The Proper Amount of Water

The excessive amount of rain in Gainesville these past months has caused grief and heartache for three homeowners in my neighborhood.  The reservoir area behind their home is flooded and running into their yards leaving their soil constantly saturated.  The lawn of one homeowner, sadly, is dying.  I am not sure if the grass is dying from a fungus or from the roots not getting enough oxygen.  Watching these lawns struggle I ask the question, "what happens when a lawn gets too much water and how much water does it need?"  According to Trenholm, Unruh, and Cisar (2006), too much water can cause a poor root structure, a build up of thatch, and can cause the turf to become susceptible to fungus and insect infestation.  I am sure that I am among many friends when I say that I have had problems with bugs and fungus in my yard this season.  Although the excess water has been due to rain this season, during dry weeks when homeowners over irrigate their lawn are actually inviting fungus and insects to live in their lawn.  This brings me to the second half of my question, how much water does a lawn need?  The short answer is it depends.  It depends on the type of grass you have and how hot it is.  Some of the signs you can look for in your lawn to know when it needs water are when the leaf blade will fold in half, the grass will turn a green gray color, and the grass will not pop back up immediately after walking on it.  During our next dry spell instead of turning your sprinkler system back on to automatic timer, try watching your lawn to give you the signs that it needs water.  Give it a good soak only when your grass is ready for a drink and know that you are helping it resist those pesky insects and fungus. 

           
Watering Your Florida Lawn
 

The tire tracks from the lawnmower show how saturated this ground is.

This homeowner mowed his lawn over a week ago.  There has not been any new growth and many of the blades have turned brown. 

 

Reference:

Trenholm, L.,Unruh, J., & Cisar J. (2006). Watering Your Florida Lawn. Retrieved form University of Florida, Gainesville, IFAS Extension website: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/lh025