Maintaining Your Newly Renovated Lawn

Whether you started or renovated your lawn with seed or sod, the next step involves water -- and lots of it.

Seed needs to germinate. To germinate, it needs water. If a grass seed starts to germinate but then dries out, it's dead. Sod is nothing more than a layer on top of the soil until the roots grow. To grow, it needs water. And if it dries out too much, the edges will curl, and the grass at the seems will die.

So it's not only important that the newly seeded lawn is watered, it's important that the lawn doesn't dry out.

It's because of this need for water that fall and spring are the best and second best times to start a new lawn. Mother Nature takes care of most of the watering, so you don't have to pay for it. But if for some reason Mother Nature doesn't cooperate, or if you ust had to start your lawn in the summer, you'll need to water frequently. Maybe even more than once a day.

At this early stage, whether it's newly germinated seeds or freshly laid sod, the roots are shallow. Deep watering is a waste, and the surface can't dry out. The perfect conditions would involve Mother Nature providing some light rain twice a day, a slight overcast to keep the sun from heating things up too much, and little or no wind that could dry things out. And if this can continue for a week, your job is done.

If that's not what the weather is like, you need to keep an eye on the soil. Or more accurately, a finger. Check to make sure that the soil is moist, especially in the afternoon. As long as you're not causing errosion or mud puddles, it's hard to overwater that first week, but it's far too easy to underwater, and loose it all. If the soil dries, and germination does not occur, or if the freshly germinated sprouts dry out and die, you'll need to reseed. If you know that the lawn is going to dry out on a warm sunny day while you're at work, and investment in a timer is what's needed.

We can't continue this kind of watering forever. In many parts of the country, fungus can be a problem. Also, if you hit a dry spell, shallow roots will demand an incredible amount of sprinkling. If you started your lawn in fall, stop doing any extra watering after the second week. Don't worry about a thing until spring. When spring comes, let Mother Nature handle things until temperatures are warm, and it doesn't rain for a full week. That's when you can start watering again.

If you started in spring, your job is going to be a little harder. There may not be enough time before summer comes for those roots to grow deep enough. If you water for a shallow root system all summer, your lawn may not develop the deep roots it needs, and you'll still have a shallow root problem next summer. If you water as if the roots were deep enough, and they aren't, you may find your lawn will go dormant. If your lawn goes dormant, stop watering. Wait to see if it greens-up again when the fall rains and cooler weather come. If not, you'll have to seed again in fall. But I'm getting way ahead of our topic now. Let's get back to that fresh lawn.

Try not to mow the new lawn for at least three weeks. Hopefully you mowed the existing lawn short enough prior to any overseeding so it won't be too darn long after three weeks. And that's another good reason for starting in fall instead of spring. In spring, your existing lawn could be knee-high before even two weeks are done! In the fall, you'll have some top growth, but mostly your existing lawn will be working on it's roots. Avoid walking on the fresh lawn during these first three weeks, too.. The less you disturb the seedlings, the better.

If you're still having fairly warm days, or if you have a lot of birds that like to eat off the ground, you might consider spreading some straw over the new lawn. This helps keep moisture from evaporating, shades the lawn, and makes it harder for birds to pick-out the seeds. This is an optional step. I've never needed to do it myself. It may not be desirable to use straw if you're not having a problem with evaporation. If the weather is cool, and the water never evaporates, the straw may create a situation conducive to fungal problems. Any straw that remains once the lawn starts growing can be mowed and mulched. (By the way, straw should be weed seed free. Hay has weed seeds, so you do not want to substitute hay for straw.

Once three weeks have passed, mow the lawn on the highest setting your mower has. If it's fall, mow often enough that you can lower the deck to just one click lower than normal for the winter. If you don't go low enough, you may find yourself being the first on your block to start mowing in late winter.

Come spring, we should be able to start to reap the benefits of our hard work, but an established lawn has it's own needs, and we'll cover those in the next installment.

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Recommended Products

Gardena Aquazoom 350/T Oscillating Sprinkler This innovative oscillating sprinkler design can water medium-to-large yards, is fully adjustable, and comes with a built-in timer and flow control mechanisms. While many oscillating sprinklers allow you to adjust the range of the spray, this one also provides adjustments for controlling the width and the water flow. At the highest water pressure (56 psi), the width can be adjusted from 13 to 56 feet and the range from 23 to 69 feet. At low water pressure (28 psi), the width can be set from 11-1/2 to 47-1/2 feet and the range from 19-1/2 to 56.7 feet. The timer allows you to select watering times from 15 to 120 minutes, or it can be bypassed for constant flow. Gardena includes its Quick Connector hose adapter for easy time-saving hose changes and a special needle for keeping spray nozzles clean. The Aquazoom provides all the versatility and design features you could ask for in an oscillating sprinkler.

Melnor Electronic Water Timer If you'd rather have time to sip lemonade than spend time watering your lawn or garden, start thinking about a Melnor electronic water timer. Here's how simple it can be: attach the timer to your hose faucet, press a few buttons, and use the digital display to set the clock; then just press a few more buttons to establish a preset schedule, watering up to six times a day. That's it! You're free to enjoy a frosty beverage on your deck. Or water while you sleep in, taking advantage of the cool morning air to avoid excess evaporation. Either way, you won't have to worry about overwatering. This is Melnor's most advanced timer, so programming your own watering schedule (instead of using one of the five preset schedules) may take you a few minutes with the aid of the instruction manual. That said, the timer's infinite programmability and ability to water up to six times a day more than compensates for its operational complexity.