Lawn watering is the most important part of having healthy grass. Since an individual grass plant is composed of over 90% water, it only makes sense that the plant needs regular watering. Anytime that you are dealing with a living object, you will have to provide water in one form or another. Obviously the easiest way to provide water is though natural precipitation. Rain water provides the best type of watering because it is natures way of watering your lawn. Rain water will give you the most uniform application of watering. As we experienced with the drought last summer, it is not always practical to depend on nature for lawn watering. If you want to keep your grass-green and healthy all summer long, then you will have to water.
Lawn watering options
Nature- Nature provides the best source of lawn watering because the water is uncontaminated. City water will be treated with chemicals to purify the water. If you have a water softener, you may also be applying salts to your lawn. When nature is on a regular schedule, the water provided should be able to keep your grass-green. Hot temperatures and drought will affect the absorption of rain water.
Lawn Sprinkler- One of the most common types of lawn watering is done through a lawn sprinkler. The pros are that you get your lawn watered. The cons are that most of the time there is quite a bit of run-off. Run-off occurs when the lawn is over saturated with water, the water is blown by the wind or the sprinkler is not set up right. Run-off will waste water and not benefit your lawn. If you are using a lawn sprinkler, make sure to move your sprinkler every half hour or so. Once you set your sprinkler in a new position, observe the watering pattern. Make sure that the water is reaching all target areas and that you are not watering outside of your grass boundaries.
Irrigation System- Irrigation systems are the most accurate way of providing water to your lawn. If your system was installed correctly, you should have head to head coverage. If your system is adjusted every spring, you should not have over spray.