Over the past few years we have heard from the government the news and from our neighbors about how much water we should put on our lawns and how much we are allowed to use. Sometimes what we are allowed to put down is too much. So what do we do? How do we know how much is enough?

First think about what time of the year is it. Is it winter, summer, spring, or fall? The season of the year and the current temperature will affect the amount of water that your lawn needs. During the long hot days of summer your lawns could require ¾” to 1” of water 2 to 3 times per week. In the winter your lawn may only require ¾” to 1” of water once every two weeks.

The most preferred method to determine when to water your lawn is to wait until it needs water. This means wait until signs of stress appear in your lawn. When this appears apply the recommended ¾” to 1” of water then wait for the stress to appear again. However there are many people that live in an area where they can only water on certain days. In this case there is another option.

You can purchase a hydrometer at any of the big home stores or lawn and garden centers. A hydrometer measures the moisture level of the soil. The day before your watering day test the soil, if it shows a lot of moisture then skip your watering day, if it shows the lawn to be dry then go ahead and water. If you water your lawn because it’s our day and not because it needs it, this could cause problems in the long run.

By over watering the lawn, the roots will not develop enough and will be very short in length. In times of drought the roots, in over watered lawns, will not be long enough to get the water out of the soil and the lawn will require more watering days than normal. For those of you with watering restrictions this means that your lawn will suffer.

For more information on this subject use the link below.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/WI014

Article By
Blaine Bacon
 

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