Warm season grasses, including Bermuda, St. Augustine and Zoysia, are heat and drought tolerant. However, proper watering and maintenance will allow you to have a thriving lawn even throughout the warmest summer months.
Timing
Watering your lawn is best done in the early morning hours of 4am to 10am, according to the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality. If you wait to water during the heat of the day, you’ll end up losing up to a third of your water to evaporation, and lawns will suffer from too little moisture. Watering at the end of the day is also not recommended, as moisture added to a lawn that is still hot from the day’s heat can cause problems with mold or disease.
Test the System
Early morning watering is best accomplished with an in-ground sprinkler system, but can also be achieved by manual means. For household irrigation systems, we recommend testing them at least once a season. Discovering and fixing leaky heads, cracks or misaligned sprinklers can lead to a more efficient use of water and a healthier lawn.
Some cities, including Fort Worth, Texas offer a complimentary irrigation system evaluation one time per year. Check your local municipality to see if you qualify as part of your city or community’s attempt to educate residents and conserve water.
How Much is Too Much?
We often hear that more is always better, but that’s not the case both for your lawn and for the environment when it comes to watering. Even in the hottest of summer months, a regular deep watering 2 days a week is recommended to encourage strong, healthy root systems.
Rotate the application of water throughout the zones for shorter durations of time. This allows the water to properly be absorbed into the soil between each application. Runoff into nearby waterways can be harmful when it brings with it fertilizer and pesticides. Additionally, overwatering can cause disease and results in water waste and higher utility bills.
New Tech and Your Lawn
In a world where everything is connected to the internet, your sprinkler system now has options to make it more “smart” as well. Consider investing in a rain sensor, which will prohibit your sprinklers from running if the sensor is wet. However, additional technology in the form of smart sprinkler controls connect to the internet, track the weather forecast in the local area and even connect to an app on your phone to allow you to manage your sprinklers remotely.
If this new technology hasn’t made its way to your sprinkler system yet, then follow the gardener’s rule of thumb: don’t turn on your sprinklers when it’s rained at least once that week. Use the sprinkler only when mother nature has not provided recent moisture to help save the environment and your pocketbook, too.
If you’re needing help keeping your lawn looking its best, trust your affordable home services experts at OneNeighbor. We offer everything from lawn mowing to weed pulling, fertilization and weed control to mulch installation. Join your neighborhood in Dallas/ Fort Worth, TX, Tampa Bay, FL and Houston, TX and start saving today.
