One of the most frequent questions I receive revolves around water quantity and timing for cool-season grasses.

Most homeowners use the “set-and-forget” methodology. They will set their timer for 10 minutes each night, and the sprinklers will go off, rain or shine. You can most definitely have too much of a good thing.

When it comes to water, this approach often ends up doing more harm than good. Over-watering will create weak turfgrass that is heavily susceptible to disease. Having a green lawn in the Midwest doesn’t mean having a massive water bill when you follow a few key steps.

The rule of thumb for cool-season turf is 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week. This includes rainfall! How do you know how much water your lawn has received for the week? For rainfall, you can’t go wrong with a plastic rain gauge. Check it after each rain and record how much you have gotten for the week.

As far as your sprinkler, this will take a little more creativity. I would suggest setting up empty cans or Tupperware around the sprinkler. Turn on the sprinkler and see how long it takes to reach a depth of 0.5 inches or 1 inch. This will help create a baseline. If it takes 30 minutes to reach 0.5 inches, then 1 hour will reach 1 inch, and so on.

Now that we have the amount under control, when do you water? The ideal time to water is from 4:00 AM to 9:00 AM for a few reasons. The winds are typically the calmest, and the water pressure is the highest. Also, the plant and soil are able to absorb the majority of the water before the sun hits it, and it evaporates.

Why not in the evening, you might ask? The greatest factor in turf disease is moisture. Watering at night will leave the grass wet for up to 12 hours, creating a Petri dish environment that is ripe for disease to take over.

The last step is the frequency. Do you water every day for short periods of time, or twice a week for longer? The ideal frequency is deep and infrequent. Watering frequently makes your grass a little spoiled. They exert all of their efforts into growing upwards and not building deep roots to search for water. Deep watering gives your plants a lot more resilience if you have to skip a week or if you are not allowed to water.

To recap: Sticking to 0.5 to .75 inches of water 2 times a week in the early morning will keep your cool-season grasses happy and healthy! Next time you see your neighbor's sprinklers going off during a rainstorm, pass on these tips and tricks. You can help your neighbor increase the health of their lawn and maybe save a few bucks on their next water bill!