Are You Over-Watering Your Lawn? (2024)

FAQs

Are You Over-Watering Your Lawn? ›

When watering, never add so much water that it sits on the top of the soil. If it's not penetrating the soil, it's being watered too heavily or quickly. If your lawn feels spongy or squishy when you step on it, it means the soil is saturated (or over saturated). Standing water can be a breeding ground for insects.

Off-color or Discolored Grass

A big sign of overwatering grass is color – or rather lack of color. Your lawn should be a deep green color. But if it looks yellow, brown, or even pale in nature, it could be getting too much water.

Watering on a daily basis is not beneficial to your lawn. Too much water can be just as damaging to plants as too little water and the excessive irrigation will invite future disease problems. Dry soil is an indicator that the lawn needs more water. If the soil is dry, it is dehydrated and needs water.

If you're already overwatering your lawn, there are a few things you can do to fix the problem. First, try watering it less often. You might also want to water it for a shorter amount of time. Additionally, make sure you're using the right amount of water.

Weed Invasion

The weeds caused by overwatering, such as crabgrass (smooth and large), bluegrass, dallisgrass, and nutsedge, are the most difficult to control once established and can survive for many years. Lawns that have been weakened by insect activity or plant pathogens are more likely to be invaded by weeds.

The grass is wilting or turning yellow: This is a sign that the roots are not getting enough oxygen and are starting to suffocate. There is standing water on the surface of the soil: This can cause the roots to rot and lead to fungal diseases.

It is ideal to water lawns about one inch of water per week. To determine how long you need to water to get one inch, place a plastic container in your yard and set a timer. On average, it will take 30 minutes to get a half inch of water. So, 20 minutes, three times per week will give a lawn about an inch of water.

Sprinklers should be set to run for about 30 to 35 minutes at a time twice a week. Your goal is at least 1″ of water a week for your lawn.

The average system uses approximately 15-16 gallons per minute, per station. Here is an easy formula to help you calculate the approximate amount of water you are using each month.

Water Wisely

Lawn watering consumes nearly half of the water used by most homes during the warmest months of the year. Many of us water too often and too long. Most lawns need to be watered no more than three days a week in the spring as well as in the summer and two days a week in the fall.

Can you reverse overwatering? ›

The first step in saving your overwatered plants is to determine how badly they have been affected. If your plants are showing some yellowing but have not yet started to wilt, you can save them by beginning to water them properly. If wilting has started to occur, you will need to work harder in order to save them.

It's best to water lawns deeply and infrequently. About 1 inch per week is all you need. And if you've let it go dormant, there's no use trying to get it green again this summer.

Many customers equate a brown spot in their lawn as the lawn needing more water, when actually the opposite is what is often required. Too much water saturates the soil, filling up all the air space between the soil particles with water.

If you notice that you are having to pull up more weeds than usual, this could be a sign of overwatering. Irrigation Runoff – Take a look at the areas around the edges of your lawn immediately after watering. Runoff coming from your lawn is a sure sign that it is getting too much water.

Don't water your lawn daily.

Daily light waterings result in shallow roots that weaken the lawn and dry out fast. Watering deeply but less frequently isn't an excuse to save time; it will encourage your grass to develop deep roots.

Overwatering your lawn is actually worse than under-watering because it will cause more damage. An under-watered lawn will struggle and die, while an overwatered lawn will not only kill off your lawn, but can also ruin the soils underneath.

If the soil is wet, it's overwatered - if it's dry, it's underwatered. Browning edges: Another symptom that can go both ways. Determine which by feeling the leaf showing browning: if it feels crispy and light, it is underwatered. If it feels soft and limp, it is overwatered.

If your plant is dropping old and new leaves alike, you've likely overwatered. Remember that the shedding leaves can be green, brown, or yellow. 3. If the base of the plant stem begins to feel mushy or unstable, you've overwatered.

If footprints leave impressions on your lawn, then you have overly wet soil. Healthy lawns spring back instantly when walked on. Similarly, if your lawn feels squishy and spongy when you're walking on it, then it's a sign you're watering too much.