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My lawn was half dead until I stopped watering it every day
I moved into this house in Phoenix about 18 months ago and the grass out front was this sad yellow-brown mess. I was out there with the hose every morning before my shift started, thinking more water would fix it. After 6 months of that and my water bill hitting $120, I figured I was doing something wrong. A guy at the nursery told me I was basically drowning the roots and that deep water once a week would actually make the grass grow deeper and stronger. I switched to that schedule last spring and within about 3 weeks the whole yard turned dark green and thick. Now I barely touch the sprinkler and the grass looks better than any of my neighbors. Has anyone else here overwatered their lawn thinking it was the right move?
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samward8d ago
Man I gotta say this is one of those things where I see it totally different. What works in Phoenix is gonna kill grass in a lot of other places. I live in the Pacific Northwest and if I only water once a week during summer my lawn turns into a crisp in about four days. Our soil holds water way different than that desert sand you got out there. Plus the heat is a whole other animal - in Phoenix you're fighting evaporation rates that are insane so deep soaking makes perfect sense. Where I'm at the grass stays damp from morning dew half the year anyway. I think people just need to figure out what their specific grass type and local climate actually needs instead of following one rule for everybody.
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the_stella8d agoMost Upvoted
Wait wait wait - you only water once a week in the Pacific Northwest and your lawn turns into a crisp in four days?! That is wild to me because I always figured that part of the country stays damp enough that you barely have to water at all. You're telling me the morning dew isn't enough to keep things green through summer over there?
I guess that makes sense though, cause everyone always talks about how different the soil types are across the country. Desert sand versus that heavy clay or loam you guys have up there, it's like comparing apples and oranges. Maybe the real takeaway here is that we all need to just look at what our own grass is telling us instead of trying to copy some guy from Arizona.
Seriously though, the idea of grass getting crispy in four days in the PNW sounds almost wrong to my ears. But I guess that's just how it works when you're not getting the ocean influence or something.
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