When it comes to maintaining a lush, green lawn, summertime is often a homeowner’s biggest
enemy. A spring season’s worth of work can seemingly go up in smoke once a summer draught rears its ugly head.
But as devastating as drought can be to a lawn, grass has a remarkable capacity to recover. A big part of that
recovery is how well a lawn is watered throughout the summer months, when drought hits the hardest. So before
the drought season arrives this year, consider the following watering tips:
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The early bird gets the green. The ideal time to water is before dawn or at daybreak. Particularly during
the dog days of summer, watering early drastically cuts down on evaporation resulting from extreme temperatures
ensuring your grass will get the water it needs. Also, the rising sun will help to dry the grass, reducing
the chance of lawn disease.
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Water in the rain. While it might seem foolish to water your lawn when it’s raining, it’s actually one of
the better opportunities to water. Most summertime rains aren’t sufficient enough to benefit a lawn that much.
But watering while raining can save you some water (you won’t need to run your sprinklers or hoses at full speed)
as you use the rain as a supplement. The combination of rain water and a light sprinkling will ensure the water
reaches all of the roots.
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Avoid any watering at night. Sometimes, whether it’s due to work schedules or family commitments, watering at
night or in the early evening is our only option. However, this should be avoided as much as possible. While
the lack of sun at night will ensure that no water intended for your lawn is robbed by evaporation, the downside
of watering at night is that lawn diseases thrive in wet conditions. When you water at night, the water remains
on the grass until the sun shows up again in the morning. This greatly increases the chance of lawn disease settling
in during that overnight period.
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Don’t overdo it. Grass will adapt to your watering schedule. For example, if you water lightly
every day, the grass will become dependant on that light watering, which won’t even provide that much benefit, since
the goal of watering is to allow moisture to reach the deepest roots. So don’t go overboard with how often you water.
A deep, thorough watering once or twice a week will ensure that those deep roots will get the water they need, and
your lawn will be the better for it.
