Best Time of day to water the lawn?

Woofstuff

What is the best time of day to water the lawn (garden as we call it).

Very unusual for us Irish to have to do this, but given the weather....

Thoughts and opinions welcome, poll above.

magicbastarder

no time, if you're in south tipp:

http://www.thejournal.ie/hosepipe-ban-south-tipperary-995873-Jul2013/

gramar

I live in Spain and have to water the lawn every summer.
People here do it either early in the morning or at sunset.

I've heard that watering at night is not a good idea as it can cause fungus growth and watering in the morning can cause burning if the lawn hasn't dried out before the sun is up so take your pick.

Personally I water at sunset as the water has longer to soak into the ground. Also the grass looks nice in the evening sun when the light reflects off the drops of water.

magicbastarder

trying to keep a green lawn in a climate like spain's sounds like a folly. much easier to just garden with what works...
does spain have water charges?

gramar

magicbastarder wrote: »

trying to keep a green lawn in a climate like spain's sounds like a folly. much easier to just garden with what works...
does spain have water charges?

There are water charges but where I live it's local spring water that is abundant so you can water to your hearts content for 35eur a year flate.
Not the standard situation but just lucky with where I live.
The lawn is about 200m2 so it's not huge and if there is no rain then I'll give it a good watering every two evenings or so.

vicwatson

Some ad on the radio at the moment that I think is for the AA, and in it they say we all know that the best time to water the garden is during the day - that was news to me as I always thought it was at dusk... and that's what I'd been doing !

redser7

Well I suppose the AA would be the experts on gardening so that's that one settled then

tara m

I start to water about 7.30pm at the moment - agree with gramar's advice. I would make sure it's done really well once, maybe twice a week. One thorough soaking is better than several quick goes over, so the water draws the roots down rather than up to the surface, where they just get baked more. Sprinkler is best, even and gentle flow, plus you can sit back in the deckchair and just move it about every so often...

almighty1

Has it got to a stage yet in Ireland that we need to water the lawns. I thought the general consensus was the grass will recover quickly once there is a drop of rain.

I did pose this question in a separate thread but it didn't garner much interest.

redser7

almighty1 wrote: »

Has it got to a stage yet in Ireland that we need to water the lawns. I thought the general consensus was the grass will recover quickly once there is a drop of rain.

I did pose this question in a separate thread but it didn't garner much interest.

I suppose it depends on the lawn. Better quality ones will deal with the lack of water better.

fryup

^^^^^^^^^^

but for how long?? my font side lawn has been golden brown for a week now...i've water it but no signs of revival...will i have to re-sow??

mike65

Anyone who is wasting water on the lawns deserves to be cut off (and will be once the new regime comes in!). The grass in your lawn is not dying or dead. We're in Ireland not Kansas, there won't be a dust bowl - it ain't going to blow away.

redser7

fryup wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^^

but for how long?? my font side lawn has been golden brown for a week now...i've water it but no signs of revival...will i have to re-sow??

It will be severely damaged but grass is very tough, you'll just have to wait and see. I think there are thunder storms and some rain due next week??

gramar

fryup wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^^

but for how long?? my font side lawn has been golden brown for a week now...i've water it but no signs of revival...will i have to re-sow??

It'll be back. A couple of decent showers or rain will have it growing back.
You might have to take off the dry dead grass in the spring though with a rake to help the new grass come through better and avoid the lawn becoming uneven. I didn't do it this spring after the lawn dried out last summer when it wasn't watered.

almighty1

mike65 wrote: »

Anyone who is wasting water on the lawns deserves to be cut off (and will be once the new regime comes in!). The grass in your lawn is not dying or dead. We're in Ireland not Kansas, there won't be a dust bowl - it ain't going to blow away.

In fairness Mike, not everybody knows that their lawn will recover. You can understand their panic when they see their lawn burn up. Its about awareness.

magicbastarder

this is one of the reasons i'm trying to promote clover growth in my lawn; it's more drought tolerant than water.

redser7

magicbastarder wrote: »

this is one of the reasons i'm trying to promote clover growth in my lawn; it's more drought tolerant than water.

I beg to differ. NOTHING is more drought tolerant than water

vicwatson

redser7 wrote: »

Well I suppose the AA would be the experts on gardening so that's that one settled then

I think is for the AA

magicbastarder

redser7 wrote: »

I beg to differ. NOTHING is more drought tolerant than water

water evaporates in a drought!

redser7

It's still water

NIMAN

Heard some advice on the radio yesterday about cutting your lawn in this heat, basically said if cutting it to only take a small bit off.

Apparently if you crop it really tight then it could get scorched and damaged, whereas if you leave it higher and it gets burned, then you can cut that burned but off when the weather cools down and the grass further down will be fine.

dfbemt

mike65 wrote: »

Anyone who is wasting water on the lawns deserves to be cut off (and will be once the new regime comes in!). The grass in your lawn is not dying or dead. We're in Ireland not Kansas, there won't be a dust bowl - it ain't going to blow away.

Some people put a lot of work into their garden and want a nice green lawn to set it off.

Come the time, if people are willing to pay for their mains water and put it on their lawn, that is their prerogative. In fairness, environmentally aware gardeners should really have some form of rain water harvesting system in place and only use that water for all their gardening needs.

bmaxi

People tend to cut grass too short in hot weather, short grass loses moisture more quickly and encourages weed growth. The first shower of rain after this hot spell will reveal just how resilient grass is

My Potatoes

Lawn grass will survive for about six months after if goes yellow.