Question: If I want lush green grass how much should I water it?

Good question. Sounds innocent enough too, doesn’t it? But it’s one with many nuances in the answer. Which is why someone who understands grass would answer “It all depends.” Here’s why.

Generally the rule of thumb answer given is you want to water about an inch a week. But sometimes rules of thumb become unquestioned rules that can’t be violated. You know, the type that are cast in stone to be followed at all costs?

Yet the answer to how much and often to water your grass is really dependent on a variety of factors. Simply spouting a rule of thumb and being done with it won’t cut it for that reason.

For instance how often to water depends on how often it rains. Obvious I know. But I had to say it.

Along the same lines you really only want to put on the water if your lawn is in stress. In other words it’s not like it’s waiting for a week to pass for it’s next drink. Whenever you walk on your lawn and can see your foot prints or it looks kind of limp, well that’s the time to activate the sprinkler system.

Watering also comes down to the type of grass we’re talking about. Some varieties will need more – other less.

The height you are cutting at comes into play too. Generally the longer you leave your grass the less often you’re going to have to water. While leaving the clippings to break down is another source of moisture that can help keep your grass looking decent in between waterings.

“How are your roots?” is another good question to answer. Obviously the deeper your lawn’s roots the less often you should need to water. One way to get deep roots is watering deeply. Recognizing water that has soaked beyond the root zone is of little use to your grass.

Grass Truth: The height of the blade dictates the depth of the root. The longer the blade the deeper the root.

It’s also wise to let the top of your root zone to dry out. Doing so helps keep diseases at bay, weed seeds from germinating, and causes shallow rooted weeds to die off.

Another thing to consider is thatch build up. Is it thick and preventing good water penetration or what?

The final point is don’t set the output of your sprinkler to that there’s more water than the soil can absorb. Any resulting run off isn’t going to help your grass look any better

You see? There’s more to this than mindlessly muttering the one inch a week rule over and over like some magic chant. These think abouts, when thought about and applied, can produce a greener, thicker stand of grass with less water in your yard too.

Featured Author Dewey “Jeep” Capasso is a lawn care fanatic. He enjoys sharing what he knows about such things as the best riding lawn mowers to zero turn mower reviews. All to help you achieve the best looking lawn on the block.