Watering Instructions
Try to water each area for 15 minutes, as close to 6AM and 6PM, daily for the first 2 to 3 weeks after the seed is sown. That is the 1-sentence answer! Below we go into more detail on how to water your lawn depending on the life cycle stages your lawn will go through.
Understanding the difference between watering grass seed, young grass, and mature grass:
Watering your grass may seem like a very basic task, but there are some key items to understand to get the most out of your watering. Let’s start with watering grass seed.
Watering Grass Seed
The idea behind watering grass seed, is to attempt to keep the seed moist, until germination. If the seed is drying out between watering’s, it can cause the seed go dormant and it will never germinate. That is why we recommend to water in the AM and PM. We understand this can be hard to accommodate. If you miss a watering it is not the end of the world, but try to get at least one watering in each day. On days that we get rain, you can skip your watering! We recommend watering each area for 15 minutes (using a standard sprinkler connected to your house) because the grass seed has no root system at this point. We want to keep the soil around the seed moist, so the seed can draw out that moisture. At this point, we do not have the need to get water very deep into the soil.
Watering Young Grass
As the grass begins to root and grow, the watering habits change. This should be 2-4 weeks after sowing the grass seed, depending on the climate during this time, and how regimented you have been watering the grass seed. At this point you can move to watering once daily for a half hour in each area. This will allow the water (and nutrients contained in the water) to flow deeper into the soil. The root system of the young grass will reach further into the soil to absorb the water and nutrients. The deeper we can get the root system of the grass plants to grow, the healthier they will be. Deep roots help the most during times of drought.
Watering Established Lawns
In Northern Kentucky, for most of the spring and fall, we really have ideal conditions for fescue grass to grow. In the summer, we usually have at least a couple weeks of drought like conditions, which can really take a toll on your lawn. Some years these drought like conditions can last a month or two. To keep your lawn looking its best during these times, some deep watering will need to occur. When I say ‘deep watering’, I am referring to how deep the water travels into the soil. We want to saturate approximately the top six inches of the soil that the grass is growing in. This is done by running your sprinkler for up to an hour at a time in each area. This should be done every 3 to 4 days if we are not getting rain. Watering in the morning will reduce the chance of your lawn developing a turf disease.
Conclusion
Grass is a living organism like anything else. Water plays a huge role in grass health. When the grass is still in seed form or just starting to germinate, it really needs extra care to get going. All the fertilizer in the world won’t help a lawn that doesn’t receive enough water!
Now that you fully understand how to water your lawn properly, why not continue your learning by reading these 7 lawn tips for homeowners.
I am currently out in the field mowing our customers lawns with Brandon on my crew. We are also training 2 new employees as we expect to each be running our own mowing crews in the very near future.
If we can answer any questions you may have about our mowing service, we would be more than happy to! Please do not hesitate to ask.
I started my lawn mowing service because I was tired of being asked to rush through jobs at the other companies I have worked for in the past. I honestly feel you will have a super refreshing experience if you do choose to request your free, no-obligation lawn mowing quote from us.
We hope to hear from you soon and cannot wait to get familiar with your lawn.
Thank you for the opportunity.
Billy Jewell | Owner of B ‘n B Lawn Mowing | Born, raised, and operating my business in Florence, KY
