Change your approach to lawn watering and avoid these common mistakes.
It’s time for a reset onwatering grass.
People water too much, too often, at the wrong times, and the wrong way.
Credit:MichaelMajor/Getty Images
MichaelMajor/Getty Images
Skip These Lawn Watering Pitfalls
1.
Using In-Ground Sprinklers
If you don’t have in-ground sprinklers, don’t get them.
Two alternatives are manual sprinkler systems or soaker hoses.
The drawback of soaker hoses is that they are visible and may create tripping hazards on your lawn.
Not Aiming The Sprinklers Correctly
Before turning on your sprinkler system, double-check it reaches the target area.
Indiscriminately Watering Your Entire Yard
Different plants have different water requirements.
If you have an in-ground sprinkler system, create zones that are tailored to different areas of your landscape.
The lawn will also have fewerlawn weedssuch as dollarweed and nutgrass (nutsedge) that thrive in overwatered lawns.
When Bermuda grass is rarely watered and it doesn’t rain, the grass goes dormant and turns brown.
When it eventually rains, the grass wakes up and turns green again.
Plus, the grass blades will dry quickly, preventing disease problems.
Give the lawn about an inch of water per week, which takes about two 30-minute sessions.
Avoid a single long watering session to prevent runoff.
Cut Your Grass At Maximum Height
Taller grass shades and cools the ground, reducing moisture loss.
In a drought, taller grass always stays greener longer than shorter grass.
The grass will go dormant and turn brown until it bounces with rainfall and cooler temperatures.
Georgia Environmental Protection Division.Non-Drought Outdoor Water Use Schedule.
