Proper water techniques are often misunderstood. As a general guideline, lawns only need 1″ to 1.5″ inches of water per week. It's best to water 1 to 2 times per week early in the morning to achieve this goal. Watering for a longer period of time less frequently soaking the soil to a 6″ to 8″ depth will promote a deeper root system and improve drought tolerance. Short frequent watering will cause shallow rooting. Shallow rooting will lead to poor drought tolerance and increase disease susceptibility. Its best to water your lawn and landscape plants early in the morning before the sun rises. This will allow time for the water to soak into the soil before evaporation can occur.
How Long to Water
Every irrigation system is different. Several factors determine the amount of time needed to supply the proper amount of water, such as type of irrigation head, size of the nozzle, water pressure, and the coverage area. As a general rule, rotor zones need to run between 30 minutes to 1 hour per zone to get ½ " of water. Spray zones should run 5 to 10 minutes per zone to get a ½ " of water. You will need to measure the amount of water your irrigation system is putting out in each zone to see how long your system needs to run. A rain gauge can be placed on the lawn to measure water output.
Agropro Lawn Care Service~ Agropro provides Lawn Care and Plant Health Care services to these areas in North Georgia: Alpharetta, Atlanta, Buckhead, Canton, Cumming, Dunwoody, Johns Creek, Marietta, Milton, Roswell, Sandy Springs, and Woodstock.