Irrigating your Florida Lawn

Irrigation is the most important component of turfgrass health. Too much water and disease (fungus) will kill your precious lawn. Too little water and the turf will become a prime target for a hostile takeover by weeds and insects.

Turfgrass irrigation needs are the most important and also the most difficult to maintain. If possible, hire an irrigation contractor to set up your system and make sure everything is working properly. The irrigation contractor will know how to inspect the system to ensure proper coverage (make sure you do not set the timer to overwater the lawn. 2-3 x a week, 30 minutes is sufficient for turf; make sure you adjust to the season and use a rain sensor). If you prefer the DIY approach, find a good irrigation supply company and ask them for advice. Furthermore, your local IFAS extension may be willing to do a free irrigation inspection for you.

The great thing about having a lawn is that it is a lot like having a garden. If you have ever had a garden then you know how important it is to keep an eye on things. You know how quickly things can take a turn for the worse if not addressed at the first sign of trouble. When it comes to irrigation, there is no substitute for “boots on the ground.”

The good news is that your grass will tell you when it needs water. Do you see dry looking areas? Is the grass crunchy when you walk on it? Are the blades cupping or curling upward? These are dead giveaways that your lawn needs water. I am constantly looking at my sprinkler heads and making sure that they are working properly because it seems like the slightest disturbance causes some cosmic imbalance that will prevent water from getting to the turf. In other words, keep an eye on things. Look for signs of drought stress and get the irrigation working properly right away.

IRRIGATION, IRRIGATION, IRRIGATION

Irrigation is the most important aspect of maintaining a healthy lawn. You can neglect every other aspect of a healthy lawn and be ok for awhile. However, if you neglect to give your lawn the right amount of water then you will not have a nice lawn. Irrigation is the most important component of lawn maintenance.

The first step is to determine how much water your lawn need. If the temperature is hot, you will need more water. Conversely if the temperature is low then you will need less. In the winter, the grass isn’t growing as much so water less. If you have a shady area, water less than a sunny area.

Once you know how much water you need, then you must check to see how much irrigation water is reaching the lawn. The best way to do this is to get about 12 jars and space them out in each zone. Run the irrigation for 15 minutes. Turn off the irrigation and dump the water collected in the jars into a large measuring cup. Divide the number of cups by the ounces collected. Then multiply that number by 4. This will tell you how many ounces of water each zone will get in an hour. Check the chart for your grass type and zone to see if you are getting optimal irrigation.

Also you need to make sure that you are getting adequate coverage. If some of the jars have less water than others, then that part of the lawn may not get enough water. You will need to inspect nozzles/sprinkler heads to ensure uniform coverage. You may need to replace parts to ensure uniform coverage.

As you work your way through each zone, check each nozzle and sprinkler. Visually watch as the water covers the various zones to see if you need to increase your coverage. If the irrigation system is not designed well, you may not be getting adequate coverage.

On most systems, each zone can be adjusted individually. If you have a sunny area, you can run the irrigation for longer periods. If you have a shady area, you can adjust that zone to run shorter. You can also program your system to run through multiple cycles. For example, you can run the program once, covering all the zones, and then have the system cycle through again (Program A,B,C, D).

Likewise, most systems allow for reducing or adding a percentage of run time based on the season. In other words, if you want to reduce your watering during the winter months, you can turn your seasonal adjustment setting to a lower percentage. In the summer, the setting is 100%. But in the winter, you can adjust the watering amount to 50% if the temperature is low and the grass is not growing very much.

Most importantly, DO NOT OVERWATER your lawn. Overwatering is the best way to kill your lawn. As a general rule, 2-3 times a week for 20-30 minutes should be enough. There may be hot, windy days with no rainfall and you may want to increase the irrigation. The grass will tell you when it needs it. Look for dry spots. Look for the curling of the leaf blade. If you see these signs, water it and the turf should improve. Conversely, in the Winter months you may only need to water once a week. It all depends on temperature/wind and rainfall.

NB: Not all dry spots are pests. Too many people confuse dry spots with pest damage and immediately treat the area for pests. Whenever it gets hot and dry, my St Augustine lawn begins to show dry spots, especially around the driveway and sidewalk. My wife always says, “looks like the chinch bugs are back.” Then miraculously after it rains or I water it, the “bugs” disappear. I have never found chinch bugs in my lawn and I have looked. 9/10 times the dry spots are due to lack of water. But always play it safe by scouting for insects/damage.