Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We overseeded earlier in the spring, so I’m still watering every few days when we don’t get rain. So sense in letting the new grass/clover die so soon.

It's already established, if you keep watering it like that it will have very shallow roots and be very drought-sensitive. Then you really will have to water.

PP here- so how long does it need to be watered after seeding? When is it considered “established”? I’m not watering every day by any means- I ran the sprinkler yesterday as it hasn’t rained since the weekend. Probably didn’t help that we seeded in a couple shifts- initially in late March but then a few patches in mid-April where the birds had eaten it all.

That’s plenty long enough. It’s fine. Keep an eye on it. If it starts to look like it’s struggling, water it deeply (put a tuna can out on the grass and run the sprinkler until there is an inch inside - like an hour probably) once/week. Frequent, shallow watering is just for when it is seeds and tiny sprouts. It has roots just like the tops of the grass now. So shallow watering won’t encourage the roots to go down deeper, which is what you want.

Yeah I'm just doing the once a week deep watering when we don't get rain and it's been fine so far.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no rain till next Mon...

Ha I was just about to say the same thing. Should we really let our lawns go dormant in May? Seems like it has been a dry spring.

We haven't watered and the lawn is not dormant.

Give it another week with temps in the 90s and let us know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We water everyday with a goal of an inch of water a week.

Do you understand why infrequent and longer is better than short, daily watering? Do you not care?

As long as my lawn looks immaculate I’m fine.

Everyone is making fun of you though.

Oh well. What they think is not my concern.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We water everyday with a goal of an inch of water a week.

Do you understand why infrequent and longer is better than short, daily watering? Do you not care?

As long as my lawn looks immaculate I’m fine.

Everyone is making fun of you though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We water everyday with a goal of an inch of water a week.

Do you understand why infrequent and longer is better than short, daily watering? Do you not care?

As long as my lawn looks immaculate I’m fine.

Yes you are. Stop. It's wasteful and your neighbors think you're a douche.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no rain till next Mon...

Ha I was just about to say the same thing. Should we really let our lawns go dormant in May? Seems like it has been a dry spring.

We haven't watered and the lawn is not dormant.

Our rachio waters as needed and it's once a week. We also water one a day for a short time to wash off dog patches

Anonymous wrote:wait, people water their lawns in DC?

It depends where you live, of course. Some boutique neighborhoods in Chevy Chase have homes where the norm is to look perfect 365 days a year so, yes, they water all the time. Always Instagram ready! I live in chain link Silver Spring and I don't think I've seen anyone water their grass on my block in the last five years.

Anonymous wrote:no rain till next Mon...

Ha I was just about to say the same thing. Should we really let our lawns go dormant in May? Seems like it has been a dry spring.

wait, people water their lawns in DC?

no rain till next Mon...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We overseeded earlier in the spring, so I’m still watering every few days when we don’t get rain. So sense in letting the new grass/clover die so soon.

It's already established, if you keep watering it like that it will have very shallow roots and be very drought-sensitive. Then you really will have to water.

Exactly and turf grass has short roots anyway. This is a huge waste of time and effort because it will mat and be insanely high-maintenance. They should focus on shading the lawn and taking care of the trees which will shade the lawn and reduce the heat/sun stress of the grass. We bought a house where someone kept watering and watering and it is a royal PIA to rehab the sections we aren't replacing with lower maintenance plantings.

Really, though, the grass should be allowed to go dormant or shrunk and planted with more useful plants that are less wasteful of resources. Watering lawns is incredibly wasteful.

1st PP here- I'm not sure why my post was so offensive. We don't have a large yard and no room for more trees, plus I have a vegetable garden in half the yard so don't want more shade than we already have! The only time we water the lawn is when trying to germinate/establish new seed. Honestly I probably did it more than needed this year because I was home and because I've found seed to dry out pretty quick in years past. Wanted it to actually take hold this time. We were having some issues with mud and soil erosion because the weeds that had taken over have poor roots and die back in the winter so it was bare soil. Believe me its better with native fescues and clover growing well. I'm sure you have a great meadow though.