You can also learn how to water the lawn correctly. We reveal whether it is better to water your lawn in the morning or in the evening, how much you should water and what you should pay particular attention to when watering a new lawn.
For many people, a he althy, green lawn is an absolute must in the garden. But especially in summer it is often not so easy to keep the lawn fresh and vital: drought and heat take a toll on the lawn and the grass becomes wilted and brown. The best way to prevent a withered, unsightly patch of grass is to water your lawn. In this article you will find out what you have to consider and how to water a lawn correctly.
When should you water your lawn?
If the top layer of soil has dried out, it is advisable to water the lawn. This mostly happens in summer, but even in spring or fall, the soil can sometimes use extra moisture. And the time of day is also important: Watering the lawn makes the most sense in the morning and in the evening, as many gardeners know.
Watering the lawn in spring
The new growth period for the lawn begins in spring. This time of year is particularly important for lawn care, because this is when the foundation for a vital lawn is laid. While raking, mowing, and fertilizing the lawn are part of most spring lawn care routines, many are unsure about watering the lawn. In fact, watering the lawn in the spring is often not necessary because the grass is sufficiently supplied with moisture from precipitation. However, if the spring is particularly warm or there are long periods of drought, you should also water the lawn. Even with very sandy soil, it may be necessary to water the lawn in the spring. As soon as the lawn starts to turn gray or shows signs of wilting, you should water the lawn in the spring as well.
Watering the lawn in summer
Anyone who values a green carpet in summer should pay particular attention to watering the lawn properly. In fact, watering the lawn in the summer formsthe be-all and end-all to keep the grasses vital. The reason: On average, four liters of water evaporate per summer day on one square meter of lawn. At the same time, the roots of the grasses only penetrate about 15 centimeters deep into the ground - water reserves in the lower layers of the earth are therefore hardly usable for them. Coupled with the heat and dryness of summer, this combination means that a lawn needs to be properly hydrated to stay nice and green in the summer.
But many gardeners ask themselves: should you really water your lawn in the sun or heat? The fear behind this is that the lawn could suffer burns from the "magnifying glass effect" of the water droplets. In fact, it is not recommended to water the lawn when the sun is shining - but this recommendation is not based on the magnifying glass effect, because this is a myth that has long been debunked. Rather, the reduced efficiency and the desire to save water speak against watering when it is hot and sunny. If you were to water the lawn at midday, a large part of the water would evaporate, so more water would be needed to water the lawn sufficiently. The answer to the question of when you should water the lawn in summer is that the early morning or late evening hours are best, because these are the coolest times.
Tip: In order to further increase the lawn's drought tolerance during the summer, we recommend preparing the lawn in the autumn with an autumn lawn fertilizer. The sufficient potassium supply optimizes the water absorption of the grass, while water evaporation is minimized - this makes the lawn much more heat-tolerant.
Watering the lawn in autumn and winter
Many people think that after the summer the lawn doesn't need to be watered anymore. Unfortunately, this is a misconception: In fact, the lawn is still dependent on a supply of moisture, especially in the early autumn months, as there are often longer dry periods here. In the further course of autumn it is only necessary to water the lawn if the drought persists. In winter this is not usually necessary. However, when winter dry periods and permanent temperatures above 5 °C prevail, it is worth checking the soil. If it is very dry, the lawn can also be watered in winter in exceptional cases.
Should you water your lawn in the morning or in the evening?
Both times are quite suitable to water the lawnbecause in contrast to midday, the temperatures and thus the evaporation of the water are significantly lower in the morning and in the evening. Nevertheless, there are some advantages to watering the lawn in the morning instead of in the evening: First, the temperatures are lower in the early morning. For this reason, the smallest part of the water evaporates in the morning and the lawn is watered more efficiently and with less water. It is also not optimal if the lawn is moistened in the evening and does not dry completely for hours: the infestation with fungi is then a little more likely.
Water the lawn properly: This is how you proceed when watering
Water hose, lawn sprinkler or even automatic watering: there are now a multitude of different methods of watering the lawn. Which one you choose ultimately depends not only on the size of the garden but also on personal preferences. Even if the methods differ, there are still a few things to keep in mind if you want to water your lawn properly. The lawn needs special attention during certain phases of its life, for example when sowing or after fertilizing, when it comes to the administration of water. But the frequency and amount of water should also be adjusted if you want to water the lawn properly.
Water the new lawn
When you lay out a new lawn, you can hardly wait for the first green blades to appear. But in order for the new piece of lawn to turn into a green carpet soon, it needs care above all. Once the lawn seeds have been distributed on the prepared ground, worked in and pressed, the work is not yet over - the freshly sown lawn must be watered in the following days. In order to ensure even moistening, it is advisable to use a lawn sprinkler to give the lawn seeds the cool water. In dry weather, the new lawn should be watered about four times a day for about ten minutes. A good lawn soil such as the low-peat Plantura organic lawn soil also offers the seeds some protection against rapid drying out, as it stores the water better. However, even when using them, sufficient watering is essential for successful sowing.
