Watering Your Lawns: The Dos and Don’ts

It’s easy to assume there is no right or wrong way to water your lawn. If it looks thirsty, give it a drink! However, any lawn care expert will tell you that lawn watering can be a bit of an art form! Water it right, and it will likely thrive. Get it wrong, and you could have a very unwell lawn on your hands.

With that in mind, we’re here to help you become a lawn-watering master. We’ve included some helpful ‘dos and don’ts’ to help you get started on your watering journey.

Don’t Water At Night

We’re often told to water our gardens when the sunshine is at its lowest intensity. This can mean watering early in the morning and later in the evening to ensure plant roots get to keep as much moisture as possible.

You might assume the same rules apply to your lawn, but they don’t. In fact, watering your grass at night can cause some pretty frustrating problems!

First of all, you’re at risk of disrupting natural plant activity. Plants undertake a ‘transpiration’ process, which helps them get the necessary moisture and maintain their temperature. They draw water up through their roots and evaporate it from the leaves during the day.

Watering your gardens at night means the pores on the leaves can’t open. After all, it’s not daytime! When they can’t evaporate the moisture, they can start to rot or succumb to disease. 

Fungal and bacteria growth is another problem you might have to contend with. Grass that is wet for an extended period can be a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi. You might then notice unsightly brown patches, among other issues.

Do Water in the Morning

Knowing that watering your lawns in the evening is a bad idea, you’re likely curious about when you can water them. Morningtime is preferable. This can be especially true during the warm summer months.

Watering before the sun’s heat starts to linger gives your lawns a chance to enjoy as much water as possible. Yet, the grass blades still have a chance to dry off. It’s a win-win situation!

Don’t Water Your Lawns Every Day

You might think you’re doing your lawns a favour by watering them daily. The more water they get, the healthier they are, right? Not quite.

Frequent watering tells your lawns that they don’t need to worry about growing long roots because water will always be available. This can sometimes mean they’re more likely to die or be severely impacted by drought conditions.

Many towns and cities put no watering rules in place when water supplies get low in summer months, which means you can’t continue your same daily watering routine unless you have your own rain barrel supply. However, if you were to water your lawns more infrequently, like every second or third day, your grass roots can grow longer. They do this in their search for water. The longer the roots are, the stronger they are and the less impacted they can often be when not watered frequently.

Do Water Your Lawns Evenly

If some parts of your lawn look like they need more water than others, it can be tempting to water one area for a longer time than another. You might even assume that having a lawn irrigation system with sprinklers means your entire lawn will enjoy even watering.

However, even watering is in your lawn’s best interests if all lawn is getting the same amount of sunshine. Even with an irrigation system in place, keep an eye on how much each part of your lawn is getting to ensure your entire lawn has equal opportunity to thrive. You can do this by placing a container under each sprinkler. Take note of how even the water levels are in each container. If some areas receive more water than others, adjust your system as needed.

Don’t Overwater Your Lawn

You’d be surprised by how many people overwater their lawns by accident. They can then find themselves with disease-ridden grass when that water can’t evaporate before night falls.

However, overwatering is easy to do when parts of your lawn are in shaded areas. Typically, the colder side of your property, or lawn shaded by structures and trees, doesn’t need as much as a grassy area in full sun.

Do Ensure You’re Watering Enough

The warmer months of the year can be brutal on lawns, even if you’ve practiced infrequent watering to promote healthier, longer, and stronger roots. If you’re still allowed to water your lawns in summer, perform the screwdriver test to ensure they’re getting enough.

This test involves penetrating a screwdriver down into the ground about 15 centimetres. If you can drive it down that far, your lawn is likely fine and doesn’t need any water. If you struggle to reach down that far, your grass could do with a drink!

Do You Need Lawn Watering Help?

We get it: lawn care is time-consuming. Who knew there could be so much involved in lawn watering? If you need a helping hand with this task or even some friendly advice, you’ll surely find a lawn care expert near you willing to offer assistance.