Watering a lawn is one of the most important things you can do to make it thrive. However, if you are interested in getting a luscious green law, you will often need to do more than just randomly have it sprinkled. It’s important to make sure that the amount of water the lawn receives is just enough for it to thrive. This usually means having to take into account variables such as the type of climate you often have in that part of the world, the type of soil you have and the types of vegetation you have in the land.
Fortunately, you don’t have to do this all by yourself. By working with a lawn contractor, you can have them handle the technical aspects associated with growing a lawn so that you don’t have to worry about them. Typically, the end goal is to make sure that the lawn receives at least an inch of moisture every week to allow for the plants to grow.
The dangers of overwatering
You might think that an easy way round it would be to do a bit more watering than is necessary, and then simply leave it at that. This way, the plants can simply imbibe what they need and not bother with the rest. Unfortunately, this is not the way things work. In fact, having too much water in a lawn might lead to more problems.
The presence of water in amounts that are too large tends to drive out the air from the soil, meaning that the roots of the plants end up being deprived of oxygen. Of course, the plants can convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, but the roots often need to derive it form the soil in order to carry out processes such as absorbing nutrients from it.
This then means that when there is too much water in the soil, the plants will essentially starve and this is why most of them tend to develop yellow leaves.
Are there ways of determining how much moisture the lawn is getting?
As has been said, there are many things that affect the dynamics of water in soil, including soil type and the nature of the plants in the lawn. Rather than focusing on how much water you deliver to the lawn, you should instead try to find out if it’s receiving enough of it. There are two main ways of doing this including:
• Examining the soil: There are special probes that can be used to determine how hydrated a patch of soil is. You can buy one of these and then use it to figure out whether the soil is effectively hydrated, and to what depth it is. If you are not interested in splurging for such a device, you could also rent one.
• Using cans to check the depth of the sprinkling: A more rudimentary way to go about it would be by setting up a number of cans on the lawn, and then switching on the sprinklers. After around thirty minutes, you can then switch it off and find out how much water there is in the can. This will give you an idea of whether the chosen sprinkling rate is enough for the yard, or if you need to modify it. It will also show you whether the sprinkling is even.
The time you choose to water the lawn can affect how much water it gets
Watering the lawn at around 5 in the morning is the best way to ensure that it will receive enough moisture. At this time, there is unlikely to be any wind to blow off some of the moisture from the lawn, which can result in wastage. Since the temperatures are usually low at this time of day, it also reduces losses due to evaporation. Lastly, it gives the lawn enough time to dry off during the day. If you water the lawn at night, it’s likely to remain damp for a long time, and this might lead to diseases.
Of course, having to wake up at 5 just to switch on the sprinklers is not something that most people are comfortable doing. You could instead opt to automate it using a sprinkler system that allows you to specify the time of day when you need it to come on, as well as for how long it should run. If you already have a sprinkler in place, you can also explore the possibility of installing a timer for it rather than getting rid of it and installing a new one.
In summary, you should not make the mistake of thinking that the amount of water a lawn should get is arbitrary. In fact, this has to be calibrated properly if your lawn is to thrive. The easiest way to facilitate this would be by hiring a lawn expert and having them carry out the necessary tests to find out how frequently you should water the lawn.
