All turf grasses are the same!?  What?   Sure, they are varying shades of green and they all require air, water and minerals to complete their growth cycles.

Every field of turf grass is unique because of the underlying soil.  Every field will take different amounts of Air, Water and Minerals to grow and live because the chemical, biological and physical makeup of the soil will not be consistent from field to field, let alone from area to area.  Watering smartly requires a closer look into the situation and it is therefore important that a water conscious field manager, homeowner or landscaper will make extra efforts to find out just how much water a particular field or area requires to have normal growth.

Mineral levels and organic matter in the soil limit the water holding capacity of the soil.  Sandy soils will not hold water like a clay soil, but a compacted clay soil many not hold water at all and may thus require more frequent waterings than the sandy soil.  Even some sandy soils develop impermeable layers which won’t allow water to percolate downward more than 2”.  Clay soils may plug up too in the same manner.

Perfect soils only exist in laboratory conditions.  The turf manuals may say that your type of grass requires “X” inches of water per week to the roots.  The question is – how much water do you have to put on your yard to get the necessary “X” inches down to the roots??  And further, how do the weather conditions affect the watering and where does the temperature fit in??  Watering smartly requires more than just reading a turf manual.

A good water  management plan for a field will include efforts designed to answer the above questions.  The best way to get started is to dig a few holes 10” deep and see what is down there.  Watering smartly includes a look at the soil at the different depths:  is it loose or hard, wet or dry, does it smell, does the consistency change as you look deeper?  Look at the roots; are they white and vigorous or brown and brittle?  Are they deep or shallow or are they even there??  Note what the weather is, did it rain or did you water and how much.  Then dig holes again in a week and compare what you see to what you saw previously.  Does it need water?  You have to be the judge.  You will learn about your field and how to water smartly by digging holes and looking at what you’ve dug up.  You’ll eventually learn to judge when to water and how much is needed by just probing your soil with a sharp rod or stick. You’ll also figure out how dry the top ½” can be while the underlying soil will still contain adequate moisture. Your field is unique.  Learn to understand it and you’ll be able to maintain adequate water and still have a nice field while being thrifty with the budget.

The key to watering smartly is to understand that plants require oxygen to live!  The oxygen is key because it is providing life to the microbes in the soil as they are breaking down minerals for the plant to uptake.  The microbes in the soil are living organisms and require air and water to live and do their work.  Water moving through the soil pulls air down after it (gravity working) and thus soil porosity is terribly important to this whole business of growing grass.  Too much water cuts off the air and the plant will smother.  Disease sets in and chemicals are needed to kill the diseases which were caused by too much water.  Too much air causes a similar situation in that the soil and plants dry up and die. If one considers the bacteria (living organisms) in the soil to be like cattle, it is easier to understand what is going on in the soil and how the system works.

Watering smartly means understanding how the water moves through your soil.  If you have the basics in hand, you can move on to correcting mineral levels, adding the correct fertilizers and worrying about mowing heights and how thatch is created!!  Then as you tie all of these parts of the puzzle together, your field will begin to use water differently as it becomes more mature and healthy.  Mother Nature never sits still!!  You shouldn’t either!!