How to properly water your lawn?

The suburban area has been developed, there is a garden, and a vegetable garden, and flower beds, and places for rest. Lawns look attractive when the lawn is watered correctly and at the right time. If you leave the green area without maintenance, the grass will turn yellow, wither and resemble the vegetation of an abandoned wasteland. Everyone saw the prohibition signs "Do not walk on the lawns!" Such a ban is necessary in areas that are deprived of the attention of the owner. Of course, it is not recommended to hold a rehearsal of the military parade on the grass every day, and walking barefoot through the pleasant fresh greenery will not harm a person or vegetation.

How often should the lawn be watered?

Moistening is necessary for the lawn throughout the summer season. Work begins with sowing seeds, and ends a week before the onset of cold weather. It is impossible to indicate the exact time and amount of water - all areas have different moisture content and soil structure, weather conditions can change in the most unpredictable way. Much depends on the type of plants planted: if the white bent cannot stand even the slightest thirst, then the fescue will survive the drought, and after the rain, the grass will continue to grow. It is undesirable to use this feature: dry leaves will no longer turn into fresh greens, and rest on a yellowed half-dead lawn will not bring any joy.

If you think that the grass cover does not need artificial moisture, go after a severe drought to a clearing open to the sun's rays. Vegetation there burns out to such an extent that even livestock bypasses it. For novice summer residents who have no idea whether it is necessary to water the lawn and how to do it correctly, there are indicative recommendations. You can take them as a basis, then your observations will make adjustments to the general scheme.

For central Russia, the following irrigation regime can be adopted:

• in intense heat and drought - every day;
• in the heat on sandy soils - every 2-3 days;
• in summer in cool cloudy weather - weekly;
• in the fall - once every 10 days.

It is undesirable to either shorten or increase the time between watering. It is useless for 2 weekends in a row to forcefully pour water on the lawn, and then leave it "on dry rations" for 5 working days. The soil should have time to dry out before the next moisture. If you start irrigating wet soil, the roots will not have an incentive to grow deeper, they will begin to be located at the very surface. With experience, you yourself will feel when the lawn needs watering, and the grass will remind you of its need for water in the first years. As soon as you notice at least one sign of a lack of moisture, moisturize your lawn and it will always look fresh.

The very first symptoms of drying out:

• the grass curls up;
• crushed greens do not straighten for a long time;
• areas where people walk begin to be trampled;
• the lawn has acquired a brown tint;
• the plants look lethargic.

There are times when plants need extra moisture.

• After mowing, carefully remove the cut pieces and water the lawn. Moisturizing will give it a fresh and clean look, help to quickly recover from damage.
• When feeding, dry nutrients are not absorbed by the roots. Watering will help the complete assimilation of all components.

Advice

To make the lawn look neat, and nothing hindered the young shoots from developing, comb the grass with a rake 2 times per season.

Do not water the lawn with water below + 10⁰C, this is harmful to the root system.Water from a well or spring must be drawn into a large container, where it will be heated in the sun.

How to water the lawn after planting seeds?

In the spring, the summer resident worked out the soil, sowed seeds and watered the future lawn. But if he does not show up on the site for the whole working week, all work can be considered in vain. The grains are at a shallow depth, and the soil exposed to the sun and wind dries up instantly. Watering the lawn in the first decade after planting seeds should be daily. During this time, the grains will germinate, and the roots will be able to take water from a depth of several centimeters.

Not every working person manages to get out to the site every day. The earth will retain moisture longer if you cover it with plastic sheeting, a piece of roll roofing, or a nonwoven fabric. After germination, the polyethylene and roofing material must be removed, and the air-permeable coating can be left on until it interferes with the growth of young grass.

Many information sources recommend covering the soil from drying out with a thick layer of mulch. This is a good option, but it is only suitable for plants that have already reached a height of 7-8 cm. If you fill the area with compost immediately after sowing, the sprouts will not appear - they will not have enough light.

An adult lawn does not need to be moistened too often, but generously. But for the young growth, such a scheme is destructive. Water every 1-2 days, and in the heat daily in small portions. If too much water is poured out, a crust will form on the soil and no air will be able to reach the root system. When the grass shades the ground, and the roots go deep into the soil and form the soil structure, you can switch to rare and abundant watering.

How much water does it take to water the lawn well?

If you lightly moisten your lawn at short intervals, nothing good will come of it. The top layer of the soil will be constantly wet, while in the depths there will be dry soil. The root system will develop near the surface and will not be able to take nutrients from the depths. The underground part will become very vulnerable, and if during a hot period you cannot visit the site for several days, the grass will dry out.

