gutters. You may need up to 5 hours and 1 to 1.3 inches of water to get the best from grasses in clay soils.

If you’ve got loam soil you’ve got a good mixture of soil particles and organic matter this means you have the best type of soil good aeration, good water penetration that doesn’t dry out to quickly. About 1 inch spread of water over 2 hours should be enough for healthy grass.

Weather does play its part to in deciding how often to water. You will need to water more during hot, dry weather than cold cloudy weather. Wind is important, high winds will dry out your grass. And of course if it’s raining you may not need to water at all.

The different types of grasses basically fall into 2 groups; warm-season and cool season grasses. As a general rule the warm season grasses can get by on less water than cool-season grasses. For the purpose of this article I won’t go into any more depth than that.

Follow these tips for watering and you’ll have a fantastic lawn.

1. Water to the correct depth.

2. Let the lawn go a little dry before you water it again. This helps the roots by giving them some air.

3. Don’t be a water waster, avoid runoff.

Water is too precious to let is just run into the gutters so turn your sprinkler of after 15min and let the water sink in. Then turn it back on for 15 minutes and repeat this procedure until the water has reached down 6-8 inches.

4. Water in the morning.

Early morning watering avoids evaporation problems. If you water at night or just before you run the risk of spreading lawn diseases.

5. In summer most lawns need between 1 and 2 inches of water/week.

You could apply this all at once, depending on the soil type. This said some soils like the sandy type may need this to be split into 2 or 3 applications. Do not water more than 3 times a week as you’ll develop a shallow root system.

In conclusion, be watchful when you water and make the appropriate adjustments. You now know what to look for when watering so keep an eye on your grass and adjust the frequency and amount of water according to what’s happening on your lawn. I hope you find these lawn care instructions helpful because a great lawn can bring a lot of pleasure.

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