Water Wise Advice
Quite often I’ve written about how to water a Florida lawn and landscape. But in today’s article, I want to do something a little different. I want you to read the following personal opinions from someone else in North Florida that I believe is on track with her information on this topic of lawn and landscape irrigation.
The following is provided by Jody Walthall, co-owner and landscape designer at Native Nurseries in Tallahassee. Jody shares her personal experience of living in Tallahassee for over fifty years. Her recommendations apply to established plantings, not to new plantings which aren’t established yet. Keep in mind that much of Tallahassee has better soils as compared to most of Okaloosa County but much of her ideas can be adapted to our area.
Lawns and shrubs are often watered incorrectly, both too frequently and too lightly. Watering too often may create a damp environment perfectly suited for fungal diseases. It’s better to water lawns and shrubs less frequently so that they develop deeper roots that enable them to better utilize soil water.
When you water, apply ½ to ¾ inch of water if your soil will accept it without the water running off the surface. Measure the amount of water applied with small cans such as tuna fish cans. The water should soak deeply, encouraging roots to grow down deep. If you water lightly, the water stays near the surface and roots do too, becoming very vulnerable during the next dry spell.
For established lawns I suggest watering no more than once every week to two weeks. The general rule is to water only when the grass blades turn color to gray-green and visible footprints are left in the turf after you walk on it. As an example, I didn’t have to water my lawn even once this spring or summer and it looked great! Of course, we did have ample rainfall until this fall. Only recently did we begin to see the gray-green color in the lawn.
During a recent four-year drought, I watered our lawn sporadically, only when it looked extremely thirsty. The last year of the drought I accidentally let seventy five percent of the lawn die from lack of water. For a few months it was a total weed lawn. Did it matter? No, as soon as rains returned, the surviving pieces of St. Augustinegrass spread quickly and by the end of the next summer, the lawn was solid and beautiful with few weeds.
My mother’s lawn is the best example of lawn water needs. She has about an acre of centipede lawn. Only a small area close to the house is watered to keep it bright and green and this only during very dry times. How often do the far reaches of her lawn get watered? Never! She has lived in the house for forty-four years and the majority of the lawn has never been watered! It is a healthy lawn.
If you have an irrigation system, it should it be set on automatic. My heart aches when I see sprinklers spewing water during a thunderstorm or even as recently as a week after a good rain. If you have an automatic system I hope you will only operate it manually and infrequently.
There is nothing wrong with having an irrigation system. It certainly simplifies watering chores but we need to water wisely.
Larry Williams
Extension Agent, Horticulture