Depending on the level of groundwater, soil moisture and weather conditions, from 20 to 40 liters of water should be poured per square meter. Multiply this volume by the area, and you will find out the approximate consumption on the territory of any lawn. The liquid should completely go into the soil, puddles and wetlands on the lawn are not needed. After some time after watering, check to what depth the moisture has penetrated. If the soil was saturated by 10 cm, then there was enough water.

The time for watering also needs to be chosen correctly. The best option is early morning. Before the onset of the heat of the day, moisture will be absorbed into the soil and the grass will dry out. At this time, a person cannot always get out of town, so many summer residents are interested in the question: is it possible to water the lawn during the day? The recommendations for novice gardeners say that it is impossible. In hot sunny times, this advice should be heeded: the droplets focus the sun's rays, and burn marks appear on the greenery. But on cloudy days or cool autumn, you can moisten the lawn during the day. In the evening, it is advisable to finish the work before 6 pm, so that the greens will dry before the night coolness. Wet plants when the air temperature drops are often affected by fungal infections.

Mechanized watering of the site

A small lawn can be moistened with watering cans or with a hose manually, but if the lawn occupies more than a dozen acres, you will have to hire a gardener to care for it. Various devices that carry out mechanical and automatic watering of the lawn will help to facilitate the work. You can lay a drip irrigation system over the entire area. The earth will be well saturated with moisture, but the grass will become dusty and lose its fresh appearance. Washing is necessary not only for animals, but also for plants, with this method from time to time you will have to irrigate the plants from above.

It is good to use for lawn watering:

• perforated hoses with holes along the entire length;
• sprinklers;
• circular sprinklers operating on the fountain principle;
• rotating and swinging sprinklers;
• automatic irrigation systems.

Watering with a perforated hose isn't much easier than watering by hand. You will need to spread the perforated tubing over the lawn, moisten the area, and move them to another location. Small sprinklers are useful in a small area, but if the lawn is large, you will need too many of them. Automatic irrigation systems are the most convenient option. You do not need to appear in the country, they turn on and off without human intervention. One drawback is that they are quite expensive.

Sprinklers are well suited for country lawns. The rotating design directs the jet around the circumference. You can increase or decrease the diameter of the wetted area. For rectangular and square lawns, swinging models are convenient. It is advisable to plan lawns of the correct shape even when laying out the site. Various protrusions and winding stripes look original, but then you constantly have to run around with a watering can in secluded corners.

How to make a do-it-yourself lawn watering system?

You can purchase the necessary kit in the store, but you can also make it yourself. To do this, you will need to purchase a pumping station, even if a central water supply is installed on the site. In the morning and evening, all gardeners begin to water their beds, and the water pressure may be too weak.

You will also need:

• plastic pipes;
• filters so that the holes are not clogged with sediment from untreated water from the well;
• pressure regulators, allowing to provide different water pressure in individual areas;
• rotary or static sprinklers.

Before buying equipment, draw up an accurate plan of your site. Consider how to position the sprinklers to keep all lawns moist. Draw on the pipe plan and calculate the required amount. Several large lawns require a complex system that allows different pipe sections to be switched on in turn. For this purpose, you need to install shut-off valves on each branch, allowing you to open or shut off the water.

The system does not have to be buried below the freezing depth of the soil. If the pipes will be laid with a slight slope, and a device for draining water is installed at the lowest point of the branch, a trench can be dug 30 cm deep. Install sprinklers, connect the pipes to the pumping station. Now you only need to turn on the system and the lawn will be watered.

Good home craftsmen can make an automatic system equipped with controllers, solenoid valves, sensors, time switches. A thermal relay placed in a tank with water will turn on the heater when the temperature drops, the moisture for irrigation will always be warm enough. With such automation, you are not afraid of sudden severe frosts, the water will not turn into ice and will not rupture the container. Special devices can monitor soil moisture, and in rainy weather, the irrigation system will not turn on at the appointed time.

Advice

In autumn, after draining the water, blow out the entire system with compressed air until no more moisture is generated. This will save the pipes from bursting if liquid has accumulated in them.

The lawn is not a museum piece that you can only admire. You can walk on fresh grass, sunbathe on it. For plants to withstand these loads, they need proper care. A well-watered lawn will quickly return to its original form after you rest. If the greens are trampled, empty spaces appear on it, sort out your mistakes. Perhaps the soil has few nutrients, it is waterlogged, or, conversely, is too dry. Spare no effort, and the lawn will thank you. The contact of the naked body with grass is not only pleasant, but also beneficial for health, and bathing in the morning dew will replace expensive medical and cosmetic procedures.