Irrigation Question

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Dchall_San_Antonio
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Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Grass Type: St Augustine
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Re: Irrigation Question

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » June 15th, 2017, 5:25 pm

There should be no runoff. If you have runoff then there might be a couple things you can do. Spray the lawn with 3 ounces of shampoo followed by 1/2 to 1 inch of irrigation or rain. Within 3 weeks you should notice the runoff issues are gone. If not then spray more shampoo. Another way to do that is to water up to the point of runoff and stop for 15 to 30 minutes. Let the moisture soak in and start the watering again. Repeat as necessary until you get the inch of water.

Evaporation is something that comes and goes on a daily basis. Three weeks ago we got an inch of rain. Two weeks ago we got 1/2 inch of rain. With cloudy days after that, it looked like my lawn would go until July without watering again. Now 2 weeks later the weather has changed. The grass is starting to look a little dryish. I'm going to watch it and may have to water again early next week. The weather we're getting right now is warm (mid 90s) with low humidity (38% at 4pm).

Okay now note that I am not following my own rules for watering. If I was following the program as I described it I would be watering every week no matter what unless I got rain. Well my rain was 2 weeks ago, so I should have watered a week ago and again this week. I will likely go 5 more days. Apparently my soil holds more moisture than my "rule" accounts for. Use the definition of deep and infrequent as a guideline. Watch your grass and work on stretching out the watering frequency. But if my friend in Phoenix can go 4-5 days at 115 degrees F, then then you should be able to go longer than that.

Fronta1
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Location: Michigan city, in
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Re: Irrigation Question

Post by Fronta1 » June 17th, 2017, 2:53 pm

It just goes to show that there are always going to be "experts" that come up with their own theories and present it as fact that aren't in line with basic, time tested methods. A good lawn carer, like a good anything, knows when to take advice and when not to. I'll stick with what I've read and heard from hundreds of sources rather than some overeducated person who overlooks common sense.

Fronta1
Posts: 87
Joined: June 14th, 2017, 3:29 am
Location: Michigan city, in
Grass Type: Tall fescue
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Re: Irrigation Question

Post by Fronta1 » June 17th, 2017, 3:08 pm

And remember, drought stress in moderation is exactly what you want. It means the grass is going to have to figure out where more water is, and if it doesn't find any at the top, it'll go deeper, which is exactly what will help it cope in the future.

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Jackpine
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Re: Irrigation Question

Post by Jackpine » June 18th, 2017, 6:18 am

Replenish/keep moisture in the root zone and you are golden.

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bernstem
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Location: St. Louis, MO
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Re: Irrigation Question

Post by bernstem » June 18th, 2017, 10:06 am

Re: Evapotranspiration and irrigation - http://aroundtheyard.com/index.php?opti ... Itemid=117 (this is getting a bit away from basic lawn care 101 stuff, but it is a good read if you want to go deeper)

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