5 Common Lawn Watering Mistakes That Professionals Make

The next step is to choose the best approach to managing the newly planted grass. Watching your grass grow into a beautiful lawn is a very proud experience. Since watering is essential, one of the most frequent problems is improper watering of the lawn.

What time of day and how long is the right time to water your lawn? We’re here to help because it can be hard to figure things out on your own.

To find out the most common mistakes people make when watering their lawns and how to fix them for a healthy lawn all summer long, we talked to two of our favorite lawn care experts.

Meet the Experts

Teri Valenzuela is the natural science manager at Sunday, a lawn care and gardening brand.
Cate Singleton is the director of design for Tilly, a landscaping company.

Watering at the Wrong Time of Day

Believe it or not, it’s a bad time of day to water your lawn, according to Sunday’s Teri Valenzuela. Never water your plants in the middle of the day; Instead, do it early in the morning or early evening.

Changing your watering routine can pay off right away. According to Valenzuela, watering in the afternoon increases the risk of disease and wastes precious water resources due to evaporation. This can result in over-watering, as it is possible to water too late at night.

“Don’t ignore signs of overwatering, like squishy ground after walking on the lawn,” advises Valenzuela.

Watering for the Wrong Type of Grass

A common problem seen by Kate Singleton, Tilley’s design director, is that homeowners water their gardens, lawns, and other landscape elements in a uniform manner.
“It’s important to know how much water your particular type of grass or plant needs,” she advises. “This will help them determine how much and how often they need water.”

Ignoring Local Weather Patterns

Watering your grass on a regular basis may not be the greatest for your lawn, even though it may aid your personal peace of mind. According to Valenzuela, the timing of irrigation is crucial.

“Let the rain fall naturally on your lawn. If it doesn’t help, water it one to three times a week for thirty minutes each time,” she advises.

Watering your grass regularly may not be the greatest for your lawn, although it does help with your personal peace of mind. On the other hand, Valenzuela points out that if there isn’t enough natural rainfall, your lawn will need extra watering. There are various ways of observing the situation; Singleton believes this time-honored technique is very effective if you’re not sure when it’s time to water your grass.

“Stick your finger a few inches into the soil to see if it’s dry to the touch, then pull the hose out,” says Singleton.
As far as Valenzuela, irrigation timing is critical.

“Let it rain naturally on your lawn. If that doesn’t help, water one to three times a week for thirty minutes each time,” she advises.

Watering Too Shallow

Another common problem that Valenzuela mentions is not watering your yard enough. It inhibits growth and promotes weak roots.

According to her, watering your lawn too shallowly exposes it to damage, disease and pests because the water doesn’t penetrate deep enough.

Deeper watering may also indicate less frequent watering. Depending on the amount of natural rainfall, Valenzuela recommends watering one to three times a week at a rate of one-third to one-half inch per session. The idea is to reduce water wastage by maintaining the proper moisture content of your grass.

Poorly Placed Sprinklers

One key problem Singleton notes is what she refers to as “overspray,” which occurs when your irrigation system’s spray nozzles are misaligned, causing large amounts of overspray to spread onto roads, streets and paths.

She claims that overspray will not only increase your utility costs, but also send resources into the sewage system.

Because of this, it’s important to check your irrigation system often to make sure the spray heads are hitting the lawn.

READ | Transform Your Lawn: Top Dressing Is the Easiest Way to Get Gorgeous Grass

READ | 6 Ways to remove water stains from your walls without repainting

READ | What time of day is best to mow your lawn? Expert opinion