Grass....when to water?

[gepetto]

I live in the Southeast and it's pretty dry and the high here is about 90-93. I also have very little shade. The soil here has a high clay content.

**When is the best time to water.....morning or evening? ** I had some major septic work done so I also have a lot of bare spots that I've been seeding off and on. (tough to grow grass in the clay)

TIA

 

[sorcerormickey]

I think it's a matter of personal preference really. The 'Experts' say you should water in the AM, so any excess water has time to evaporate as to not cause mold, fungus, etc. I have always done my watering in the evening, after the sun gets low, and have never had a problem with anything like that. Really, I don't think it matters all that much!

 

[Snowwark]

Hi gepetto, welcome to the Garden!

Like sorcerormickey, I do most of my watering in the evening. Front yard in the mornings (DH puts that on before he goes to work), backyard at night, in fact the sprinklers on right now, it's been very dry here!!!

 

[pumba]

sun went down......have no clue why.....but I DO WHAT I AM TOLD.....usually!! HAHA

 

[shep]

I try to water in the evenings, I think you're supposed to water once a week in drought conditions and give the grass 1 inch of water when you do(I think less watering will promote short roots)...I just let the sprinkler on each area for about an hour..JMHO

 

[Pixie_Dust]

In clay soil (we have adobe cay here so it is like planting on a brick!), if you run your water all at once you will just get runoff and be wasteful. Watch how much your soil can absorb at a time. Every third day we go five minutes every hour on our automatic timer, which starts at five in the morning, for 3 cycles. Then on really hot days I manually start the cycle in the evenings as well, say 5, 6, and 7 o'clock either the night before or on the same day that it goes off in the morning. You should give it at least half an hour between short waterings to allow for absorption. That way you get deep watering without runoff. This is the advice from our water agency, which also has a number to call and find out how much water to use in a week so that we don't waste any.

The most crucial thing you can do for your lawn before you even try to seed it is to improve the soil. There are plenty of books you can get from the library on lawn care and even organic gardening that will explain soil amendments. Once you have a looser and more nutrient rich soil, your water retention will improve tremendously, making a much better environment for those grass seeds to grow in, not to mention saving water.

Cheers

 

[Eeyore1954]

MSN.com had several articles on this yesterday and I lost the URLs (DUH!). Anyway, they recommended watering in the EARLY morning before the sun gets too high in the sky. AND water again in the late afternoon, early evening -- after the heat of the day.

One recommendation that made sense was to take a wire and push it into the soil. Measure how deep it goes before it becomes too hard to push it. Between 8 - 12 inches is supposed to be ideal. If you can hit that depth, you are supposed to be watering sufficiently.

If you can't hit 8 inches at least, you are not watering enough and the grass roots are too shallow. If you go past 12 inches, you are watering too much. Below that grass roots won't grow and you are wasting water.

They suggested watching for run-off. Check as you water to see if it is being absorbed or if it's running off the lawn to the sidewalk or street. If so, water for briefer periods, say 10 - 15 mins. at a time until you can build up to longer watering periods.

 

[We4mickey]

Some say AM and others say PM. I guess to each there own.