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Watering is the one part of a new lawn that is entirely in the customer's hands, and it is the commonest reason a properly laid lawn fails. Turf arrives as harvested grass with almost no root system, and until it grows one it cannot reach water more than a couple of centimetres down.
The Schedule
- Immediately after laying — a thorough soak. Not a sprinkle. Water until it has gone right through the turf and into the soil beneath
- Days 1 to 14 — every day, early morning or evening. In hot weather, twice a day
- Weeks 3 to 4 — every other day, more deeply each time
- Weeks 5 to 6 — twice a week, thoroughly
- After that — only in dry spells, and then properly
In autumn and winter, with the ground already damp and little evaporation, far less is needed and sometimes none at all. In July, the schedule above is a minimum rather than a guide.
How Much Is Enough
The test: lift a corner of a piece and look underneath. The back of the turf and the soil below it should both be visibly damp, not just the surface. Most people water far less than they think — a surface that looks wet after five minutes with a hose is usually wet for about a centimetre.
A useful measure is around 10 to 15 litres per square metre per watering in warm weather. A sprinkler left running for twenty minutes gets there on most settings; a watering can does not, over any reasonable area.
Deep and Less Often Beats Little and Often
Once past the first fortnight, this becomes the important principle. Frequent light watering keeps the surface damp and gives the roots no reason to go down, producing a lawn with a shallow root system that cannot survive a dry week.
Watering less often and much more heavily draws the roots downward after the moisture, and that is what produces a lawn that looks after itself in the second year.
Timing of Day
Early morning is best — low evaporation, and the grass dries through the day. Evening is acceptable and the usual practical choice. Midday in hot sun is largely wasted to evaporation, though it is better than not watering at all.
Overnight is the one to avoid where possible, because grass sitting wet all night in warm weather is how fungal problems start.
Signs You Are Getting It Wrong
Too little
- Gaps opening at the seams as pieces shrink — the classic and the clearest sign
- Edges curling upward
- Colour going grey-green or dull, and footprints staying visible
- Corners and edges browning first
Too much
- Water standing on the surface, or the ground squelching underfoot
- A sour smell
- Yellowing across the whole area rather than at the edges
- Moss appearing early
Too little is far more common. If gaps are opening at the seams, water heavily and immediately — turf that has shrunk will usually recover if it is caught early.
Sprinklers and Hosepipe Bans
A sprinkler on a timer is much the easiest way to do this properly over any area of size. If a hosepipe ban is in force, check the position — newly laid turf is sometimes exempted for a defined period, and where it is not, that is a reason to lay in autumn rather than in July.
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