Do any of you water your lawn? If so is it an inground system, or just a sprinkler on a hose? And how long do you leave them on for?

 

Would be nice to have an in-ground system, but use a couple sprinklers right now. Usually 1-1/2 to 2 hours before moving it. Try to do it early in the morning.

 

I have one that just attaches to a garden hose. Its an Eaton (made in the USA) and it works pretty well.
This spring I planted a Japanese cherry tree in my yard, and I used it a lot then. Normally I dont water my yard. The less it grows, the less I have to mow it.
Octane

 

It's best to water your lawn in big soaking sessions rather than tease it with a drizzle. Soak it good enough so it doesn't need watering again for at least 2 more days. Don't water in the evening else you invite fungus. Not mushrooms and toadstools, the athletes food of the lawn kind that you'll never get rid of. It may not kill your lawn, but it will make it look bad.

 

on the contrary, I would water in the evening. watering in the morning and afternoon invites the sun to bake your grass until it is well done. Fungus? I have never, ever, ever had that problem in Missouri. Maybe it's a regional thing? I have no idea, but evening allows time for the water to go into the ground and get off of the blade of grass to discourage amplification of sun rays to your grass.

Ryan

 

I think fungus is more of a problem if you pay to have your lawn cut, the landscapers carry the spores on their mowers from job to job. I deep water my lawn anytime the sun isn't directly shining on the grass. Deep watering promotes deep healthy roots.

 

I have to pay for watter now, so I hate paying to water my grass. There was a section of yard that needed to get reseeded, so I had to water a part of the yard. oddly enough, with the lack of rain, thats the only area in my yard that is green now.
FWIW I used a hose a sprinkler and a digital timer would water for a 1/2 hr once at 7 am and 5 pm

 

That reminds me, I forgot to water my neighbor's plants.

Dang it.

 

I designed and installed my in-ground system about 5 years ago. I have busted a few sprinkler heads, but other than that, no problems. I have 9 stations and usually run them 40 minutes each.
Dono

 

We used to drag hoses around, after fighting with an ant infestation for a few years, we now have a nice in ground system. This is way easier and resulted in the ants moving next door.

 

I put my system in myself. Of course, I kind of do that (and landscaping) for a living I have a relatively small lawn, so I decided to use all 4" pop spray heads instead of any rotors.

Around these parts it is advisable not to water in the early evening, right after the sun has gone down. Certain times of the year, especially hot stagnant nights can encourage fungus growth. This is more of a problem in shady lawns than ones that get full sun. It also is not a good idea to water in the middle of the day, and in a lot of areas there are restrictions on that. A good example of the typical lawn in this area would be to start the sprinklers around 2-4am. This gives all the zones time to run before the sun really comes up. A rotor zone typically runs from 30-60 minutes depending on coverage, nozzles, volume and most importantly, weather conditions. A spray zone typically runs 15-20 minutes. I usually set the large open zones to come on first and the shady spray zones to come on last.

There are no set rules anywhere on what is adequate. I do not want to see the sprinklers on more than twice a week even in the driest, hottest times. Water deep and infrequently. Go easy on the nitrogen during periods of heavy growth. Laying down a lot of nitrogen often increases the need for water and increases the chance of pests and fungus finding a home in your yard. Now this is in Florida, but I am guessing the guidelines are not all that different elsewhere. As for commercial cutters dragging fungus around, I can tell you that is not the norm. Around here a fungus outbreak is usually isolated to a specific area of similar lawns and they are rare. I have not seen a good one in more than ten years.

 

For the back yard, I have a redneck sprinkler system- two rainbirds spliced into the same section of hose. Since I could run the hose under the decks, it looks OK, and they get the whole yard. I water about an hour twice a week now that the hot weather is here. (finally) I always water in the evening- we get the morning sun on the back lawn, so daytime watering just seems to evaporate.

I use the hose for the front- a little bit of a hassle, but not bad (hose cart helps a lot).

Fungus in lawns? Never seen that- but Keith, I've got something funky going on with my front maple tree. Leaves are kind of yellowish around the edges instead of the usual dark green.

 

I'm no maple expert, we have them, but they are not all that common. Is it isolated to one side of the tree or is it pretty uniform? First thing that comes to mind would be a Verticillium wilt. Although, if it is only some yellowing, I would have to think it was something else. What has the rainfall in the area been like over the last 5 years or so?

 

I water my lawn to keep it looking good. I have to poison mine every yr since my neighbors don't take care of the weeds & crabgrass in theirs. I hate to have to water it. Our city just doubled our water rates.I will say that my lawn is looking great this yr. I think a dark green lawn looks good. I use 4 spinning sprinklers & can do my lawn in 2 moves of the sprinklers. I soak it about twice a week.

 

Living in Florida, if you want any kind of lawn at all, you HAVE to water. I have an inground system, and if it doesn't rain for a while, I will water 3X a week, for about an hour each zone. I have reclaimed water, so it's a lot better using that than treated drinking water, not to mention it's better for the lawn.