“Summer weather” is in the forecast for the early part of the week, and people are questioning: “is it time to start watering the lawn?”
With the cool days and much cooler nights we’ve had recently, there hasn’t been much need to water lawns or landscapes. That may change with temperatures in the upper 70’s and 80’s Monday and Tuesday!
As of early April most of Southern New England is experiencing a rainfall deficit of at least 6” and the U.S. Geological Survey considers us to be in severe to extreme drought conditions.
Unfortunately other than a chance for showers in the next couple days there is no sign of significant rain to help us out of drought or to give our lawns and landscapes the good soaking they would love to have right now.
Your lawn may benefit and actually need a watering this week. BUT, summer heat for a couple days NOT mean it’s time to set sprinklers to water the lawn every day. Drought conditions are already causing some rivers and streams to run at below normal levels for this time of year. Without precipitation soon, there is a good chance we will see early season restrictions on outdoor water use.
On average, lawns need about 1” of water per week. If you give the lawn a good soaking, give it another few days, check the forecast for showers and then decide on whether it actually needs watering. Cooler weather returns Wednesday and lessens heat stress on grass.
The exception to the watering rule is if you have seeded this spring, or if your lawn was newly seeded last fall and the turf-grass plants have not fully established deep rooting. New seed needs light watering every day for 21 days to ensure all the grass seeds germinate. The young turf just establishing from last fall, might need watering every few days only because the roots are still very young and have reached deep into the soil yet.
So, make your watering decision based on how your lawn looks, what the precipitation forecast is, and with concern for saving water during our early season drought!
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