But how long do you have to water the lawn after sowing? This depends heavily on the weather and the seed: until germination occurs, the freshly sown lawn should be watered four times a day for about ten minutes. The germinationthe lawn seed takes one to three weeks - after this time you slowly start to extend the watering intervals. The new time interval for watering the lawn should be approximately 24 to 48 hours in dry weather. After eight to twelve weeks, a dense lawn should have formed.
Even when laying turf, it is important to pay attention to sufficient watering. The turf should be watered with around 10 to 15 liters of water per square meter after it has been laid to prevent the turf from drying out. In the case of larger lawns or very hot weather, it is even advisable to sprinkle connected areas before the rest of the turf is laid out. The new lawn should also be watered for the next two weeks so that it can root itself in the ground as quickly as possible. Daily blasting with about 10 to 15 liters of water per square meter is recommended.
Hint: How do you find out how much water was distributed per square meter? The easiest way is to set up a rain gauge and simply read the amount on its scale.
Water the lawn after fertilizing
To keep the lawn he althy and growing, many gardeners like to use a lawn fertilizer, such as Plantura organic lawn fertilizer. Using our primarily organic fertiliser, we can easily explain to you why watering is important after fertilising: just 20 to 30 minutes of sprinkling is sufficient, in which the microorganisms in the soil are sufficiently supplied with vital water. Because only with their help can the fertilizer be converted. In this way, the nutrients contained in it become available for the plants and the soil is improved. If you do not water the lawn after fertilizing, the microorganisms can only slowly convert the fertilizer. In case of doubt, the effect of the fertilizer occurs only with a considerable delay - after fertilizing and during the entire vegetation period, care should be taken to ensure that the soil is sufficiently moist, in case of doubt by watering the lawn.
Even with mineral lawn fertilizers, sufficient watering is extremely important after distribution. This is the only way for the s alts that make up the mineral fertilizer to dissolve and penetrate the soil, where they are absorbed by the plants. If the lawn is only insufficiently watered or not watered at all after fertilization, highly concentrated fertilizer solutions are produced which can lead to severe over-fertilization of the lawn - to such an extent thatthat the grasses are finished off. Apart from that, there is always a risk that children or animals will find the colorful mineral fertilizer balls all too interesting, which can be quite harmful.
How much should you water your lawn?
Between 10 and 20 liters of water per square meter should be distributed during irrigation in order to wet the soil about 15 centimeters deep.
How much you should water your own lawn depends heavily on the type of soil of the property. For example, sandy soil is penetrated more quickly by water, so that 10 to 15 liters of water can be enough to soak the soil. However, sandy soil is not very good at holding water, so it dries out more quickly and therefore has to be blasted more often, about three times a week. Heavy clay and loam soils, on the other hand, need up to 20 liters of water to be moistened to a depth of 15 centimetres. In return, they have a better water storage capacity - this means that it can be sufficient to water the lawn just once a week, even in hot dry periods.
Tip: If the lawn is watered with too little water, the water only penetrates a few centimeters into the soil and the roots are not completely moistened. In the worst case, this will result in the lawn preferring to root just below the soil surface rather than deeper in the ground. This makes the lawn even more susceptible to drought. It is therefore advisable not to water the lawn a little every day, but rather to water it extensively for a few days.
There are various methods to determine whether the amount of water used when watering the lawn is correct. The safest thing to do after blasting is to cut off a piece of lawn and use a ruler to measure the depth to which the water has penetrated the ground. If the zone reaches down to 15 centimeters, the amount of water was sufficient - otherwise it should be blasted again. After the measurement, the cut piece of grass can be put back in place and pressed on. If this method is too radical for you, you can also stick to the above guidelines. In order to check whether the watering quantity is correct, you should either install a flow meter at the water connection or place a rain gauge on the lawn to read off the water quantity.
Summary: How Much Should You Water Your Lawn?
- Soil should be moistened to a depth of 15 cm
- Rather rarely large amounts of water than regularly little water
- Sandy soil: 10 - 15 liters per m²2 every 3 to 4 days
- Loamy soil: 15 - 20 liters per m²2 every 5 to 7 days
- Spade test shows whether the water has penetrated deep enough
- Flow meter or rain gauge help to dose the irrigation correctly.
Tip: Many sprinklers do not provide even watering - especially peripheral areas often get much less water than areas near the sprinkler. To compensate for this, it is advisable to move the sprinkler around regularly so that edge areas are also adequately supplied. Alternatively, you can also manually water areas that are less well supplied by the sprinkler, for example with a garden hose.
Would you like your lawn to show its full glory? You can find out what you need to look out for in our article "Lawn care all year round".