Lawn Watering Tips

Water your lawns in the early morning before 10am.  Particularly with lawns this is the best time to water as night watering can increase the amount of leaf wetness which causes fungal problems in all lawn types. However, common sense must prevail, if you can't water in the morning of course water at night.

Give your lawn longer, deeply penetrating watering that wets the soil to a considerable depth, this encourages deep rooting and results in a more vigorous, higher quality turf. To see how deep you have watered use a shovel to slice down the soil, you won't need to do this once you get the hang of watering.

Short frequent waterings throughout hot weather will cause shallow rooting of the lawn. This leads to poor access to water and nutrients which makes the lawn more susceptible to weed invasion, fungal diseases and pest damage. It is best to water 1-3 times a week dependent on grass type and location.

Your lawn is likely suffering from hydrophobicity where an organic layer forms around your soil making it impossible to wet, this can be resolved by applying a wetting agent like Munns Professional Smart Wetter.

Yes greywater is better used on your lawn than other plants as it is not as sensitive to some of the nasties in greywater. For best results though it is best to treat your water with a biocide like Yates greywater fertiliser to kill bacteria. 

There are many ways to save on water usage on your lawn.

• Treat weeds, which compete for moisture, with a spot spray like Yates Weedkiller for Lawns Spot Spray or a hose-on like Yates Weed'n'Feed Buffalo Lawn.

• A healthy lawn with a deep root system is less likely to suffer from moisture stress. Apply Munns Professional Root Regenerator to develop deeper lawn roots which are able to reach water deeper in the soil.

• Replace your lawn with a type of grass more tolerant of hot and dry conditions like Munns Professional Couch or Munns Professional Kikuyu

• Raise the mowing height for your lawn. An increase in mowing height encourages a deeper root system, the longer leaf also creates better shading of the soil which helps to reduce evaporation.

• Install a rain gauge or a weather app to track past and future rain.

• Check for lawn pests as their damage to the lawn roots can appear as a dry lawn. Pests such as African Black Beetle may damage your roots in Spring.

• Hydrophobic (water repellent) soils can be very common and may develop after hot weather or periods of low rainfall. If an area is patchy compared to the rest of your lawn, water this area thoroughly, dig a hole, if it stays dry you need to apply a wetting agent like Munns Professional Smart Wetter.

A newly planted lawn will take up to 12 months before it has established a deep enough root system to achieve its maximum drought tolerance.  Therefore, your lawn will require more watering during its first summer to enable it to develop to the fullest drought tolerant potential.

The amount of water required depends on:
• Soil type 
• Wind 
• Temperatures

Keeping the top 5cm moist at all times is the best way to achieve good germination. This generally requires 4 waterings per day if no rain, with a fine hose attachment so you don't wash the seed away or into clumps, keeping the top 2cm moist at all times.