Skip to content
Free delivery on orders over £75

Call Us: 0161 300 2342

Mon - Fri: 9am - 5pm

Advice & Inspiration

Top Tips For Watering Your Lawn In Hot Conditions

by Harri Summers 01 Sep 2022

One of the most misunderstood and important stages in maintaining a healthy, attractive lawn is correctly watering it. Most people overwater and underwater their lawns.

Here are some great recommendations to make sure you water your grass properly and effectively:

Start by only watering your lawn up to the depth of the root zone. When watering bluegrass, you should saturate the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches, and 8 to 11 inches for other grasses. This will guarantee that your water only reaches the active root zone of the grass. The type of soil and the irrigation system will determine how long it will take to saturate the root zone and how much water it will require. Clay and other softer soils won't be penetrated as quickly or deeply as sandy soils.

Watering Your Lawn

To calculate how long it will take to saturate the root zone of your lawn:

This amazing recipe was provided by a renowned university. For 15 minutes, run the sprinklers. Dig a tiny hole in the earth or use a probe to measure how moist the soil is twenty-four hours later. This information will help you decide how long to water each time. Divide 120 by the depth of the soaked soil in inches to determine the amount of time needed to water the grass.

For instance, if the water is steeped for 120/4 = 30 minutes in the figure. Eight inches would require one hour to soak. The lawn needs to be watered for 20 minutes if it is 6 inches deep (120/6 in. = 20 minutes). However, compared to other grasses, bluegrass has a shorter root system; it only requires 6 to 8 inches of watering (instead of 8-12 in). Consider the following: 6 inches of water were soaked in 15 minutes. A bluegrass lawn would only require 15 minutes of watering as opposed to the 20 minutes recommended for other species of grass. Once the duration of the watering period has been determined, utilise it consistently throughout all seasons. Put off the water for an hour to allow the water to soak in, then turn the sprinklers back on and complete watering if water begins to run off the lawn before the end of the watering period.

Excess thatch can sometimes create run-off. The lawn should be dethatched if the thatch layer is greater than 1/2 inch thick. Early spring or late summer are the best times to detach cool-season lawns (bluegrass or fescue). Late in the spring, dethatch bermuda grass lawns. Thatch buildup can be reduced with appropriate mowing, watering, and fertilising.

Avoid over watering the lawn to prevent thatch buildup

The grass will turn bluish or pale green and start to fold or roll when the lawn is in need of water. The lawn will show signs of foot traffic after being walked on. Additional water will be needed since tree and shrub roots will compete with the lawn. To foster the formation of tree and shrub roots below the turf root zone, deeply wet the soil once a month. Use a soaker hose under the entire tree canopy or leave the sprinklers on for three times as long as usual. Early in the morning is the ideal time to water. If lawns are watered in chilly weather with calm winds, less water evaporates. The early morning hours are when these situations most usually occur. If winds are calm, watering in the late afternoon or evening also lowers evaporation losses; but, because the grass remains damp all night, this practice tends to promote disease.

Watering Your Lawn

How do you fix a drab lawn?

Numerous grass-affecting fungus diseases need water droplets or high humidity levels to sporulate and infect the plants. Many people find it more convenient and harmless to water their lawns in the middle of the day. But more water evaporates and is lost. Sprinklers are typically the most efficient method of watering lawns. On lawns that are level and have access to a water source, flood irrigation can also be used. Depending on the type of sprinkler system installed, sprinkler spray patterns should overlap 80 to 100%. For appropriate sprinkler installation, adhere to the manufacturer's instructions. A good system must distribute water evenly throughout all grassy areas.

Only the grassy areas must receive the water application; walls, side walks, driveways, or streets must not. To determine homogeneity, use the can test as previously mentioned. The majority of sprinkler heads contain a spring adjustment to regulate the water flow. Sprinklers can be adjusted to steer water away from paved surfaces and walls when they don't water a full circle. To obtain uniform application after replacing a few sprinkler heads, it could be required to replace every sprinkler head. Perhaps this will help you water your yard.

Browse our range of gardening watering products here.

 

Prev Post
Next Post

Thanks for subscribing!

This email has been registered!

Shop the look

Choose Options

Edit Option
is added to your shopping cart.
this is just a warning
Login