Watering Lawn

[chasineyes]

Maybe I just want to vent but.. is it necessary to water every other day??? We just picked up over an inch last weekend and with the cool temps, I hardly doubt much has evaporated. And yet my neighbors are watering like were in a massive drought.

And then they have the nerve to talk about not having money!

If I was in charge of the utilities commission I would jack the hell out of the rates in the summer.

[katoguy]

Are they trying to grow new grass?

Are they trying to green a brown area?

Are they watering prior to fertilizing?

I watered a little last night, too. (for all of the reasons above)

[Quetico]

Some people are simply retarded when it comes to watering their lawns.

My neighbors refuse to talk to me about their irrigation system. Its runs every other day at 3pm. Thats the worst time of day to water. Its more harm then good.

I never recommend watering every other day to anyone unless they are trying to establish a new lawn. Twice a week if it doesn't rain. If its rained (more than a sprinkle) within the past week don't water at all.

Please everyone practice some water conservation.

[311Hemi]

If you water only once or twice a week, how much are we talking? 15 min, 30 min? I know the sprinkler matters, so 1/2" in a bowl then?

Any rough guide?

[nofishfisherman]

I've always heard an inch a week.

I usually try to water 2-3 times a week assuming we didn't get any rain. I'll toss out a container in the yard and shut the water off when i see about a 1/3-1/2 an inch of water in the container during each watering session.

If it has rained during the week I'll adjust watering as needed. I might not water at all or I might water once but I'll only add enough water so that when added to the rain fall amount the yard will still only get the 1 inch per week amount.

[MuleShack]

The once a week with a deep watering is best because the roots learn to go deeper. If you water daily or every other day in short burst, the roots tend to stay near the surface and then they dry out quicker in warmer weather.

I water for 1 to 1.5 hours per zone because I only have 2gpm heads. each zone runs once per week unless we get in the 90's. Your grass will learn to go where the moisture is over time.

[fishersofmen]

I usually say 3 times a week for 35 minutes per time........

[chasineyes]

Are they trying to grow new grass?

Are they trying to green a brown area?

Are they watering prior to fertilizing?

I watered a little last night, too. (for all of the reasons above)

To answer your questions...No, No, and No

It's an ego thing as far as I'm concerned.

[deerminator]

The once a week with a deep watering is best because the roots learn to go deeper. If you water daily or every other day in short burst, the roots tend to stay near the surface and then they dry out quicker in warmer weather.

I water for 1 to 1.5 hours per zone because I only have 2gpm heads. each zone runs once per week unless we get in the 90's. Your grass will learn to go where the moisture is over time.

Ditto, sort of. I water once a week for an hour if no heavy rain. And I set the mower blade on the highest setting. Its not and ego thing. I like having long, lush grass I can walk on with bare feet and not hear it crunch or get my feet dusty. Preferably with a beer in my hand. Also, we have a well so its free minus the electricity from the pump.

[Powerstroke]

The need and reasons for watering are many. Most people do not have have a clue about how much rain has fallen or how much water they have applied by watering.

To address the water rates, municipalities are required to have water conservation plans established by 2010 that include watering restrictions and ordinances about that. Also, most cities will also begin to charge a higher water rate for those who use more water than is necessary for things such as irrigation.

The city I work for is currently working on the different rates for water use. The AWWA assumes an average use of 100 gallons per person per day for daily use or drinking, washing, bathroom, etc. For a family of 4 that's 12,000 gallons per month. My family (4ppl) uses almost exactly that and we run a home daycare.

I just finished reading water meters for the month and we have several people who are using more than 50,000 gal a month and some over 100,000 gal a month. There aren't any families of 16 that I know about living there so you can imagine that water is going into the sewer through leaky plumbing or onto the lawn.

The lush green lawn may become a luxury for the rich once the new rules come into effect.

[Quetico]

We need more and tighter watering restrictions. More water on the lawn equals more mowing. More mowing equals more pollution.

[goblueM]

as far as i'm concerned, why the expletive deleted do people waste SO much time worrying about their grass?

Its just mind boggling to me how much time and money people sink into making their lawn green. WHY!??!?!? For the love of god, why??? What a sad, sad existence. Just let the dam thing go brown and don't water or mow it. You'll save a lot of money and won't have to worry about it.

[Quetico]

What is turf at its most basic level? Its an extremely high maintenance ground cover. Most people who pour tons of time and money into their lawn do it as a status symbol. They do it out of OCD.

Yes there are some people who use their lawns. But the rest of people need to look at lower maintenance ground covers. We need to start a new trend for status symbols.

