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Growing the lawn and garden you have always wanted requires watering correctly.

Knowing when to water, how much to water and for how long is essential to maintaining a quality lawn and garden. Improper watering can lead to excessive maintenance time, weed growth, disease outbreaks and wasted water.

Have a healthy green lawn and beautiful garden by following these proven methods!

The better way to water your lawn

• Save time and money by thinking about the weather and adjust your watering to match the weather forecast. Before turning on your sprinkler, ask yourself: has it rained in the past week? Will it be raining in the next few days?
• Don't worry if your grass turns slightly brown during the summer. Lawns naturally turn colour during hot dry spells — this is when the lawn goes into "dormancy." Lawns quickly recover when cooler and wetter weather returns.

• Water in the early morning to benefit your lawn and to make the most of your water.
• Don't water midday or you'll lose a lot of water to evaporation.
• Avoid night watering — leaving grass wet for extended periods of time can promote fungal disease outbreaks in your yard.

• Stop your sprinkler if water is running off your lawn.
• If your soil is no longer absorbing water, your lawn might be compacted. Consider aerating your lawn in the spring or fall to allow air, water and nutrients to reach the roots. See section 3.1 for information on aeration.
• Let it soak in — don’t apply water faster than your soil can soak it up.
• Newly planted trees and shrubs require deep watering once a week until they are established (usually one season).
• If you know your soil type, follow these rules of thumb:
  • Sandy soils can't hold much water, apply about 1.5 cm (½ inch) of water twice a week.
  • Clay soils are more compacted and need water applied slowly to allow time to soak in, so apply 2.5 cm (1 inch) of water once a week.

• Fix your leaking garden hose and connections.
• Direct the water where it's needed — keep it away from curbs or sidewalks.
• Use a broom to clean your driveway and sidewalk, not the hose.

Do you have an in-ground watering system?

Irrigation systems should not be operated in a 'set and forget' manner. Irrigations systems are often set to water every zone every night or every other night. This is too much water for any landscape. Consider having your system set to come on once or twice per week. Plants perform better with less water, providing more flowers and sturdier stems. When over-watered, plants can become weak and floppy. They flower less and may start to brown or yellow and may be more susceptible to fungus and rot.

Rain sensors are a simple add on that every irrigation system should have. Irrigation systems that are not fitted with a rain sensor will continue to run in a rain storm adding too much water to your landscape.

Sprinkler heads can easily be turned or misaligned so they are watering areas such as sidewalks and driveways. Make sure you monitor your system to avoid this problem.

Since most systems come on at night, it is often hard to find problems such as leaks or broken parts. Testing your system at least once a month is a great way to find if your sprinkler heads are misaligned, the pressure is not adjusted properly, or if you have leaks.

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