How to Save Water on Your Lawn

Unless you're maintaining the pristine fairways of a golf course, keeping your lawn in top shape should be manageable. Aside from the usual mowing and fertilizing, watering is one of the key and more regular tasks to keep your lawn healthy and green.

While there's no hard and fast rule about how long or how often you should water your lawn, the most effective approach is to ensure your grass gets enough moisture while reducing water waste. This becomes particularly crucial in the summer months when water restrictions are common. It's essential to be environmentally conscious and avoid unnecessarily wasting valuable resources, such as water.

5 Practical Ways to Water Your Lawn Efficiently

An average lawn requires about 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week, which can come from rainfall or irrigation. You should water deeply so the moisture reaches approximately 6 inches, ensuring it penetrates the root zone where the grass can access it. Continue reading for the best lawn watering tips. We also share how more innovative solutions like SodPods® grass plugs can better contribute to your water-saving efforts than traditional seeding methods and how grass fertilizers like NutriPod® can help maintain a healthy lawn overall.

Use Sprinklers for Consistent Lawn Watering

While watering manually with a hose is an option, using sprinklers ensures a more consistent and even distribution of water across your lawn. When placed strategically, sprinklers can cover large areas uniformly, lowering the risks of overwatering or underwatering.

For added convenience and precision, consider investing in an automated lawn sprinkler system, which you can program to water at optimal times. You can try the tuna can test to determine how long you should water: place a few empty tuna cans around your lawn and run your sprinklers. Measure the time it takes to fill the cans to 1-1.5 inches of water. This will help you gauge how long to run your sprinklers to provide adequate soil moisture for your lawn. Additionally, check for broken sprinkler heads, which not only can hike up your water bill but also damage your landscape if left unaddressed.

Water Early in the Morning

Watering early in the morning is generally advisable. At this time, the temperatures are cooler, and there is usually less wind, reducing water loss through evaporation. This practice allows the water to soak into the soil more effectively, ensuring the plants receive adequate moisture throughout the day.

Conversely, you should avoid watering grass later in the day. As temperatures rise, more water is lost to evaporation, meaning less water reaches the roots. Watering at night is also discouraged, as prolonged exposure to moisture can create a conducive environment for fungal growth. By watering in the early morning, you can make the most of each watering session, providing your plants with enough water while reducing the risk of issues like evaporation and fungal diseases.

READ: Should You Water Your Lawn Immediately After Fertilizing?

Water Longer But Less Often

Watering your lawn 1-2 times a week to meet the 1-1.5 inches of water requirement is far more beneficial than frequent watering for the same amount. This less frequent, deeper watering encourages the roots to grow deeper into the soil, resulting in a more drought-tolerant lawn. Deeper grass roots are better equipped to access moisture stored in the soil at lower levels, making your lawn more resilient during dry spells.

Increasing your lawn's drought tolerance can significantly contribute to your water-saving efforts. With deeper roots, your grass can withstand longer periods without supplemental watering, staying lush and green even with limited water availability.

Use Drought-Tolerant Grass

Different grass types require different amounts of water, so it's essential to consider their watering requirements when installing a new lawn. Warm-season grasses like Bermuda, Zoysia, and St. Augustine are naturally drought-tolerant and among the most water-efficient options, needing about 20% less water than cool-season grasses like tall fescue.

These grass varieties are available as grass plugs, which you can easily transplant into your lawn. Grass plugs maximize water conservation since they are mature plants with fully developed root systems, requiring less water to establish in their new environment than newly seeded grass. For best results, we recommend using NutriPod®, a lawn fertilizer specifically formulated for grass plugs. It accelerates growth up to twice as fast, ensuring a healthy, resilient lawn.

Adjust Watering Based on Weather

While 1-1.5 inches of water per week is the general recommendation for maintaining a healthy lawn, you may need to adjust your watering routine during extended periods of substantially hot weather. Adding extra watering sessions can help your lawn stay hydrated and resilient in such conditions. Conversely, during several days of wet weather, you can skip regular watering to prevent waterlogging and other moisture-related problems like root rot and fungal growth.

Additionally, adhere to any water restrictions in your area. By selecting a drought-tolerant lawn and following these steps, you can help your lawn thrive even in challenging conditions.

Final Thoughts

These best watering practices go seamlessly with other essential lawn care activities, including proper mowing and fertilizing, as well as occasional tasks like aerating and dethatching.

Regular mowing keeps the grass at an optimal height and encourages denser growth. Meanwhile, aerating and dethatching help break up compacted soil and remove thatch buildup, promoting better water and nutrient penetration.

About NutriPod®

NutriPod® is a range of lawn fertilizers designed to support optimal growth during the establishment stage. The granular fertilizers are stored in a dissolvable pod that you place into the hole before planting. Its slow-release formula provides a gradual and steady release of nutrients, reducing the risks of over-fertilizing and nutrient leaching—common issues with traditional liquid lawn fertilizers.

Innovative products like NutriPod® can greatly support your efforts in cultivating a greener lawn that can better withstand drought and other environmental conditions. By integrating this advanced fertilizer solution during planting with best watering practices and comprehensive lawn maintenance, you can create a lush, healthy lawn that thrives even in challenging circumstances.