In order to maintain a healthy lawn and garden, it is important to know when to water, how much to water, and for how long. Not knowing how to water correctly will cause you to spend lots of unnecessary time repairing and weeding your lawn, as well as wasting water. These tips will inform you on how to have a healthy and green lawn for the summer.
Keep up with the weather: Before watering your lawn, try to recall the last time it rained, and check to see if it’s going to rain in the upcoming days. This will prevent you from wasting water. During the summer, your lawn might turn a light brown colour, but don’t worry, this is a natural process called “dormancy” that occurs during hot dry spells in the summer. Your grass will return to normal colour when cooler and wetter weather approaches.
When to water: It is most effective to water your lawn in the morning. Avoid watering midday, because you will lose a lot of water to evaporation. As well, don’t water at night, because leaving grass wet for long periods of time can create fungal disease in your yard.
Don’t over water: Let the water soak into the ground. Be careful not to water faster than the soil is able to soak it up. If you realize that your soil is no longer absorbing water, you lawn is probably compacted. Think about aerating your lawn in the spring, to allow air, nutrients and water to reach the roots, and prepare the lawn for the summer season. Watering more than suggested can in turn weaken your grass, making it susceptible to disease, pests and drought.
Deep Watering: Newly planted trees or grass require deep watering. This should be done once a week until they are established. This will probably take one summer season. If you know your soil type, follow these rules:
–Sandy soils: Can’t hold too much water, apply about 1.5 cm of water two times a week.
–Clay soils: These are more compacted soils that need water to be applied slowly. Apply 2.5 cm of water once a week.
Measure with a Rain gauge: Rain Gauges can be used to measure the amount of rain that has fallen, so you know how much more water you need to provide your lawn to reach that 1.5 cm or 2.5 cm minimum. Another great feature of the rain gauge is that it can help measure how long your sprinkler needs to be on for. Put the rain gauge beside your sprinkler, turn it on and see how long it takes for the gauge to meet the 1.5 or 2.5 cm mark, depending on what type of soil you have.
Zone for Toronto: Toronto has a hardiness zone as low as 5a, ranging all the way to 6b, depending on your exposure to the lake, which can tamper with the temperatures. In order to make sure that your plant can survive in your zone, choose a plant that is in a slightly lower climate zone number. Click here to find more information on zones
