Few of us can afford to waste water, and failing to seasonally adjust your watering strategy threatens your finances as well as the health of your lawn.  Properly watering your full root zone (10 inches of moist soil) often means considering seasonal limitations such as temperature and evaporation rates.  Here are a few tips on adjusting your watering frequency to ensure optimal lawn health:

To start the greening process, consider providing only one deep watering to your lawn during March.  Then, as you move into April, water your lawn deeply once per week.

During the Summer, temperatures rise and grass typically begins to wilt.  To counteract this process, gradually increase watering frequency up to every other day if needed while continuing to water deeply each time.  Watering every day, however, is not recommended, as it increases the chances of fungus problems.

Once Fall rolls around, decrease the frequency of your watering as temperatures begin to cool; two to four waters in October should keep your lawn at its peak green.

Finally, as any seasoned lawn lover knows, freezing temperatures can bust your sprinklers.  Drain your sprinkler system and turn it off in early November to prevent them from freezing during the winter months.

New seed is a great and affordable way to grow a lawn and keep it robust.  Caution should be taken, however, as new seed is extremely fragile and vulnerable to the elements.  In order to ensure it remains healthy, prevent your new seed from drying out by laying down some mulch.

Immediately after planting your new seed, water it deeply, and continue to water it in small increments daily; this will ensure you maintain an appropriate water level.  After about a month, begin watering your seed every other day, but twice as long as the small increments; this promotes essential root growth.  Don’t forget to fertilize the ground before planting your seed, and wait until it has grown long enough to be mowed twice before spraying with fertilizer and herbicide.

Happy planting, and good luck!

Everyone knows that sod is a convenient and affordable way to ensure your lawn looks picture perfect during every season of the year.  Anyone looking to lay sod down, however, should keep a few helpful tips in mind.

Because new sod has a 5/8 inch root system, it is very important that you never allow it to dry out.  Immediately after laying down your new sod, water it deeply, and continue watering it in small amounts daily to maintain appropriate saturation.  After two weeks, you only need to water every other day, but should do so twice as long to promote root growth.  Remember to fertilize the ground before laying the sod, then wait until it has grown enough to be mowed twice to spray with fertilizer and herbicide.

If you’re laying sod down during winter, remember to remove any wood, weeds, and trash.  Use a rake to level and loosen the area on which you’re laying the sod, and purchase a fertilizer brand appropriate to the cold season.  The most important thing to remember is not to ever plant your sod during freezing temperatures, or in soil that is already frozen; wait for a warm spell before laying your sod.

Be thorough, take care, and happy planting!

There’s no better way to start the New Year than with a strong feeling of preparedness.  Planning for your lawn care ahead of time ensures you’ll enjoy the healthiest, greenest lawn possible.  In support of planning ahead, we’re rewarding anyone who pays in advance for 6 or 7 lawn sprays with a pre-pay discount!  Each spray you purchase in advance is $2 dollars cheaper off the total price.  Plan ahead this year and keep your lawn green at an affordable price!