Watering your lawn at the right time of day is essential to keep your lawn healthy and free of insects, while keeping your water bill low.
You can't live very long without water, and your lawn is no different. If you let your grass go too long without a good fresh drink, it will dehydrate. On the other hand, if you soak it with too much water, the grass will get fat, soft, and tender. In this condition, it is susceptible to disease and injury. You can't turn off a thunderstorm, but you can control the sprinkler. So give your lawn at least one inch of water per week to keep it tough, and in tip-top fighting shape.
All water may look alike, but don't be fooled. Water may have the same basic formula, but remember that rain and snow have natural trace elements that can add to the health of your lawn. If you're depending upon a thunderstorm to do the watering job, you'll have to be happy whenever the work gets done. But if you have a choice of times to water, the best time is early in the morning, just after the sun pokes his head out from behind the trees, while the dew is still clinging to each blade of grass, give the lawn a good soaking. It is really important to give your lawn a good soaking, so that the water penetrates deep. If the surface is just wet, the roots will grow near the surface to drink the water where you put it. When the hot, dry days of summer arrive, the soil will quickly dry out, the roots will also dry out, and your grass will burn up. Shallow watering will one day leave you a dead brown lawn.
Never water your lawn at night. Your lawn is susceptible to fungus and insects. All sorts of insects like to come out at night and do damage to your lawn. They will feast on the roots and do their damage there. Before long, you will be buying insecticides for your lawn just to rid yourself of the pests. If you notice moths coming out of your lawn, you have a pest problem. Again, water only in the morning!
Although watering is a simple job, it needs to be done properly. For the average lawn, the cool grasses, such as Merion and Kentucky Blue, the ryes, the red fescues, water to the depth of about 3 inches. For Dichondra, Zoysia, and Bermuda grasses, it's a good idea to water to a depth of 2 inches. Even though you have sandy soil, water deep during the morning hours so that the roots stay down there. It is a good idea to do this twice a week. It isn't going to do your lawn any good if you water a little every day in the morning. If you don't water enough, you will be plagued with insects. Some insects like to live in a drier atmosphere, so the main idea here is to give your lawn the right amount of water at the right time.
If you suspect you have insects in your lawn, spray insecticides immediately. Don't wait until your lawn turns brown and can be lifted off the soil like carpeting in your home.
