What New Florida Residents Need to Know About Watering Your Lawn

If you are new to southern Florida, you may not be used to the tropical climate. There are a lot of things unique to Florida that make lawn care much different from other parts of the country. One of the things that differs is how much you need to water your lawn. Florida has a long rainy season, and as such we have to mow our lawns more frequently and water less frequently during those times. Here’s what you need to know about watering your lawn in Florida. How often should you water your Florida lawn? This will depend somewhat on the time of year, the weather, and how rain affects your lawn. Some lawns are designed so that water from rain just runs off the property, preventing it from over-soaking or eroding the soil. These lawns will need to be watered twice a week, even if there is rain.

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How to Take Advantage of Rain in Poorly Irrigated Areas

If you’re working with a budget for your sprinkler system and lawn maintenance, you might be looking to minimize the number of sprinklers on your property. While this is entirely possible, it does require some careful planning. With the right resources, you can easily design irrigation to take advantage of rain while limiting the number of overall sprinklers. Assess your lawn’s natural irrigation. If you don’t use sprinklers, how does water distribute and run through your yard when it rains? What areas of your lawn are damper or spongier after a good rain? Are there any areas of your lawn that don’t seem to get much natural water at all? All of this information is necessary for determining where to place your sprinklers.

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Why Planting Sod Is Better Than Seeding

While planting grass seed is unarguably more inexpensive than installing sod, there are a lot of reasons to plant sod instead. When you choose to plant sod, especially when it is grown in the area, you know that you will have a lawn that you can be proud of immediately, not in a season or two. This is the biggest appeal of planting sod. However, there are many additional reasons to consider. Low Maintenance, Low Effort Sod installation also requires very little maintenance or effort on your part, while growing grass from seed takes patience, time, and a lot of maintenance. When you spread grass seed, you often have to spread more seed later on down the road, as some seed is washed away or taken by birds and other critters. You’ll also have to make sure that you water it well and frequently, as well as fertilize more aggressively.

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Watching the Weather and Your Sprinklers

Most people who want to have a well-manicured and healthy lawn will use a sprinkler system as a method of irrigation to keep the soil moist as necessary for growth and maintenance. You may have even researched exactly how much water and how frequently you should run the sprinklers for your climate and type of grass, but many people do not think to adjust their sprinklers according to the weather. Most grass and turf will become diseased and rotted when it becomes overly saturated. It is important that you are not overwatering your lawn during periods when you are getting a lot of rain. Florida weather is infamous for its rainy seasons. While you don’t want to completely turn off your sprinkler system during these months, you should be aware of the weather and ready to make adjustments to the system at any notice.

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What Happens to Grass if You Don’t Mow Your Lawn

You know that you are supposed to mow your lawn on a regular basis, usually at least once a week in the spring and summer, but lately there have been movements trying to eliminate mowing for a month at a time. While this could be tempting, it is important that you continue to mow your lawn if you want it to remain healthy. Here’s why. Infrequent Mowing Hurts the Grass When Cut The longer the blades of grass become, the more resources it becomes used to consuming. If you suddenly cut the grass by a few inches all at once, it’s going to be shocked as it suddenly needs fewer resources. This can sometimes kill your grass if it is unable to recover. Sometimes it needs additional irrigation to recover fully.

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Is Fertilizing Your Lawn Necessary?

Whether or not you need to fertilize your lawn depends on several factors. For the most part, Florida lawns can benefit from fertilizer to keep grass exceptionally green and lush. It is important that if you fertilize that you use the right fertilizer mix for your type of turf, as well as using the fertilizer at the right time of the year. If you have rich soil with lots of nutrients, you may not need to worry about fertilizing. When you get your sod installed, talk to the professionals working on your lawn about whether or not they believe you will need to fertilize based on your turf type and soil type.

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How Often Will I Need to Mow My Yard?

As spring arrives, Florida grasses begin to grow very quickly. Between the warmer weather and spring rains, your grass is going to grow the most from April to June. This could mean more frequent mowings than during the rest of the year. But how often will you actually have to mow your yard? It depends on the weather and the type of grass you have.  For most yards, mowing once a week is generally sufficient. If there is a lot of rain one week causing increased growth, you may need to mow twice a week. However, you shouldn’t mow while the grass is wet to protect your lawn care equipment. You should also avoid letting grass get too high before mowing so that you have less wear on your lawn mower.

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How Much Water Does My Grass Need?

Many people are surprised at how little water their grass needs. In fact, your turf does not need to be watered every day, or maybe even every week. How much you water your lawn depends on several factors, including municipal restrictions, weather patterns, and type of grass. Here’s what you need to know to water your lawn appropriately. How Much Water Does Grass Need? Water is necessary for grass to thrive; but if you water too much you can flood and kill the root systems, so it is important not to water too much. As a general rule, you want no more than ¾ inches of water delivered to your lawn, no more than twice a week, at least in the spring. You may need to water more frequently in the drier winter months.

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Why Now Is the Best Time for Spring Plantings

Planting new sod needs to be done properly if you want to have a healthy, flourishing lawn. That means you need to make sure that you are planting sod at the best time of year. Although you can plant sod anytime of the year in Florida, spring is best. Here’s what you need to know. Spring Growth Spring is the time of year that grass grows the most in Florida. Planting sod during this time means that the sod will be able to form deep, healthy roots quickly so that your lawn looks its best. The grass will grow quickly once the root system is established, which will lead to lush, green grass for your family to enjoy.

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Checking Your Irrigation Systems

With the onset of spring, it is time to check your irrigation systems for your lawn to make sure everything is set up correctly. Proper watering of your lawn is important for making sure that your grass is healthy and green.  There are several things you need to do to prepare your irrigation system for spring. Here are some steps to follow.

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