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PostPosted: Mon May 06, 2013 10:50 am 
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I live in DFW, Tx and have just installed a new sprinkler system with rotary heads and have just laid down brand new St. Augustine sod. My irrigation expert recommended me watering 45 min. twice a day for each station. The grass company recommended watering only once a day. I ran the program my sprinkler man programmed for twice a day and now my yard in saturated and in only three days and the tips of my new grass are starting to yellow. Am I watering too much? The grass company had me lay down my starter fertilizer under the sod before it was planted. Could this be a problem? Any feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated.


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PostPosted: Mon May 06, 2013 6:57 pm 
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Yes you're watering too much. We have some folks here who are very good about answering lawn questions, and I suspect this has been answered before. Poke through the topics in the lawn section and see what you can find. The moderator, Dshall_San_Antonio turns up and answers a bunch of questions at a time. Until he turns up to answer more completely, stop with all of that water. Even the grass company is probably suggesting watering too much with the cooler weather we've had lately. I'd skip a couple of days then see if it needs it (but rain is forecast, so you maybe don't need to water again until next weekend.)

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PostPosted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 11:39 am 
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Northwesterner has my number. I am not as regular around here since the forum membership seems to have fallen off.

For brand new sod, the watering suggestion is the same as for brand new seed. That is to water 3x per day for 5-15 minutes each time depending on how much water your sprinklers put out. All you need to do is keep the bottom of the top of the turf moist so that the roots will knit into the underlying soil. Once you see the grass starting to grow, then you can back off on the frequency. Ideally you are shooting to water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means one inch all at one time. Infrequently means monthly in the cool months and transitioning to once weekly in the hottest heat of summer. If your grass dries out before the next 'scheduled' time, then water immediately but water deeper.

All this is suggestions to get you started. Once you are comfortable that your grass is okay, then you can tune up the regimen for your soil. The factors bearing on the watering are rain, heat, humidity, clouds, other shade, wind, soil type, soil depth, grass type, mowing height, organic matter, and some others that I always forget. Those are the biggies. I have tall (4 inches) St Aug grass on shallow limestone soil under fairly deep shade. During a normal San Antonio summer I water 3/8-inch per week. During a hot, dry summer I boost that up to 7/8-inch per week. For the last two summers we watered at 7/8-inch for a total of 8 weeks before the humidity returned and the grass did not need so much. Watch your grass for signs of dryness. Then water.

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PostPosted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 2:46 pm 
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Thanks so much for the reply's to my question. I backed off the amount of watering to only once a day for the first four weeks and my grass rooted and is now flourishing into a beautiful lawn. I have now cut it twice at 3" once a week. Now we are into stage 1 water restrictions, so I can now only twice a week, but luckily I also got some good rain storms twice that have given me an inch each time.

Bob W.


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 11:16 am 
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How many hours per week do they allow watering?

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PostPosted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 12:16 pm 
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I can only water on Wed. and Sat. and I cannot water between the hours of 10am and 6pm on my watering days. So, now I water at 6:30am for 45 mins. on each station (rotary sprinkler system) on my designated days. Part of my yard still requires to be hand watered and I do that before 10am and again after 6pm on my designated days.


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 9:25 pm 
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The summertime goal should be to water once per week and put enough water on to go seven days. Watering 2x per week should only be needed when heat is high and humidity is low.

Put out several cat food or tuna cans around the yard on the day you water. If your sprinklers do not fill the cans, then adjust the timing so they fill them. Start with that amount for the one day per week. If the grass looks dry before that, then water longer next time.

If you get runoff before the time is up, then you need to open up your soil. The way to do that is with any clear, cheap, shampoo. Spray the shampoo at a rate of 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. Then apply the one inch of water. Next week water normally. The following week repeat the shampoo treatment.

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