Irrigation in Michigan : Make Sure You’re Watering Properly
One of the most misunderstood part of landscaping for home owners is irrigation. How much water they need to provide for their lawn to be a lush green instead of dead, brown spots everywhere. Unfortunately most home owners think that their lawns need lots of water to grow but actually by giving it too much water you can cause saturation and run up your water unnecessarily. In this article I’ll look at some tips on how to water your lawn properly and take care of your irrigation in Michigan problems.
Irrigation in Michigan : Make Sure You’re Watering Properly
One thing that you’ll need to keep in mind is that there may be ways for your lawn to get water that you’re not even aware of. For instance, if you have a water shed near your home it may cause the soil around it to have more moisture content. Testing the soil for moisture content is a great way to determine how much water you need for your soil.
In order to test the soil for moisture content you can get a variety of tests from local hardware stores such as Ace Hardware. But a good way to also check is by determining how long footprints or tire tracks from a mower are left behind. If the tracks and footprints are there for more than 30 minutes changes are the moisture content is wrong.
When is the Best Time to Water Your Lawn in Michigan?
The time when you water your lawn has a huge effect on how well the lawn grows. Watering during the hot hours of the day will sometimes cause the grass to wilt and burn the leaves of the grass. Also much of the moisture will not make it to the soil and will evaporate faster during the day. Early morning hours before daylight are best. Setting a sprinkler timer to water between 3 and 7 AM is the best time to water. You may want vary the time each day as well.
Should You Water Your Lawn Manually?
Lots of people water their lawn manually. But is is a good idea? You may be much better off if you don’t water the lawn manually. The reason is that you won’t be able to cover the lawn evenly. You’ll likely have some spots that have more water than others and the grass will develop like that as well. You could over saturate some areas and cause damage to the grass as well. If you decide to manually water the lawn make sure you use a sprinkler to evenly distribute the water. You can also get a sprinkler system installed for better irrigation in Michigan as well.
Keep a Check on Misdirected Sprinklers for Better Coverage
If you have a sprinkler system installed for irrigation in Michigan it’s a good idea to turn on the sprinkler from time to time and check the direction of sprinkler heads. Sometimes they can get misaligned and not provide water where it’s needed. There can be a lot of reasons why your sprinklers can be misaligned as well including being hit while mowing the grass, kids playing with them, animals biting at them, etc… There are lots of reason why they may be misdirected and it’s best for your landscaping in Michigan if you check them from time to time.
Make Sure You Cut Your Grass at a Length that Allows it to Grow Deep Roots
When getting your lawn mowed in Michigan make sure that the landscaper doesn’t cut it too short. When grass is cut really short they don’t root properly and it also doesn’t provide shade for the plant. This can cause the grass to let evaporation of the moisture occur more rapidly. The root system will not be deep as well causing the plant to wither more quickly.
Check for Leaking Sprinklers in your Yard
Another area that many owners do not check is the sprinkler heads leaking in their yards. Especially if you’ve recently planted flowers or done any sort of digging in your yard. Check for water leaks when the sprinklers are on and see if there are areas in the yard that are extremely moist. Sprinkler heads and piping are made from plastic so they can be damaged easily.