Watering and the water from the night

svcrawf72 – posted 05 March 2004 07:04

If I read correctly I should only give my grass 1 inch of water a week, St Augustine and maybe a little more in the summer. Now when I wake up in the morning the grass is wet from the night and all, is this enough to do anything as I have not watered in 5 days and the dirt is still wet underneath even at 4 PM. Well not like soaking wet but I should say damp or at least not dry and all, you can tell it has moister.

cohiba – posted 14 March 2004 07:16

I hope I can help. If I read you right your in FL and I’m in NJ obviously different watering needs. However, I always check my turf areas to see what water is in the soil. Alot of things determine water needs. Evapotranspiration is the largest. How much water loss is there in a day? Did you get any rainfall? I suggest you get an idea exactly how much water your turf needs for the exact soil type you have. Sandy soils require more water than silt or clay soils. Also, get your self a rain gauge. Keep it in an area that is irrigated. Don’t let the irrigation system tell you when to water. You tell it when to water. To test your soil water content buy a soil probe. Miltona or Gemplers has them. If you keep you lawn on the dry side when it is actively growing it will put down longer roots. Actively looking at the soil water in your lawn and scheduling irrigation around you findings will conserve water and save money. I hope I helped, Good Luck.

cohiba – posted 14 March 2004 07:20

The moisture on the turf in the morning has little effect on irrigation and soil moisture. Always water at night after midnight is best. This helps keep disaeases in check.

ted – posted 14 March 2004 13:43

really good advice except for the watering after midnight- really bad for diseases- you don’t want dark, wet turf. water early in the morning

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 14 March 2004 15:23

I agree with Ted. Water at dawn or after sunup to let the grass dry in the sun.

One inch of water a week is a recommendation from the sprinkler manufacturers, not the grass growers. You should water when the grass needs it. IN the winter months that is more like one inch per month. In the hottest part of summer, then one inch a week might be the number. In the summer, if I need to water, I water each zone for over an hour at a time. Then I back off and wait for the grass to look wilty and repeat the deep watering.

cohiba – posted 15 March 2004 14:17

I stand corrected. Watering in the 6-9am is best for the turf from a disaese stand point. I am from the golf course industry where we need 6-8 hours to water at night. And the water must be off by 6 AM for the golfers and groundscrew.

ted – posted 15 March 2004 16:16

thanks for the clarification. so much misinformation on this board, it’s good to hear from someone that actually knows what they’re talking about. these poor homeowners that get jerked around from one “expert” to another really get my sympathy.