Lawn watering schedule

[Ian]

I would be very grateful for your thoughts on this, as I keep changing my mind on what is best .

We've got a lawn that's about 7 x 8m area, with a big old Yew tree in the middle of it - it covers around 1/2 of the grass in shade and sucks up a huge amount of moisture. When we first moved in, the grass was really patchy and not much to look at, but we've now got some stones and a border around the tree (around 1.5m diameter) and added a pair sprinklers hidden behind a wall.

This combination has brought the lawn back from the dead, and we now have grass that grows - rather than thin patches of grass dotted around a tree.

So.... the question is: in the warmer months, how often should I water the grass? I originally started with 20 mins twice a week, which did a great job - but that seems like overkill to me (thankfully we've got a water butt). Would I be better off with 30 mins once per week and see if I can toughen up the grass by forcing it to lay down deeper roots?

 

[Daren]

Hi Ian, That's a tuff one to answer, as it depends so much on the weather week to week but Evening is always the best time of day, when sun is going down so the grass has time to drink in the cool of night. A little feed in spring is also a good idea to help strengthen the grass & don't cut to short It may look Neat dropping the mower right down but raising it even just a few mm will aid the grass and help sustain a lawn under a tree

 

[Verdun]

Hello Ian, agree wholeheartedly with Daren about raising the cutting height of the mower. And to cut once a week if you can
Watering? For sure a single heavy watering is better than 2 or 3. You are right, watering too often will encourage the roots to remain near the surface. A dry spell would then damage the grass.
My lawn is on sandy loam so dries out quickly. A heavy watering once a week in summer, an early spring feed plus a couple of liquid lawn feeds during the summer helps me keep a good looking lawn. Again, blades are never set too low. A top dressing in autumn or spring helps too....my lawn was topdressed 10 days or so ago

 

[LIcenter]

Agree with both Daren, and Verdun, with the exception of watering time. Grass should be watered 1-2 hours before sunrise. This gives it a chance to soak in, while allowing the grass blades to dry, so as not to get fungus growth.

 

[Tetters]

I have almost four acres of 'lawn' ( I prefer to just call it grass) and am totally unable to water it at all. I find the answer is - as well as keeping the blades up, to mulch the grass, thus putting natural feed back in.

 

[Ian]

Thanks for the replies folks .

I've got the mowing level reasonably high at the moment, along with good liquid feeds. I'll keep the watering weekly (as needed) and see how that goes, hopefully it'll encourage some good deep root growth.

 

[Mark56]

You'll have to be up at 4am if it's before sunrise this week Ian now that's a dedicated gardener!

 

[Ian]

You'll have to be up at 4am if it's before sunrise this week Ian now that's a dedicated gardener!

Eek... I think I might use a tap timer !