Watering:”But I have a Sprinkler System”

Posted on by lawndoctoradmin
Every summer, we see drought stress, turf damage, fungal disease and in the past 3 years, chinch bug damage. We see significantly more issues in lawns that are improperly watered.
We frequently hear from customers…..
“but I have a sprinkler system.”
  • Unfortunately, we see MORE improper watering with sprinkler systems than in most other lawns.
  • The zones and settings of many sprinkler systems are set up improperly and are doing MORE DAMAGE THAN GOOD!
  • Short watering of 15,20 to 30 minutes is generally more damaging than not watering at all. Short watering is the equivalent of licking your lips on a hot windy day -it does not quench your thirst and it chaps your lip.
  • Short watering does not reach the root zone and stresses the grass.
  • We see significantly more incidence of chinch bug damage, stressed turf, fungal disease and die-back in lawns with too short and too frequent watering.
Watering Guidelines
  1. Water in the morning.
  2. Water DEEPLY (to soak the ground 3-4 inches deep) -generally 45-60 minutes, LESS OFTEN – (every 4-8 days, in most conditions)
  3. Do NOT water at night if you can avoid it. This can lead to more fungal disease
  4. If your watering restrictions require every other day watering, we recommend splitting up your zones. Take your number of zones and divide by 3 and water 45-60 minutes per zone over 5 days. (For example, if you have 9 zones in your grass area and must water on odd days, water zones 1,2,& 3 on the 1st, zones 4,5 & 6 on the 3rd and zones 7,8 and 9 on the 5th, then start over on the 7th. If some zones are small and that is too long, you can cut back, but use a water gauge or other device to make sure that you are getting an inch of water per area.)
Dormancy:
If you choose not to water, the grass will go dormant. This is a very natural process that helps the lawn protect itself from the heat. In dormancy, the grass will turn brown.
If you let the lawn go into dormancy, make sure that you:
  1. DO NOT MOW when the lawn is dormant or drought stressed.
  2. Minimize all traffic on the lawn during this time. No jumpy things, no kiddie pools, no slip and slides (in fact most of these things amplify the heat underneath them so it makes the lawn stress even more).
  3. Lawns in dormancy will still need at least 1/4 to ½ inch of water every 2-3 weeks to keep the crown of the plant alive and able to recover when conditions improve.
  4. When a lawn suffers drought, some areas may thin out, which is natural as the plants are all fighting for soil moisture. Typically when the rains return, most areas will recover depending on the severity of the conditions.
Posted in Lawn Care, Watering