Newly Seeded Turf

Seed just planted should be CONSISTENTLY moist until growth begins.  This means a daily light watering for 15 to 30 minutes.  DO NOT OVER WATER AND DO NOT USE A STRONG SPRAY. You don’t want to drown the seeds, nor do you want to wash them away.

Once seedlings have reasonable growth (½” to ¾”), reduce watering to twice weekly and apply ¼” to ½” per watering.  Once mowed, watering can be done as to accumulate 1 to 1 ½” of water once per week.  Again, be certain to take rainfall into consideration.

Please note that seed will not germinate without the execution of these watering guidelines.

 New Sod

Sod should be watered daily.  Its good health and development requires up to 2” to 4” of water per week for the first couple of weeks.  After the first week, start stretching out the time between watering so that the roots will grow downward toward the soil moisture.  When you do water, water deeply.  Keep up the frequent watering until about 20 to 30 days after planting.  Once firmly rooted you may reduce watering to once per week, applying 1” to 1 ½” per application.

Please note that sod will die without the execution of these watering guidelines.

Established Turf

Established turf grass requires infrequent but heavy watering.   Remember you are watering the soil, not the grass.  Generally established turf grass requires 1 inch to 1½ inches of water per week for optimum health.

Watering twice a week may be required during extreme conditions, such as temperatures of 90 degrees or higher for a prolonged period of time or extremely windy days.  Separate the watering to the early part of the week and the later part of the week with a minimum accumulation of 1 inch per watering.

For more information about your turf, check out the National Turfgrass Federation’s website.