Lawns get a bum rap for requiring too much water, said Jim Baird, a turf grass specialist at UC Riverside’s Turfgrass Research Facility. The problem isn’t with lawns, he says. They keep dust down and neighborhoods cooler, thus reducing energy costs.
The problem, Baird said, is the way people water their lawns. Think “deficit watering” rather than “optimum watering” to keep your water costs low and your lawns healthy, he said.
Learn how to use your sprinkler timer, and turn off your irrigation in the cool months between November and April.
When it warms up, water deeply in the early morning or evening for 10 to 15 minutes three or four days a week, depending on your lawn type (three days for warm-season grasses, such Bermuda; four days for cool-season grasses, such as fescue). If runoff is a problem, divide your watering time into three-minute cycles, Baird said. “Your lawn won’t be super lush,” he said, “but it will be good enough.”
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If you’re planting or redoing your lawn, consider warm-season grasses such as Bermuda or buffalo grass, which need about 20% less water to stay green in hot, dry conditions, Baird said. Bermuda lawns aren’t as popular as fescue because they turn brown in winter, but there are many varieties of Bermuda, Baird said, and UCR’s Turfgrass Research Facility is developing new varieties that stay green during their dormant season.
Regular feeding of your lawn about four times a year can help reduce its water needs as well, Baird said. Grass needs nitrogen, and one of the best fertilizers is its own clippings, he said, so instead of sending clippings to the landfill, invest in a mulching mower and stop wasting that free fertilizer.
Sept. 22, 2018
Be sure your mower blades are sharpened at least once a year, because dull blades shred and stress the grass. And be sure you are mowing to the right height — 3 to 4 inches for fescue/cool-season grasses but just 1½ to 2 inches for Bermuda/warm-season grasses.
Finally, check your sprinklers every year to be sure they are working properly. Fixed-spray nozzles of the same size are more efficient than rotary type sprinklers, but if you’re replacing or installing a lawn, Marco Schiavon, Baird’s colleague, thinks the most efficient system is subsurface irrigation, a series of PVC pipes with holes, spaced about a foot apart, 4 to 6 inches deep.
If you see brown spots on your lawn, don’t start watering more, Shiavon said. No above-ground irrigation system provides 100% distribution, he said, so it’s better to just hand-water brown spots, or give it a good drink with an old-fashioned spot sprinkler.
