Summertime = water time!

Jun 22

Friday, June 20th marked the official start of summer. Known as summer solstice, it is the longest day of the year.

So, if it is officially summer, it means it is time to review best watering practices.

Wait a minute, didn’t a local weather person report this week that the past 60 was the 3rd wettest 60-day period in Oklahoma City? That is true. The metro area has received 23” of rain since mid-April. Another way to think of it… in the last 60 days we have received over 60% of our average annual rainfall or 36.5”.

Again, why are we talking about best watering practices?

Because, summer in Oklahoma means temperatures will rise and rainfall will decline.

Best watering practices start with being aware of current weather patterns and adjusting watering schedules.

Best watering practices need to be your number one focus in the landscape for the next few weeks.

Best watering practices will have the biggest impact on the health and appearance of your lawn and landscape for the rest of the summer.

Best Watering Practices:

Apply 1” to 1.5” of water per week.

Your lawn and landscape need 1” to 1.5” of moisture per week when temperatures are consistently 90 degrees or higher.

Which begs the question: “How long should I water?”

Every irrigation system is different – different head types, different size nozzles, different head spacing, different soils, different slopes, etc.

The best way to know how long you should water is to measure the amount of water your system puts out in each zone. Take a few cans and place them around your lawn in a random pattern. Run your sprinklers through a cycle and measure the amount of water in the cans. If the sprinklers ran for 15 minutes and you had .25” of water, that zone needs a total of 60 to 90 minutes of run time per week.

Next determine how long you can run your irrigation before there is excessive runoff. This will tell you how many times per week you need to water. If you can get away with watering every 4th day, you will have a healthier, stronger landscape.

If you don’t have the time to audit the amount of water your system puts out, start with these settings, monitor, and adjust:

Fixed spray pattern heads with 10-15’ spacings – 15 mins per time.

Larger rotor type heads on 20-30’ spacings – 30 mins per time.

My practice has been, using the best practices mentioned here, to water my fescue lawn every 4 days when temperatures are in the 90s and increase to every other day when the lawn shows signs of stress from lack of water.

Set your controller to water with back-to-back run times.

For most of our landscapes, if you run our sprinklers long enough to get the recommended amount of water, you end up with a lot of water running down the street. Splitting zone run time in half and setting the controller to run through the zones back-to-back will improve the amount of water that soaks in and reduce the amount of water that runs off.

Example: Set the controller to run at 4:00 AM and 5:00 AM. When the 4:00 cycle completes, even if it is past 5:00, the controller will start the second cycle.

I know from experience that moist soil will absorb more water than dry soil. Soil is just like the sponge in your sink. A dried-out sponge repels water before it starts absorbing water. Your lawn is the same. The first cycle moistens the soil and the second cycle soaks in.

Split, back-to-back, irrigation cycles are an old golf course trick. Large commercial irrigation controllers have had a run/soak cycle setting that waters a short time, delays, and then waters a longer time for years. Now, more and more smart controllers offer a run/soak cycle feature.

I started using split, back-to-back, irrigation cycles years ago on lawns with slopes.

After seeing great results, I started incorporating the concept on all lawns.

It makes a difference in watering efficiency.

Water in the early morning.

Evaporation is at the lowest point in the pre-dawn hours. Typically, wind is also at the lowest point of the day in the pre-dawn hours.

I prefer to set most irrigation controllers to start at 4:00 AM with the goal of having the cycle completed by 8:00 AM.

Avoid watering in the heat of the day when much of the water will be lost to evaporation. Also, avoid watering in the evening. Watering in the evening promotes many turf diseases because the lawn stays wet too long.

This is critical for fescue lawns. If fescue stays wet for more than 6 hours at a time and nighttime temperatures are in the 70’s, brown patch is unavoidable. Fescue performs best in the heat if it is watered deeply, and grass blades are dry by noon.

If you water your fescue lawn in both the morning and the evening during the summer because you “can’t seem to get enough water on it!”, your lawn isn’t struggling because it is too dry, your lawn is struggling because you have created the perfect conditions for brown patch, a fescue lawn’s worst enemy.

IMPORTANT: Don’t water fescue in the evening during the summer. When water remains in the leaf for more than 6 hours, brown patch disease will develop. — **IMPORTANT:** Don’t water fescue in the evening during the summer. When water remains in the leaf for more than 6 hours, brown patch disease will develop.

How much difference does infrequent, deep watering make when it comes to developing a drought tolerant lawn? This is a picture of a fescue lawn in full sun in August that is deep soaked every 4 days. The picture was taken in mid-August with less than a 1/4" rainfall in the previous 20 days.

Daily watering is not needed.

Unless you are trying to get newly planted seed to germinate or new sod to take root, there is not a good reason to water every day. Always water deep and infrequent. Daily, shallow watering creates a landscape that is shallow rooted and more dependent on constant moisture for survival.

Fescue will also benefit from deep soakings, every other day, through the summer months. Shallow, daily watering in the summer heat is very damaging to fescue. Again: Brown patch symptoms look very similar to drought stress. Typically, the more you water, the worse the fescue looks, so you add more water, and the cycle of decline continues.

A common myth I would love to dispel is that fescue requires a lot more water than bermuda. Yes, it does for a couple of weeks in the fall when you are trying to get newly seeded fescue to germinate, but mature fescue doesn’t require more moisture than bermuda.

Fescue growing on the top of a sprinkler head.

Aeration improves moisture absorption.

You can’t beat aeration for improving your soil structure. A key benefit of improved soil structure is better water absorption. Lawns that receive annual aeration (or at least every other year) do not experience as much runoff.

Head to head coverage is when the water from one sprinkler head reaches all the way to the next head. Without head to head coverage, dry areas can develop around heads.

Fixing uneven water patterns in your lawn may be as simple as making sure heads are straight. A leaning head will result in uneven water distribution.

A clue to an uneven watering problem is an arc pattern matching the sweep of an irrigation head.

Always pay attention to water needs.

If we receive 1/2” of rain or more, turn your controller off for a few days. Install a rain sensor if you are not good at remembering. A rain sensor will pay for itself easily in one season.

Just because it is summer, don’t assume you can leave your controller in automatic and forget it.

Don’t stress if your lawn and landscape gets a little dry, it will rebound quickly once water is applied.

A good indicator that your lawn needs water is the footprint test. If the grass retains your footprints instead of quickly springing back, it is time to resume watering.

Watch for uneven water patterns.

If you notice areas where the lawn color is fading, you may have uneven moisture patterns. This could be the result of a broken head, clogged nozzle, or a head that is out of adjustment.

Even if you don’t have an irrigation system, the concepts of good watering apply.

It is important to learn how long you need to water when you are using a hose end sprinkler. Next time you water, set out a few cans. You will be surprised how long you need to water to get the proper amount of water on your lawn.

Invest in a digital hose water timer, such as the ones made by Orbit. It will make it easier for you to control the timing and frequency of watering.

If you need help in determining your lawn and landscape’s water needs, let us know.

We can schedule an irrigation audit for your lawn and landscape. We will inspect for uneven water distribution, absorb water rates, make recommended irrigation changes, and set the controller for optimal operation. Give us a call if we can help – (405)367-3873.

A healthy landscape is an important part of our environment.

A healthy turf helps clean the air, trap carbon dioxide, reduce erosion, improve groundwater quality, absorb noise, reduce temperatures, as well as adds cub appeal and value to your home.

A key component to a healthy landscape is correct water usage.