How to Water your Lawn Less and Still Have Plenty of Green

Picture a neighborhood of expansive green manicured lawns. Listen, in your mind, to the sprinklers hissing on an early summer’s morning. This scene conjures up a feeling of prosperity and security. But wait . . . is this ideal lawn realistic or even desirable? Think about what it takes to keep this green monster picture perfect. In the summer growing season, lawns suck up over half of the potable water used. While green lawns make our neighborhoods more livable – a little green can go a long way. Remember, pertaining to grass – less is more.

Let’s do the numbers. The average lawn needs one inch of water per week. If you have a 1/5 of an acre of lawn, as the average American does, you have almost 9,000 square feet to water. We know that it takes .62 gallons of water to cover one square foot of turf with one inch of water. This means that your 9,000 square foot lawn is using 55,000 gallons of water per week. This is 34,000 toilet flushes, 2,200 loads of laundry and 110,000 cool glasses of water. This is if you are only watering one inch per week. If you have an automatic irrigation system – you may water twice this amount and not even realize it.

Why not keep some green and let the rest of your lawn go brown? Pick out a small section of lawn that you and your family use daily and apply your one inch a week rule to this area. Bordering this small lawn with a perennial bed of drought tolerant plants is a plus! Since our maritime climate allows our lawns to stay green most of the year, the rest of the lawn can take a siesta during the summer months. Here are some hints:

Make sure your lawn is in good shape. Newly seeded lawns should not be allowed to go dormant. Make sure your lawn is established. Aerate the lawn to rid it of thatch build up. Check with the WSU extension office, www.extension.org/horticulture, to determine the needs of your particular variety of grass.

Raise your mower blade. When the grass is still green and growing, mow with a sharp blade set at a height of 3 – 3 1/2 inches. Longer grass will increase its drought tolerance and may allow the grass to stay greener longer.

Allow your grass to go dormant. When precipitation decreases in the summer, allow the lawn to go dormant. It may turn brown, but it will perk up to green with cooler fall temperature and rainfall.

Water enough to keep the grass alive. The rule of thumb is ½ inch of water every 2 – 3 weeks. Don’t forget to add in precipitation! Set up an inexpensive rain gauge to measure the rainfall your lawn is naturally getting. Don’t expect your grass to turn green.

Control weeds without herbicides. Dandelions may be awake while the lawn is sleeping. Pull weeds, roots and all, by hand. Dormant lawns don’t tolerate herbicides well.

Water deeply to jump start your lawn. The first rains will green up your lawn, but you can jump start this process by applying enough water to penetrate the root zone when temperatures cool down.

Enjoy some green lawn this summer, but let the rest take a nap. You may be able to enjoy some extra time in the hammock, too.