Having a sprinkler system can be a great way to maintain the health of your lawn. However, knowing how and when to use this system is essential. Many homeowners tend to overwater, and others don’t water enough. Here is everything that you need to know about watering your lawn with a sprinkler system.
How Often Should I Water My Lawn with a Sprinkler System
There are three main factors you should consider when watering your lawn. The first is the number of days in a week you should water, followed by the length of the watering sessions and the dime of the day you water.
Number of Days
You will need about one inch of water per week to keep your lawn healthy and growing properly. For most properties, this means about two to three watering sessions per week. Of course, if you are getting rain, you can water less frequently.
It makes more sense to do these longer watering sessions than it does to water daily. In fact, daily watering is probably going to be more than your lawn needs.
In southern climates, where the sun is intense and the temperatures are warmer, you may need to increase to four or five times a week. Understanding how often you should water your lawn takes a bit of time and trial and error.
Length of Watering Sessions
Typically your watering sessions should last between 20 and 30 minutes. This will allow enough water to disperse throughout your lawn. Whenever possible, you will want to emulate a light rain for the grass. It is more effective to have the light rain for a half-hour period than to do a complete soak of the grass.
When you soak the grass, you will end up with puddles, and if they don’t dry properly, you may have an issue with fungus or disease in your turf.
Best Time of Day To Water My Lawn with a Sprinkler system
Lastly, you need to consider the time of the day that you water your lawn. If you water later in the day when the sun is up, the water will evaporate too quickly. Your watering session will not be nearly as practical, and it will cause you to spend more money on water.
It is best to water your turf between 4-7 am. At this time of the morning, the grass has plenty of time to dry before the sun comes up. If you are using a manual sprinkler, it can be a little more challenging to set the time of day to put your sprinkler on.
Luckily you can still get a timer for a manual sprinkler and simply set out the hose and sprinkler connection the night before. You won’t have to get out of bed at 5 am to ensure that your sprinkler is on track.
If you have an irrigation system, it is much easier to program the system to come on and off at different times of the week/day. Keep an eye on your irrigation timer. If you have a power outage, the timer will be affected, and it could cause some issues with your watering. As always, pay attention to the rain and adjust your sprinklers accordingly.
Conclusion
As a general rule of thumb, you will want to be able to stick a screwdriver about four or five inches into your turf without too much trouble. If you are not able to do this, then the grass very likely needs some more water. You will also be able to tell if your turf is adequately watered if it is green and thick. The most important thing to do is to pay attention to your grass and react quickly to any changes you are seeing.
