Watering
tips for a lush, green lawn
Metro — When it comes to maintaining a
lush, green lawn, summertime is often a homeownerÕs biggest enemy. A spring
seasonÕs worth of work can seemingly go up in smoke once a summer drought rears
its ugly head.
But as devastating as a drought can be to a
lawn, grass has a remarkable capacity to recover. A big part of that recovery
is how well a lawn is watered throughout the summer months, when drought hits
the hardest. So before the drought season arrives this year, consider the
following watering tips.
¥ The early bird gets the green. The ideal
time to water is before dawn or at daybreak. Particularly during the dog days
of summer, watering early drastically cuts down on evaporation resulting from
extreme temperatures, ensuring your grass will get the water it needs. Also,
the rising sun will help to dry the grass, reducing the chances of lawn
disease.
¥ Water in the rain. While it might seem
foolish to water your lawn when itÕs raining, itÕs actually one of the better
opportunities to water. Most summertime rains arenÕt sufficient enough to
benefit a lawn that much. But watering while raining can save you some water
(you wonÕt need to run your sprinklers or hoses at full-speed) as you use the
rain as a supplement. The combination of rain water and a light sprinkling will
ensure the water reaches all of the roots.
¥ Avoid any watering at night. Sometimes,
whether itÕs due to work schedules or family commitments, watering at night or
in the early evening is our only option. However, this should be avoided as
much as possible. While the lack of sun at night will ensure that no water
intended for your lawn is robbed by evaporation, the downside of watering at
night is that lawn diseases thrive in wet conditions. When you water at night,
the water remains on the grass until the sun shows up again in the morning.
This greatly increases the chance of lawn disease settling in during that
overnight period.
¥ DonÕt overdo it. Grass will adapt to your watering schedule. DonÕt go
overboard with watering. A deep and thorough watering once or twice a week will
ensure that those deep roots will get the water they need, and your lawn will
be the better for it.