Where Are the April Showers?
It is rare to be addressing watering practices in April. Who thinks about watering issues in April?
Regardless of the time of year, one of the best practices for your lawn and landscape is to pay attention to rainfall and supplement with good watering practices when needed.
Good watering practices start with being aware of current weather patterns and making adjustments to watering schedules.
Good watering practices are one of the biggest influences in the health and appearance of your landscape.
The west and north areas of the Oklahoma City metro are way behind on spring moisture. Lawns and landscapes that are not receiving supplemental moisture are showing signs of drought stress. Unfortunately, most people are not used to paying attention to their lawn & landscape’s moisture needs in April.
Best Watering Practices:
Your lawn and landscape need 1” of water per week during the spring.
A common question is “How long should I water?” Every irrigation system is different – different head types, different size nozzles, different head spacing, different areas, 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, you need 60 minutes 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 versus every other day, you will have a healthier, stronger lawn and 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.
Set your controller to water with back-to-back run times.
For most of our landscapes, if we run our sprinklers long enough to get the recommended amount of water, we 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 after 5:00, the controller will start the second cycle.
Moist soil will absorb more water than dry soil. Soil is just like the sponge in your sink. A dried sponge repels water before it starts absorbing water. Your landscape 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.
I started using split, back-to-back, irrigation cycles a few 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 its lowest point in the pre-dawn hours. Also, the wind is usually 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.
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.
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 benefit from a deep soaking just like Bermuda. A common myth I would love to dispel is that fescue requires a lot more water than Bermuda. Yes, it is when you are trying to get newly seeded fescue to germinate, but mature fescue doesn’t require more moisture than Bermuda.
I water my fescue the same way I water Bermuda – deep, infrequent cycles.
It’s April! Fescue should be at their best. If you have areas of fescue that are not rich green, check the soil moisture. If you can slip a large screwdriver several inches into the soil, you need to water.
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.
Always pay attention to water need.
If we receive .5” 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. 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 is needing water is the footprint test. If the grass retains your footprints instead of quickly springing back, it is time to resume watering.
Fescue growing on the top of a sprinkler head.
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, a clogged nozzle, or a head that is out of adjustment.
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.
A clue to an uneven watering problem is an arc pattern matching the sweep of an irrigation head.
Even if you don’t have an irrigation system, the concepts of good watering still 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 ones made by Orbit. It will make it easier for you to control the timing and frequency of watering.
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 curb appeal and value to your home.
Let’s hope metro-wide spring moisture arrives soon.
Our environment needs it. Our lawns and landscapes need it.
But, if it doesn’t, be prepared to put the best watering practices in place.
Lorne Hall
Hall | Stewart Lawn + Landscape
(405)367-3873
