How to Water Your Lawn

Everyone wants the greenest grass on the block. You probably drive by your neighbor or through an adjacent neighborhood and think “how is their grass so green?!” at least once per day or week. In honor of Smart Irrigation Month kicking off this week, we’re sharing tips from our expert lawn care team on how to water your lawn so you can make sure your lawn and garden are both green and watered efficiently.

If you’re looking for the lushest, greenest grass, you need to be watering your whole lawn, three times per week for 20 minutes. To clarify that is, each section of the lawn should get 20 minutes of water three times per week. Be careful not to over-water if you’ve gotten rain or if rain is expected – this is especially important for your garden.

To get that green look without it growing too much or looking overgrown, apply pelletized iron. Why? If your grass is fairly healthy already, this will provide a richer blue-green color. If your grass is a little less than healthy, iron can be used to correct soil deficiencies and can be a viable, organic alternative to a heavier synthetic nitrogen that may cause further growth. If your grass looks like a dull yellow or brown, chances are a good dosing of iron will help turn it to the green side.

If you have an irrigation system installed in your yard, pay attention to what is being watered (make sure you’re not watering your driveway) and adjust monthly to keep your irrigation efficient. Oscillating sprinklers are good for small or medium-sized yards, rotating or pulsating sprinklers are good for larger yards, works slowly and is less likely to cause puddles.

We recommend using a granular fertilizer for the garden such as Espoma’s Garden-tone or Plant-tone. Do this once per month to keep your plants looking their best. Why granular versus liquid? Liquid-based fertilizers can become stagnant on the leaves and cause fungus and other diseases to plants.

Letting the water sit on the leaves isn’t good for the plants. Ultimately, it’s the roots that need water, consider a soaker hose and just let it go in the garden for about 20 minutes. This is an easy way to avoid getting the leaves too wet which can lead to fungal diseases on your plants. Also, water your garden or flowers in the morning so that any water that does get on the leaves has time to evaporate. This can help keep diseases at bay.