A nice healthy lawn is expensive and takes a bit of water. I wish there were a plan for making a nice, green lawn super easy, but it doesn’t exist. Many people say it’s easy, with lots of water and lots of nitrogen, but that is not a sustainable plan. If having a nice lawn were easy, everyone would have one. The good news is if you take time to educate yourself and take these steps (or hire a professional), you can have a nice lawn without spending too much or using too much water.
Install A Smart Controller Using Jain Unity Software
Smart irrigation controllers have built-in water-saving features that adjust sprinklers’ run times based on the local weather conditions. Smart controllers help provide a healthy lawn, beautiful landscape while reducing water use. Jain Unity calculates 17 weather variables every hour to ensure you are watering the proper amount. The result is a considerable decrease in water use. You can have a lawn and save water at the same time.
Convert Your Spray Irrigation System To A Dual Spray And Drip System
Almost all lawns are watered with spray heads or rotating sprinklers. You can add a manual valve to your current irrigation system and install a drip system for your turf for a reasonable investment. This way, during the times of the year, you need to put down lots of water in a hurry; you have a spray system, and during the majority of the year, you can water your turf with drip emitterline saving thousands of gallons of water.
A drip system is often more than 90% efficient for getting water to your turf. Spray systems are often 50% efficient, meaning you have to apply twice as much water with a spray head to get the same result as watering with emitterline. This is primarily due to overspray, evaporation, and wind drift. If you are unsure here is an amazing article from Michael Derewenko that talks about converting your old sprinkler system to drip irrigation.
Test Your Soil
A soil test will tell you exactly what to apply to your soil, when to apply it, and how much. This article explains how to complete a soil test the right way. A good test will provide step-by-step instructions on what your soil needs to support a good healthy lawn. These tests should not cost more than $75 and will save you time and money during the year because you will be applying the right fertilizer at the right time instead of guessing.
Rake The Lawn
This is a simple and often overlooked step to take in the spring. When you clear away dead and dying grass, more light and water reach your healthy lawn, stimulating growth. After an intense winter you would want to rake your lawn, here is an article from fitturf.com that could help you understand the best way to rake your lawn.
Aerate The Soil
Aerating the soil accomplishes several outcomes wanted for a good healthy lawn. Aerating extracts cores of soil from the ground. This allows for water to penetrate your soil more efficiently, reduces soil compaction, improves root expansion. If you seed your soil, it will enable better penetration and higher germination rates for the seed. This is an easy step that pays back all season long.
You can take other steps to improve your lawn and reduce the amount of water it uses. However, these five steps tend to make the most significant improvements in the quickest time. They are a great starting place, and chances are you will have a beautiful lawn all year long while saving water and not needing to take any additional steps.