Ideally, a lawn should be watered just before it begins to wilt. Most grasses take on a dull purplish cast and leaf blades begin to fold or roll. Grass under drought stress also shows evidence of tracks after someone walks across the lawn.Early morning is considered the best time to water. The wind is usually calm and the temperature is low so less water is lost to evaporation. The worst time to water is late evening because the lawn stays wet all night, making it susceptible to disease.
It takes about 1/2 inch of water to achieve the desired wetting depth if the soil is high in sand, and about 3/4 inch of water if the soil is loam. For soils high in clay, an inch of water is usually necessary to wet the soil to the desired depth.
If watering is too light or too frequent, the lawn may become weak and shallow rooted, which in turns makes it more susceptible to stress injury.
Not sure how much water your sprinkler system puts out? In our next post we will list the steps to figure it out as well as check the distribution pattern.
*Information courtesy of the Texas A&M Agricultural Extension Service.
