Summer is here... will your landscape survive?
Did you know that during June -October the average amount of rainfall is 3 inches, but the average amount of evaporation is 6 inches, leaving a 3 inch deficit of water on your lawn? 
Here are some tips to help keep your lawn out of the deficit throughout the summer heat.
- Spring, summer and fall, your landscape needs at least 1” of water per week. When temperatures consistently exceed 95 degrees, increase to 1.5” per week.
- Water as long as you can without causing excessive runoff.
- Repeat as many times as needed during the week until you get at least 1” of water on the lawn. Recommendation is to repeat daily until 1” is reached and skip to the first of the next week.
- Use tin cans placed around your lawn while your sprinklers run to determine how long your irrigation should run to get 1” of water.
- If you can get 1” of water down in one watering without runoff, then water just one time per week.
- Daily watering for short periods of time promotes shallow root development and results in a draught and disease prone landscape. Fescue is particularly prone to disease problems if watered daily.
- The key to a great landscape during the summer is deep, infrequent watering.
- The best time to water is predawn, 2:00-7:00 AM. This is when evaporation from sun and wind is at the lowest point. Watering in the evening is not recommended. Allowing your turf to remain wet all night will increase the chance of disease.
- Aerating once per year will improve the movement of moisture into the root zone.
- In areas of hard soil or slopes, set your irrigation to run a short cycle (3-5 minutes) followed right after with a normal cycle. The first cycle will break down the crust on the soil and allow the second watering to soak in.
- Newly planted trees & shrubs may require additional water the first season which is best achieved with deep soaking from a hose once per week. Caution – allow the soil time to dry between watering.
- How do you know if your soil has enough moisture? If you can form a mud pie, it’s too wet. If you can’t get the dirt to stick together at all, it’s too dry. Also, if the grass does not bounce back quickly from foot prints, then it is too dry.
- Remember sandy soils will require more frequent shorter water cycles than clay soils.
- Use mulch, 2-3” deep, around shrubs and trees to cool the soil, retain moisture, and reduce weeds (that will compete for available moisture).
- You do need to allow for the soils to dry some between watering. Damage to plants will occur when the soil stays saturated.