You have just laid your new turf and want to make sure it looks its best long into the future. How do you maintain your grass through mowing, watering and fertilizing to ensure you have the best lawn on the block.
How do you water your lawn for best results?
This may seem like a fairly straightforward question, however considering factors such as when to water, how long, and how often the question becomes more complex. Let’s start with when you should water your lawn to get the best results. Watering at night is often thought to be the best time to water if you have an irrigation system set up. This minimises evaporation which can occur during the heat of the day and doesn’t allow the water to seep into the soil and get to the roots. Minimising evaporation allows the water to reach down to the grass roots and keep the soil wet. A healthy root system assists with helping the grass survive during periods of low water.
In some environment if the grass remains wet for too long it can become susceptible to fungal growth. This fungus can affect the health of the grass, impacting the colour appearance of the lawn and the grass leaf shredding during mowing rather than giving a clean cut.
If you live in a wet environment where the grass doesn’t dry out quickly it can be more beneficial to water during the day rather than at night so the water doesn’t sit too long resulting in fungus growth.
How long should I water my lawn for?
When watering your lawn, you want to water it for long enough for the water to get down into the soil and be effective in giving the grass a good drink. However, you don’t want to flood the ground so much it becomes soggy, or you waste water and it just washes away. So, how long should I water the lawn for? Generally, a good 20 to 30 minutes is a good period of time to water the grass to get the best results.
How often should I water my lawn?
It is often said that you only need to water established grass once per week. A good water once per week helps develop a good solid root system for the grass which assists with drought tolerance during dry periods or water restrictions. However, watering the grass daily will keep it green and luscious. If it is not possible to water daily, try to water at least a few times per week or you may start to notice your grass becoming brown in patches and not growing at a fast rate.
The recommended routine
In summary, as discussed above the recommended watering routine involves watering for 30 minutes daily at night with an irrigation system. This will result in a luscious green turf which will be the envy of your neighbours.