How Often Should I Water My Lawn?
As a general rule of thumb, water your lawn about twice a week. Water deeply and infrequently.
How often and for how long you water your lawn can be different for different types of soil. For example: sandy soil requires more water and clay soil requires less water.
Don't fall into the trap of "more is better". One of the top causes for lawn diseases that we see is actually from very well intentioned customers accidentally over watering their lawn.
How is Over Watering Bad For My Lawn?
Over watering your lawn can cause your lawn to be more prone to disease by providing pathogens with the moist environment that they favor.
An over-watered can suffocate your plants and cause the grass to develop a shallow root system - grass roots will not be encouraged to grow and find water.
What is the Best Time of Day to Water My Lawn?
Generally speaking, we recommend watering your lawn in the morning. This allows the root zone to absorb water before it's evaporated.
While it might be tempting to water your lawn at night, watering at night creates the perfect environment for fungus or disease pathogens to thrive in.
How to Schedule Your Irrigation System:
Other Things To Consider:
The recommendations above are the general rule of thumb to follow, but as with every rule, there are exceptions.
Soil type: Sandy soils should be watered 15-20 minutes daily. Sand holds little available moisture and requires more frequent irrigation.
Start times: If you have a well with limited water, you might want to consider a start time of 3 AM vs 5 AM when everyone is up and showering and getting ready for work.
The Crunch Test: It might be common sense but if you hear “squish” when you walk on your lawn you might be over watering. If you hear “crunch” you might be under watering.
The Disease Triangle: There are 3 main factors that promote lawn diseases: hot, wet, and dark conditions.
If this article was useful to you, read some others similar to it:
- How To Water Your Lawn [Dos and Don'ts]
- Choosing the Best Irrigation System for Your Lawn [Top 5 Sprinkler Types]
- Heat Stress vs Drought Stress
- Inground Irrigation vs Above Ground Irrigation
Since 2007, Green Meadow Lawn Care has provided homeowners throughout the greater Tolland, Connecticut area with premium fertilization programs, tick control, mosquito management, seeding & aeration and tree & shrub care.
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To speak to our Customer Service Manager, please call Dave (view Dave's video bio here) with any questions. Dave has been in the industry for 30 years and is always happy to help with his expert advice.
860-870-5700