When and How Much Should You Water Your Lawn? | Realtor Magazine
For green, vibrant grass, it is essential for homeowners to learn about aerating, seeding, and watering their lawns to keep the curb appeal intact, according to realtor.com®’s Lawn Lover’s Guide.
“When you don’t give your lawn enough water, it grows with shallow roots,” says Don Botts, the president of Quality All-Care Services in Bonner Springs, Kan. “This can stunt the growth of your grass and make it harder for your lawn to survive severe temperatures or disease.”
So when is the ideal time to water a lawn? Many may assume it’s at night, but experts say that’s wrong. Instead, the best time to water a lawn is in the morning, between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m., Botts says.
“There are a lot of people who are surprised to find out that watering your lawn at the wrong time of day can have such an impact,” Botts told realtor.com®. “Watering at night often means that water will sit on your grass overnight, which can lead to disease.”
Also, lawn experts say it’s important not to water during the hottest part of the day. The heat will cause the water to evaporate quickly before the water has a chance to penetrate the roots of the grass.
It’s important to make sure grass gets enough water, but not too much either. For homeowners who have underground sprinklers, Chris Bartells, owner of Green Mountain Turf Sprinkler Repair in Lakewood, Colo., recommends placing empty cans near sprinkler heads and checking to see how much water the sprinklers emit in a span of 15 to 20 minutes.
“Then measure how many inches of water is in each can, using a ruler,” Bartells suggests. “Average that by the amount of time you ran your system, and you should end up with a pretty good estimate of how long your lawn needs to be watered to get the full inch or two of water that it needs [per week].”