How Often Do I Water My Turf?
To ensure that the roots develop a deep root system well it is better to apply one deep watering in lieu of frequent shallow watering.
Water requirements for an established lawn are considerably less that what is required during the establishment period, particularly with Sir Walter as it has one of the lowest water requirements for any turf grass.
In an average Sydney summer you should apply 2-3 deep waterings a week and 1 per week in winter depending on conditions.
Once the lawn is full established in about 12 months, one deep watering of 15mm in summer should be sufficient each week – use a plastic container or rain gauge under the sprinkler to estimate how long it takes the sprinkler to apply 15mm.
Avoid watering in the evening and at night as the lawn will remain wet and this can encourage fungus and disease – the best time to water is early morning when less water will be lost through evaporation.
Sydney Water generally authorises drip irrigation systems to be used during times of water crisis. Drip irrigation can be installed under lawns and the following important points should be considered:
- Drip emitters should be spaced no more than 30cm apart
- “Rootguard” drip lines which contain a root inhibitor known as Treflan should be used to stop the roots of the turf from invading the drip emitters.
- Timers should be used to automatically switch off the irrigation as it is easy to forget that the system is on when you can’t see the drip emitters operating
- Drip emitters which discharge 2.3 Litres per hour spaced at 30cm apart will apply 15mm of irrigation in 0.5 hours.
Further details about drip irrigation systems can be found by contacting Hawkesbury Valley Irrigation on 1300 776 222 or visiting www.hvi.com.au
Watering Tips For Your Lawn/Lawn Tips & Watering
by Nigel Ruck
Now I cannot emphasise enough how important it is to water your lawn straight away as soon as you’ve got it down
If you don’t water it it will dry out and start turning brown and look very nasty…
… and if you’re doing a large area don’t wait till it’s all finished start watering it once you’ve got a few meters down because that first hour in the Sun is critical
Make sure you water methodically thoroughly soaking each square meter before moving on to the next section.
The surface soil must be kept moist until the roots of the turf have established.
To test later on, try to lift a corner of the turf if it holds well it’s established if it comes away in your hand it needs more time.
This is also the way to determine whether the lawn is established enough to be mown, this can take between 1 to 8 weeks depending on location and the time of year.
The amount of water your lawn will need will depend on local conditions.
A good idea is to leave a towel out on the lawn for the first few days when the tail dries, out your lawn will immediately need more water.
It’s critical for the first few days and move the towel around just so you don’t do any damage to the lawn.
It’s important that your lawn receives regular waterings and is prevented from drying out for the first six weeks, or at least until it has be mown twice by which time it should be well established.
Now remember less frequent deeper soakings are the way to go because that’ll encourage good strong deep roots which is what every lawn owners should strive for.
If your lawn becomes slightly patchy four to six weeks after installation it’s usually due to extreme weather or lack of correct watering during early establishment.
Now, there’s not a lot you can do if this occurs except give it some time and it will return to normal.
Once it’s established, watering can be cut right back.
Sir Walter lawns in most parts of Australia hardly need any regular watering to keep alive once established except in really sandy locations such as Western Australia where weekly watering will be required.
Don’t forget when it comes to watering always check and comply with any local water restrictions or better still if you haven’t done so already install a rain tank.