How you water your grass is important, but when you water your lawn is also a critical factor in how healthy your grass is. For a green, lush lawn, you should learn the best time to water grass and give your lawn the amount of water it needs during those times. Here’s what you need to know.
The Best Time of Day to Water Grass
The best time to water grass is in the early in the morning, as early as you can before you start your day. This is not because water will act like a magnifying glass and will “fry” your grass when the sun comes out, contrary to popular belief. When not enough water is lost to evaporation during the day, the root system will sit in water at night and becomes much more susceptible to developing fungus and other diseases. Waterings in the morning give your lawn enough time to dry out before nightfall and is one of the most important things you can do to keep your lawn healthy.
How Often to Water Your Lawn
Beyond the best time of day to water, you should look at how often to water. Water in the mornings will only go so far if you are giving your lawn too much or to little water throughout the week. Some people think you should water once a day while others think you should water once a week. However, neither answer is correct. You should water your lawn approximately two to three times per week, depending on how long you water your lawn each time.
In 20 minutes, the amount of water your lawn will get is about a half inch. You need approximately 1-1.5 inches of water per week for reaching the roots and creating a strong and healthy lawn. If you water your lawn for 30 minutes, you can water just twice a week. If you water your lawn for 15 minutes, it will take four times per week to get the amount of water your lawn needs. Remember that shorter waterings can create a short grass root, making your lawn weak and that clay soils hold water better than other soils. When you water deeply just two or three times per week, you encourage your grass to develop long, strong roots.
Making Lawn Care Easy With a Sprinkler System
Another thing to think about besides the time of day to water your grass is what kind of irrigation system to use. A sprinkler system is one of the most commonly used — and effective — ways to water the grass automatically. You can set a sprinkler system on a timer and depending on how you set up the sprinklers, you can get full coverage across your entire lawn. Set your sprinklers to water for 20 minutes three times per week and watch your lawn to gauge improvement. If a portion of the lawn isn’t responding to water, you may have another problem like disease or fungus.