[fishersofmen]

I thought it was America and we let everyone live there own life and make there own choices. (To the comments of why are people watering and mowing all the time and how they NEED different ground covers) A guy once told me "my lawn is my garden" and I personally don't think there is anything wrong with that. If someone wants to spend the time and money on a nice green lawn I say more power to them, they won't get any criticism from me. To say it is a sad existence that someone takes alot of pride in having and managing a beautiful lawn that improves the asthetics of the entire property that they have spend hundreds of thousands of dollars of there hard earned money on is kind of rediculas. When I drive through a neighborhood and see the property with a golfcourse like lawn and the care and time the person has put into it I always say way to go.......

P.S Isn't this thread for promoting lawn and garden activity not condeming it??

[goblueM]

Yep people are free to do whatever they want. I think its great to have hobbies, its healthy. I just prefer to do other stuff than water and dump chemicals on some grass just to make it grow more so i have to mow it more. I'm sure some people wouldn't get a lot of the things that I do too!

[hanson]

If you don't want to mow the grass... don't own a house.

As a new homeowner, I absolutely LOVE taking care of the yard, flowers, and garden. I've been looking forward to taking care of my own yard now for years!

We have to put up with brown grass, bare trees, and snow for nearly half a year; gotta enjoy summer and all it has to offer while it is here.

Some folks just have to [PoorWordUsage] about everything.

[Quetico]

When I buy my house the first thing I'm doing is killing the lawn. I mowed lawns far too many summers to ever want to do it again. I'm converting to no-mow right away when I move in. Then I'm adding rain gardens

I preach eco-friendly landscaping, I design and sell eco-friendly landscaping and I will practice eco-friendly landscaping.

[MuleShack]

I preach eco-friendly landscaping

[Duffman]

Put me down as one of those green grass lovers that you brown grass lovers love to hate. The second I get home from work I go barefootin, I check out the gardens, I check out the yard, and sometimes I'll just go out in my backyard and lay down in the grass. The hound looks like she sure enjoys doing that, and guess what, so do I.

And by barefootin, I know which areas of my yard are going to need sprinkler attention first. You can't wait until the grass needs water, by that time you are already behind the ball. I love going out and moving the sprinklers around, just like I love mowing the grass(maybe not love the task, but I love the result). I keep her short and trim, after 15 summers she's been trained to live with being short.

I'm not only watering the grass for my own selfish pleasure, but I have 10 thirsty trees that need my attention. They battle it out over who gets the odd/even watering days. Yes, they provide shade and relief from the days heat, but they also suck up plenty of water themselves. And I don't mind one bit spending the coin to keep the vegetation happy and healthy.

Like hanson said, I'm stuck indoors for half the year, so I take advantage of the time I can spend outside during the summer here in MN.

So..........stay off my lawn.

[maros91]

Brown lawns are eye sores. Keep your yard green and clean. It looks 100 times better.

[FishingIdiot]

"as far as i'm concerned, why the expletive deleted do people waste SO much time worrying about their grass?

WHY!??!?!? For the love of god, why??? What a sad, sad existence. Just let the dam thing go brown and don't water or mow it."

Thank God you're not living in my neighborhood - or anyone like you! LOL

You ever heard of pride?

[ottertailguy]

Why do people worry about what others do? If it's a waste of time/money people wouldn't do it. If it was all about the time/money then none of us would have kids, pets, boats, fishing/hunting gear, play/watch sports, hd tv's, cell phones, and the list could go on and on.

[katoguy]

My neighbors on either side of me have the worst lawns in the neighborhood. The amount of thistle, quack, and dandelions coming into my yard from these lazy people is terrible. They have no pride. I tried to inform/educate, but their lack of the English language impeded the process. One neighbor paid to have a national company aereate once and fertilize twice, but he only mows about once every 15 days (I count). He then cuts his grass down to 2 inches, and he usually blows it right into my yard. He hasn't trimmed at all this year... Eye sore on a cul de sac that is only 6 years old!

My next step will be contacting the city.

[Fishinguy40]

To answer the original question about whether or not it is necessary to water every other day....I would think soil type would determine whether or not it is required.

I'm not an expert but I would think if you live in an area that has sandy type soil you would need to water more often than once per week. Even if you put a good layer black dirt over it, I would think much of the moisture would still drain much quicker and would require watering several times a week.

[solbes]

The sand under my lawn is like a beach (SW Anoka County). If you don't water with some sort of regularity, your lawn does not go dormant. It dies. I have a neighbor across the street who has twice installed sod, and twice ended up with a lawn that is 90% crabgrass, dandelions, and quackgrass.

In my mind, it's far cheaper to water every year than have to re-sod every 3-4 years.

I water every other day, but would probably do every third if our city didn't have a odd/even ban. It won't make it 4 days in hot, sunny June/July weather without turning crispy orange/purple color no matter how heavy you water. The soil type just does not retain enough moisture. And I do mow it very high and also mulch to retain as much moisture as possible. I irrigate about the minimum to keep it looking nice and staying healthy. Each zone is custom to what it needs, so I'm not wasting water on a shaded, low sun zone.

I do agree that water conservation is important, but so is keeping my property looking nice.