Use a sprayer in the morning. Add fertilizer to your lawn maintenance routine. Train pets to use a small area. Replant thin areas of the lawn.
If your lawn has been mowed throughout the season, you'll need to water more often. But even longer grass needs moisture. Therefore, if you decide to water during a dry spell, make sure to water deeply and infrequently. Frequent, shallow watering encourages grass to grow short roots, causing turf stress during droughts.
One inch of water a week is a good rule of thumb for keeping your lawn green during the hot summer. Just make sure to water as soon as possible in the morning, between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., to help reduce evaporation waste. Deep irrigation helps develop deep roots that enter underground water supplies (illustration below).
Light sprays moisten only the lawn and soil surface, encouraging shallow root growth and increasing the need for more frequent watering. Lawns generally require 1 to 2 inches. Water per week from you or Mother Nature, applied at intervals of three or four days. But this varies dramatically depending on temperature, type of grass, and soil conditions.
Lawns in sandy soils may need twice as much water, as they drain quickly. Lawns in slow-draining clay soils may need only half as much. Poorly watered lawns receive short daily waterings that promote shallow root growth. Oscillating sprinklers launch water in a high arc, so it evaporates further before reaching the ground.
Water your lawn better with these 10 simple tips. The best way to weed a lawn is to mow it regularly. Mowing the lawn once a week during the growing season will prevent weeds from taking hold and losing their seeds everywhere. Be careful not to mow the lawn too short.
It's less stressful for your lawn if you let the lawn grow to a medium length. This also prevents the grass from drying out too much during a dry period.
