Lawns need regular rain in order to stay lush green and beautiful. Rainwater replaces the moisture that grass draws from lawn soil. Grass can stay healthy without rainfall for a few weeks but afterward, it would begin to appear silvery blue and with time it will become flat. These are some symptoms that your grass is dying without water and this shows the importance of watering. Watering in winter and fall is not much different from lawn care for all other seasons of the year, however, the only thing is that the cool weather may turn your lawn in latency. This would signify that the season of growth has ended and the color of your lawn will change as winter will approach. Thus with changes appearing in your lawn, you would need to change the frequency of watering lawn.
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Frequency of watering
As the fall begins, you can continue to water the lawn twice a week but you can even cut it to once a week provided you are watering in enough amounts and are covering all parts of your lawn correctly. This should suffice for your lawn to remain in a nice shape. Watering properly is most important and with that, we have highlighted some important tips that you should consider for keeping your lawn healthy through the seasons.
Keep a check on the irrigation system of your lawn
As fertilization is important, the proper sprinkler system is also crucial for the health of your lawn. If each part of your lawn is not receiving water properly, you may witness severe draught and turfs that may become irreparable. You must get your system checked by an expert to see if all the functions are being performed properly with proper coverage. Both fertilization and proper sprinkling are important for a healthy lawn.
When to water
A proper schedule can’t be set for watering during the fall and winter season. When fall begins the temperature still remains on the warmer side, during that period you must water lawn twice a week. However, in late fall weeks, you may cut it down to once a week throughout the early winter. Just keep a close eye on your lawn and changes that are appearing in your lawn. The lawn will notify you when it is time to change the frequency of watering. In cool days, water doesn’t evaporate easily as the temperature is lowered down as opposed to what happened during the summer season. In winter, your lawn doesn’t want water twice a week and so you must not over flood it. Overwatering can give rise to aquatic weeds growth. Witness color change in your lawn and these will be signs when your lawn needs water.
One of the signs that your lawn gives to show that it needs watering is that the leaf blades begin to fold and turn bluish grey. You may notice to see if lawn needs watering or not is through checking retention of water. Just walk through the lawn and if your footprints are remaining in the lawn after you have walked away it means that soil of lawn has enough moisture and doesn’t need to be watered now.
Time to water: The best time to water your lawn is early in the morning somewhere around 3 to 4 pm. Water before sunrise and after dew. Finish watering your lawn before 9 in the morning and check for irrigation system beforehand. All areas of your lawn must receive enough water so that moisture may reach beneath its rooting system for good healthy growth. Empty cups for irrigation measuring must be placed in each zone of lawn to estimate the amount of water and time it takes for water to run in. Check how much time the cup takes to fill at around 3/4th to full. You must water the zone for that amount of time. Watering in enough quantity and at the right time is most important in order to prevent from evaporation, wastage of water and for reducing fungus.
Important for freezing cold regions: If your region witnesses freezing cold weather, you must know how to have your lawn protected during that time. One important thing to note is that your lawn must remain dry during the onset of sub-freezing weather temperatures. You must not water your lawn during a freeze. Watering during occasional freeze would damage your lawn grass. If the forecast says that it is going to freeze the next day, it is best to water lawn the night before freeze as the water will be locked deep inside the soil and will protect the structure of root of grass minimizing the probability of damage from cold.
Treating dry spots of your lawn
In the fall season, you would have a decreased rainfall and conditions become really dry during some days. At those times, you would notice brown areas in your lawn to develop. If this is happening, you should check sprinkling heads in those zones. You may need to make adjustments and there may be a broken head. Use a cylindrical container to check if 3/4th of water has been applied to that area and make proper adjustments to make sure that coverage remains the same in all areas. If the head is broken, replace and make adjustments as required. Dry spots will be gone soon after these adjustments.
Conclusion
Dry seasons may cause damage to your lawn especially the ones that are newly established may get really injured. So it is important to follow proper guidelines of watering in order to give your lawn soil correct moisture. Follow these recommendations for reapplying water to your soil when it becomes dry because of weather conditions in fall and winter. Mowing is important for the lawn but make sure you avoid mowing when the lawn is wet. Look for an appropriate lawn mower to give your lawn a beautiful shape after cold periods and maintain it well.
