More is not always better. When the state/counties lifted the drought restrictions from level 4 (no watering –ever) you were told you could water 3 days a week, which days depending on your address. So everyone said “Must… water…!” Andy they got out their hoses and sprinkler or set their automated systems to run all 3 of those days. This is way more wasteful than you think. Just getting your grass wet does not make it happy. Water has to penetrate through the grass and down to the soil- preferably down a couple inches into the soil. If you consistently water where only ¼” of the soil gets wet, that’s where your plants’ roots will live. This means that they’ll dry out super-fast and need water that much quicker. Roots should go to a depth of 3-6” where the soil doesn’t dry out as fast. To avoid this: water infrequently (once a week) and deeply. That means you can either calculate percolation rates for your soil and precipitation rates for your sprinklers (I can tell you how to do that if you like) … or you can find a couple spots, don’t pick the lowest areas, and dig around to see how far down the soil is wet. It takes longer than you think to thouroughly soak the soil, a lot longer. If you notice that you’ve got water running down a hill or down the gutter in the street that means your watering too fast… water is hitting the soil faster than it can absorb it. This means that you should take a time out on that area after watering until you see the water start to run off , water another area, go back to the first area when the soil has had some time to soak it up, and water some more. The steeper the slope or harder the soil the less time you can water before you’re just wasting it by sending it down the gutters.
Technically, you don’t have to water. Unless we’re in an über-extreme drought (worse than a couple of years ago) your turf will make it just fine. It may go dormant (brown, looks dead but it’s not) but as soon as it rains it’ll green right back up. You may have plants other than your turf that will need supplemental water in this situation though, like hydrangeas. These plants should be planted in their proper location- maybe they’d like more shade than they’re getting, and can be watered by themselves instead of watering the entire property to wet one small area. By the way: hand-watering with a hose is the least efficient way to water! So set up an old-school impact rotor on a stake connected to your hose. What’s an impact rotor, you ask? Think about the dance ‘the sprinkler’. Do the sprinkler! I know you’re doing it. Anyways, they are the most efficient sprinkler that can be connected to a hose. (See photo above) Use more efficient irrigation techniques. Drip irrigation is by far the most efficient, least wasteful way to water ever. (Sadly, you can’t do it on your lawn, only beds). Whether you install an automated system with the fancy drip hose and emitters or you go to Home Cheapo and buy the black soaker hoses, these options are way better than overhead watering. Why? Because when you water over head there is always wasted water. It gets blown away in the wind, it gets applied too fast and runs off, it’s got to soak through the mulch, blah blah. Soaker hoses and drip hoses lay underneath the mulch where the water is slowly applied directly to the soil where your plants’ roots live.
If you’ve got an automated system and don’t have a rain sensor, (shuts off the whole system when it rains!) shame on you. Get one. ASAP. It’s my water, too, that you’re wasting. Watering in the rain… sheesh.In conclusion: water smarter- less frequently, more efficiently, and more thoroughly. Just because the watering restrictions say you CAN water 3 days a week doesn't mean you should.
Jessica Watters, Horticulture Technician, Chattahoochee Technical College
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