Landscaping

» Georgene A. Bramlage - How much and how often?

A reader recently sent this question about how much and how often to water the lawn. I have an automatic system that waters my garden whenever I tell when to do it. I had it turning on every morning for 20 minutes last year. It is that Mr. Landscape System. It is part sun and part shade. Should I be doing it every morning? Michele

Unfortunately, Michele, a mature lawn does not need to be watered that often. Twenty minutes each morning is like keeping your lawn under a perpeptual mist system, especially if part of it is shade. Landscape gardeners with mechanical systems need to change settings to adapt to circumstances. There is nothing sadder, IMHO, than seeing a watering system working fully in a driving rain.

A rule of thumb is about one to two inches when the top inches of the soil are dry. One to two inches of water applied slowly over about an hour will / should enable the soil to absorb water down to about five to six inches.

All of this is dependent upon your cold hardiness growing zone and heat zone; soil type and condition; drainage; grass type; and microclimate (sun/shade, windy/calm, etc.).

I will be answering this question more fully within the next few days as well as a few others about lawns.

Check back!

Georgene