Texas Lawn Watering Recommendations  

Even with recent rain in College Station, Bryan, and NW Houston areas, lawns still need some attention as we approach summer heat. This week’s watering recommendation is to water twice for 0.5” per session unless you’ve received a good amount of rain. Keep an eye on your local weather. We have noticed some lawns dealing with dry conditions or hot spots, so we recommend checking in on your sprinkler system output before we reach the hot days of summer!

Measuring Sprinkler System Output 

Homeowners can easily check their sprinkler output by using the “Catch Can Test” to create DIY rain gauges. 

• Use containers with straight sides like empty tuna cans or cat food cans, and space them evenly around your lawn. If you have a rain gauge, even better! 
• Run your sprinklers for about 20-30 minutes. Actual runtimes vary depending on your system, but a good baseline for an output test is around 20-30 minutes per zone for popups and 40-50 minutes for Rotor heads. 
• When finished, use a ruler to measure the level of water collected in each can. 
• Add up all your water levels and divide the total by the number of containers used to get the average water level. 
• Multiply the average water level by 3 to calculate how many inches of water your sprinklers deliver in one hour. 

The Best Time of Day to Water 

Make sure to schedule your watering in the early morning. Watering in the morning rather than the afternoon will allow the water to soak into the lawn before it evaporates in the peak sun. Evening watering will leave the grass damp overnight which encourages lawn disease. We’ve started to notice more fungal issues like gray leaf spot. Most cases of leaf spot won’t cause long-term damage but it’s an eyesore on an otherwise healthy lawn. Catch and remove grass clippings where gray leaf spot is a problem and try to avoid evening watering! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns about your lawn.