When it comes to keeping your lawn healthy, watering is Rule Zero. Without the right amount of moisture, grass cannot grow strong, making it vulnerable to damage from diseases, pests, and other hazards. But watering your lawn too much or in the wrong way also carries serious risks, as it can make you more vulnerable to mold growth or simply drown out the roots.

To ensure healthy, sustainable growth for your grass, it’s necessary that your lawn care services use the right amount of water and distribute it in the right way. The following guide will help you do just that so your yard can stay lush and beautiful all season long.

8 Essential Tips for Watering Your Lawn

While specific watering tips vary based on what type of grass you have, it’s almost always essential to:

• Water Consistently- Whenever you water your grass and whatever amount of water you use, keep these decisions consistent. By watering in regular intervals, you ensure that your lawn never has too much or too little moisture for a given day, and can grow at a consistent rate. Regular watering also makes it easier for you to remember when to water and how much to use, so you can cut down on your rate of mistakes.

• Don’t Water More than Twice a Week- No matter how much water you have to use in total each week, you should not distribute it any more often than two days in a given week. This allows the water to soak deep into the soil before plants have a chance to get it, so your grass will have to develop deeper roots to soak up all of it. By contrast, if you water too often, the grass will have shallow roots, making them vulnerable to drought, disease, and other threats.

• Water in the Morning- By watering in the morning before it gets hot, you allow plants to soak up the moisture before it evaporates or blows away. Morning watering also prevents water droplets from sticking to the grass overnight, a process that can lead to fungus growth. For best results, Lush Lawn offers a specialized Water Maximizer application that helps your grass retain moisture during the day while avoiding infection at night.

• Let Hard Soil Soak- Water has a difficult time getting through hard soil, so if that’s the kind of soil you have, you need to take special precautions. Try watering the soil for half an hour; then stop until all that water has soaked in before watering for another half hour. This should give the moisture enough time to get deep into the soil.

• Allow Water to Soak Half a Foot- Whether you have hard soil or soft, you need to water it enough that the moisture extends roughly 6 inches into the ground. To make sure you’re achieving this, check the soil once every 15 minutes when you’re watering it for the first time. Once you figure out how long it takes for the water to get half a foot down, water for that exact amount of time going forward.

• Give New Grass a Break- If you’ve recently planted grass, the seeds haven’t had much time to grow strong roots. As a result, if you water the lawn too hard, you risk washing those seeds away. To prevent this from happening, set your sprinklers to oscillate for the first few months. You can then begin watering them harder once the grass has grown strong and sturdy.

• Take Advantage of a Timer- One of the most common reasons that homeowners water their grass too much is that they forget they have the water running. To prevent yourself from doing this, set up a timer that will switch off your water automatically after a pre-set amount of time. Such timers are inexpensive and connect directly to the spigot. Timers also have the advantage of making it easier to keep your watering consistent.

• Set Up a Pulsating Sprinkler- Although oscillating sprinklers are ideal for watering new grass, under almost any other circumstances, you should go for a pulsating one. Whereas oscillating sprinklers spray water up into the air, pulsating ones send it in a horizontal stream. That makes it less likely to evaporate or get blown away before it hits the ground, so your plants can soak up the vast majority of the droplets.

Through these simple tips, you can dramatically improve the health and strength of your grass. This sets the stage for a lush lawn that can stand up to any threat.

Water Maximizer Application

It is well known that Michigan can experience blazing summers. While the sunshine is most welcome, prolonged drought can demand a heavy toll on your lawn. Even with the most diligent watering practices, grass can dry out and wither under the intense sunlight. Thankfully, Lush Lawn has a solution to combating the summer heat. With our specialized Water Maximizer application, your grass will be able to retain more water than before. Think of it as a protective barrier between your green grass and drought. Water Maximizer is spread just like fertilizer, making it a simple solution with long-lasting benefits.

Beat the heat this summer! Contact Lush Lawn to learn more about the Water Maximizer application and get a free estimate.