How Often You Should Water Your Lawn in Michigan?

This is one of the most common questions asked by homeowners with regards to caring for their lawns. How often should you water your lawns and how much water does it need? Like most things, our lawns need just enough water to make it healthy, green, and luscious.

The most ideal amount of water your lawns need is about an inch or an inch and a half per week. With this amount of water, it can moisten your soil up to 6” down, which is the depth of a healthy grass root system. Watering daily however is not advisable especially if you’re only doing it to get that inch of water that your lawn needs every week immediately. Watering daily results in weak lawns that dry out fast because of the shallow root system that develops. In contrast, irregular watering with just the right amount of water to reach that inch by the end of the week permits roots to grow deeper, developing a strong root system that is healthy and weather and disease resistant.

The best technique to follow is watering your lawns 2-3 times a week for about 20 minutes. Normally, it takes 30 minutes to get an inch of water so watering as previously stated sounds about enough. By the end of the week, try to perform the screwdriver test to check if you have enough water on your lawn. A 6” screwdriver should be easily pushed all the way down into the soil if your lawn is receiving enough water every week. If not, it might be time to keep track of your watering schedule and change the frequency and/or amount of water.

If the amount of water we use to water our lawn should be monitored, the time for when you water your lawn is equally as important. The best time of day to water is early in the morning from around 6 am to 10 am. This allows the soil plenty of time to dry before nighttime. Wet soil at night is not a good idea because it makes the lawn susceptible to fungus or other disease problems. Watering in the morning, on the other hand, is ideal because it keeps evaporation to a minimum due to the cooler temperature. It also prepares the soil for the hotter part of the day by keeping the turf cool so it doesn’t cause stress on the grass. If the watering schedule in the morning is hard to achieve, however, the next best time would be late in the afternoon.

You need to care for different grass types in different ways to keep them at their healthiest and hardiest.

Irrigation Systems not only protect the investment of an attractive landscape, but also help save time, water, and money.

Preferred Lawn Care provides complete solutions for your sprinkler system needs whether it be through a new installation or repair of your existing sprinkler system.

We use quality parts and components, ones that resist breaking and help manage water usage effectively. Each one of our irrigation systems is designed and installed to benefit your home’s individual landscape.

You’ll never have to drag a hose all over the yard, never have to figure out if you’ve applied enough or too much water and you’ll never have to worry about watering the lawn while you’re away.

Our top-of-the-line quality products include RainBird and Hunter. Our skilled irrigation technicians plan the precise time and distribution of water. We include controllers with all systems to effectively measure the weather conditions to not waste money by watering when rain is in sight.

Preferred Lawn Care offers a variety of lawn care services, as well as landscaping, irrigation and snow plowing among other things. We also have top-quality products to help you design and achieve the lawn you have envisioned.

To know more about our lawn care services, call (231) 638-5368 or message us online.