One of two of the most commonly asked questions during the summer months is, “How often do I need to water my yard.” This is definitely an open-ended question with several factors determining the answer. Namely, how much rain has your yard received and how much? Localized rain should be sufficient to penetrate the soil to a depth of 4-5 inches. Water penetration depends primarily on your individual soil type. Grass can suffer from too much or too little water. Here are some key factors in determining how much water your particular lawn needs:

• Rain: Localized rain is ideally the best method available. It’s no cost to the homeowner and requires no effort on your part. You do need to check to insure that you have received sufficient rain though. A simple test to see if your lawn has had sufficient rainfall is the simple screwdriver test. Try pushing a screwdriver into the soil. You should be able to push a screwdriver 4-5 inches into the soil with just moderate pressure. If you cannot, then it is a probability that your lawn needs to be watered. On average your lawn will require upwards of ½” to 1” inch of rainfall every week in order to remain healthy and vibrant.

• Supplemental Watering: Frequency and saturation is an important key in your lawns root development. Frequent or insufficient watering can cause the grasses roots to develop close to the top of the soil and make your lawn more susceptible to weeds. Think about it this way, if water is being applied to the top one or two inches only, then your lawn will be more apt to grow roots in these areas. Infrequent and penetrating water is recommended when your lawn needs supplemental watering. By insuring that the water is penetrating to a depth of 4-5 inches, your grasses root system should develop deeper roots and become overall healthier.

Watering should be uniformly spread across the lawn to insure an even saturation. Lawn sprinklers differ greatly between models, although they each do basically the same function. It may be necessary to experiment between several different sprinkler types until you find one that fits your individual requirements. An easy trick to determine your sprinklers output and distribution patter, is to place old coffee cans in different locations throughout your lawn. Water until you reach a 1” depth in the coffee can, and then relocate the sprinklers to a different area of the yard. Check each can that you have put out to make sure you are reaching all areas of your yard.

It is best to water your lawn early morning while the morning dew is still on the ground. This will help to slow the water loss due to evaporation and insure better water saturation. It also prevents the possibility of scorching the grass during the middays heat. Watering during mid-day reduces the useable amount of water that can reach the grass roots. And watering your lawn late evening can cause excess moisture retention and lead to fungus buildup in the turf. It’s also best to keep your watering to those times of the year when temperatures are above 60º at night and above 80º during the daytime hours.

You can help to conserve the amount of watering by mowing your grass at higher than normal heights during periods of dry weather. This cuts down on the plants useable water storage in the grass blades as well as keeps the grass from demanding additional water to re-grow the grasses nutrient gathering portion of the grass blade.

If due to watering restrictions during droughts your lawn goes dormant, allow it to stay dormant. Fluctuations between dormancy and active growth can be worse for your lawn then the actual dormancy itself.