A healthy lawn is a joy to stroll, relax and play on. It can also be part of an environmentally friendly landscape. But, sometimes it can seem to be a mystery on how to achieve that lush, healthy lawn in the Florida environment. Since we have lots of sandy soils and experience long periods of warm and hot weather, many suppose that giving the lawn lots of water will help do the trick. Not so.
Photo credit: UF/IFAS.
But what harm can it cause to give the lawn plenty of water all the time? Isn’t that a good thing? No! Overwatering your lawn can lead to the following problems:
- Development of fungal diseases (fungi love a moist environment!)
- Increased insect pest pressure
- More rapid thatch development
- More weeds (those little emerging weed seedlings thrive on consistent moisture!)
- Some weeds, like dollarweed and sedges, can be an indication of overwatering
- A shallow root system when frequent, light watering is applied
- Washing away of fertilizer down into the soil past the root system
- Higher water bills.
Our lawns need, on average, about 1/2 to 3/4 “of water a week during the summer. This recommendation changes depending on soil type, shade, temperature, wind, and season. To figure out how long to run your sprinklers, watch this YouTube video from UF/IFAS.
We recommend running your automated system only when your lawn shows signs of needing water such as:
- Leaf blades fold
- The lawn looks ‘off-color’
- Footprints remain and are visible
For more information:
Gardening Solutions: Irrigation
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