How long irrigation

For example, clay soil retains water longer, whereas sandy soil drains quickly. Lawns that are a mixture of bluegrass or fine fescue are considered cool-season grasses and actively grow in the fall, recovering from summer dormancy.

Cool fall temperatures keep evaporation rates low, but these lawns need water weekly until winter puts an end to the growing season. Unlike warm season grasses, cool-season grasses are generally fertilized in the fall and watered immediately after fertilization. If you notice that your lawn has a grayish tint or appears to have a dull green color, this is a sign that it needs water.

During certain times of the year, water is unnecessary because there is enough precipitation to provide the lawn with all the water it needs. However, at other times drought and heat make regular watering essential. Depending on where you live, you generally won't need to water your lawn until June. In general, you can start watering it from late spring through early fall. The best time to water your lawn is early in the morning since it is cooler and the winds tend to be calmer, so the water can be absorbed by the roots before it evaporates.

If for some reason you cannot water in the morning, it is best to water between 4 p. Make sure the blades of grass dry before dark to reduce the risk of fungal disease.

Watering in the evening is not recommended! Knowing how long to water your lawn is a crucial part of keeping it vibrant and healthy. You should know that daily watering of the lawn will result in a shallow root system since the roots will stay on the surface where they receive a lot of water. Shallow root systems dry out quickly and weaken the lawn. However, infrequent and deep watering encourages the roots to form deep and develop strong systems underground.

This makes your lawn more resistant to pulling, weather changes and disease. In this sense, the ideal is to favor a weekly watering for your lawn. In general, your lawn needs 2 to 3 cm of water per week, so a good average is to water about 2 times a week, or even 3 in the warmer months. You can then adjust the watering frequency according to the age of your lawn.

For example, if your lawn is several years old, one watering per week is sufficient. Watering that soaks the soil more deeply encourages the roots to grow deeper and stronger.

A very common lawn-watering practice is to turn on the sprinkler and then watch the clock and try to remember to turn off the water. What happens all too often, however, is that you get involved in something else and completely forget that the sprinkler is running and you end up wasting water and over saturating the lawn. The timer screws onto the hose bib spigot outside your house, and then the garden hose connects to the timer.

A dormant lawn will come back to life after a good rainstorm. Lawns in new housing developments where the topsoil was removed often have soil so hard water can't sink in. In that case, homeowners need to water in stages to soften up the ground so water can eventually seep down into the soil.

Then, water for another 30 minutes," Maurer says. After that the rest of the water will simply run off. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. Water in the Morning. Soak 6 Inches Into the Soil. Go Easy With New Grass. Robert S. Water Twice a Week, Max. Get a Timer. Vivek Vigneswaran Getty Images. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses.

You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano. Many irrigation systems with timers also offer smart sensors or rain sensors to interrupt a watering schedule after or during rain , as do some flow timers you can place in your hose line like this one from Amazon.

If you water only once a week, you could wind up with soggy soil that invites pests and rot. Water daily, and the water may only reach the top of roots, yielding short roots and a dry turf.

In general, clay and loamy soil store water longer but absorb it more slowly, so water lawns with these soil types one to three times per week. To determine how long to run your sprinklers during each watering session, divide the total weekly sprinkler duration by the weekly watering frequency.

If you need to run your sprinklers 40 minutes per week to meet your watering needs, and plan to water your lawn twice a week, set your sprinkler to run for 20 minutes each watering session 40 divided by two. Space watering sessions at least a few days apart to allow the grass roots to absorb water and breathe. If sprinklers run in the peak heat of a summer day, much of the water the lawn craves evaporates before it even hits the ground. This depends on the day and dryness of the air, plus wind speed, which can drift sprayed water away from its intended turf target.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency EPA , about half of the water used outdoors goes to waste because it evaporates, blows in the wind, or pools and runs off the turf when applied too heavily.

Of course, evaporation is worse in dry climates where the water is scarcest! In any community, the best time to water grass is early morning, typically between 6 a. Many cities have ordinances requiring residents to water only during early morning and evening hours.

Less evaporation occurs as evening sets in, but winds might be higher than near dawn. Plus, a watered lawn sitting damp all night might lead to fungal diseases of turf. The calculations above will tell you how long to run your sprinklers in an average week with no rainfall. But natural rainfall reduces the need for supplemental irrigation. To figure out how long to water your lawn during a week when it rains, subtract the number of inches of rainfall from the weekly watering needed to get a new figure and do the rest of the calculations normally.

On a twice-weekly watering schedule, run your sprinklers 10 minutes each time. Yes, if the turf never dries between watering, the moisture can choke out oxygen. Watering too heavily can wash away soil nutrients or cause water to pool in low spots, which is bad for the lawn and your water bill.

Water less often for a little longer and watch for signs of overwatering or fungal activity. If you have a lawn, you ought to enjoy it, so step on the grass; if it springs back, it does not need water.