How much do you water your lawn? (Dallas: house, yard)

[akaistha]

Hello,
We are now getting ready to face our first full summer in Dallas and we had a question regarding the lawn watering.

We currently water our lawn 3 days a week. Each station head runs for 3 minutes and for 3 cycles. Do you think we are over watering? We have Bermuda grass in the front yard and St. Augustine grass in back yard.

Your inputs would be much appreciated.
Thanks, Amit

[Rakin]

I would watch my yard & soil. If it starts to look dry you need to increase the times which you probably do by now. Running 3 cycles I would go up maybe 2 minutes per station. Keep in mind not all stations need the same amount of water.

The south & west side of your home may need more than the east and north side. I treat each of my zones separately and very few of them are set for the same time.

Don't forget to give your trees a good solid drink of water at least once a week. I take my water hose and let it dribble on each tree for several hours until I know the ground is saturated. A little water & fertilizer can even make oak trees grow fairly fast.

It's tricky, don't over water but if you see the ground cracking or pulling away from the foundation you need to water more.

In TX you need to keep even moisture around your foundation.

[loves2read]

as Rakin said--yard's sun orientation makes a difference...StA generally takes more water--and be careful when you water--it can get mildew if you water at night

don't assume that your sprinkler heads are working right--especially if you are in house that is new to you--watch the cycle run--mark any heads that are not performing at full efficiency and then work station by station to repair them...sometimes it is pretty easy and sometimes you have to dig them out and bet some new parts...

run your cycles--then dig hole into your ground in several spots to see how far down the water went...if it did not go beyond surface...something is a problem