When to water the "grass"?
Question:It's 90 degrees here in NC today! My dear hubby recently decided to cover the lawn in weed killer & then fertilize it. His spreader was broken, so he did it by hand.
Needless to say, my yard is brown.
Am I wasting my time watering? It hasn't rained in over a week & there is none in the forecast for the next 5 days or so.
If I should water it, when? Does it do damage to water in the heat of day or is that an old wives tale?
Answers:
Misty,
You need to get as much water on that turf as is possible immediately. Spreading a weed and feed by hand is like trying to walk barefooted across burning coals. Some win, most lose the bet! Unfortunately for you both the cost of stopping and getting a spreader may be more than the new spreader would have cost.
This evening have the hubby set his mower at the highest height possible (3" -4"). Cut the turf. Send him or you to the store to buy a sprinkler or sprinklers that can cover the turf.
You are cutting the turf now because you will not for awhile. You are getting the sprinklers to undo some of the damage.
Calm thyself! In the morning (8-9AM) set the sprikler or sprinklers, to water the turf for one hour in duration. If you only have one move it to adjust so that all the turf gets one hour of water before noon. Do this today (Wednesday) and again on Friday.
Think of the favors you can ask of him with this minor little mess-up. Lord knows my wife would have and has had a field day on smaller mishaps.
On Saturday, if you can, purchase a Certified Ryegrass Mixture. It should be Certified, Rye, Blue , and Fescue mix. Also buy a spreader!! The Grass seed should be Certified as no weed content and a 95% germination rate. Buy enough seed to overseed at 2lbs/1,000 sq ft. Let the chump spread that by hand.
On Monday , next, water for 1/2 hour. Follow that with Wednesday and Friday at the same intervals. Do not cut the turf in the time period. This will allow the remaining grass to grow and the new to root.
The secret to grass is that it does not grow above ground, rather, it grows at root level. The watering you do will both make the roots stronger and force them to grow deeper and stronger. The chemical damage is overcome by the newer growth of the existing turf. The continued watering will allow the newer seed to grow.
Cut the lawn no sooner than two weeks after you have sown the seed and keep the mower at the max until at least October. This will allow for greater depth of root and the health of the turf. In addition, this reduces the weed population. After lowering the mower to 2" cut and topseed again with the Certified Mix.
As for watering, it is not a wive's tale. In the mid-day the water will evaporate quickly. At night it lays in wait for every possible disease and fungi available. In the morning it has the chance to be absorbed, evaporate, and not be available to the insects, disease, fungi, etc. It is more important to water deep than to water often. Water from sunrise to three hours after. Irrigate twice a week versus daily unless you have new sod.
Hey, mistakes happen. Let it be. Both of you know by now that the reason they made spreaders is so you did not do it by hand. Between the leason learned, the new seed, the sprinklers, you will both have a better turf.
Water at night or early morning, less evaporates
Between 9pm and 12pm (so you won't forget it)
Which ever works best for you either morning are night
In general, it's best to water your grass deeply and infrequently rather than a little bit at a time. If you water too frequently, the grass won't develop a deep root system and will die out if there is an extended drought or watering restriction imposed. By watering once a week or less, you are training your grass to develop much deeper roots that allow it to do better in periods without water.
Do not water in the heat of the day, because a large part of the water just evaporates without helping your grass at all. It is a big waste of water. Many areas of the country even ban watering in the afternoon hours for this very reason. Water in the early morning, or in the evening, when it is cooler and there is less direct sun.
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