You can have a lush lawn and water twice a week — or less — during the heat of the Texas summer.
The North Texas Municipal Water District offers these tips to conserve water and keep your lawn healthy.
1. Know when to water. Sign up with WaterMyYard.org, or with your city, for recommendations on when and how much to water your lawn.
2. Avoid the heat of the day. This is good advice for you and your sprinklers. Water before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. to minimize evaporation.
3. Cycle and soak. If your sprinkler system requires a long runtime or you have compacted clay soils, try the cycle and soak method. Run your sprinklers in short cycles and wait 30-45 minutes in between to allow your grass to absorb water and reduce runoff.
4. Water the lawn, not the lane. Regularly check and adjust irrigation heads on your sprinkler system to ensure they are not watering your driveway, sidewalk, or street.
5. Mow less. Let your grass grow taller. Then, raise the mower blade height to cut the top third of the grass blade to conserve water, reduce plant stress, and stimulate healthy root growth.
6. Connect. Cities have different watering restrictions along with free programs like irrigation inspections for their residents.
A vibrant yard often needs less water than you think. In fact, watering too much or at the wrong time can cause lawn problems. Watering wisely not only extends our water supplies during frequent Texas droughts, but is also critical to meeting future water demands.
Find more water saving tips at www.NTMWD.com.
