Do people in Arizona actually water their lawn this way?
alexander3_gw
18 years ago
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kactuskathi
18 years agoRelated Discussions
I seeded the lawn, how often do I need to water?
Comments (1)Water as often as needed to keep the surface of the soil moist. That will probably be at least three times a day (adjusting for any rain we get) for 5-10 minutes each time. Keep watering it that way for at least three weeks, even if you see grass coming in. The reason is that you probably got a mixture of grasses and rye comes up very quickly, tall fescue comes up a little slower and Kentucky Bluegrass takes 3 weeks to come up. KBG is the only one that spreads, so if you quit watering too soon, you'll have bare spots. Once the three week mark has passed, water once a day for about 10 minutes. Then cut back to every other day for 15 minutes. You may need to water every other day for the rest of the summer. Adjust your watering schedule for any rain that may fall. Next year, try to let the lawn tell you when to water. Too many people set their sprinklers to water every day all year long, so the most common lawn problems here are because of too much water (ironic, isn't it?). When the grass starts showing the first signs of stress (curling blades, doesn't bounce back when you walk on it), water deeply to encourage deep roots. You should be able to get by watering once or twice a week once the grass has had a chance to establish good roots. If you have sandy soil, you may need to water three times a week in the hottest part of the summer. If you water deeply and infrequently, you don't need to worry about watering at night (all the lawncare books and magazines tell you not to do that, but they're written by people who don't live in the desert). If you water between midnight and sunrise, more of the water will soak in and less will blow away or evaporate....See MoreArizona: Frustrated with lawn not growing.
Comments (9)What are Flagstaff springs like? Do you get a fair amount of moisture? If you seeded when it was dropping below freezing, you actually did a dormant seeding. Dormant seeding here is about the only way I can get away with letting nature supply the water. If it's now getting into the 60s and 70s, you should be getting some germination. It takes 3+ weeks for KBG to germinate, so if it has only warmed up in the past two weeks, you can expect more germination for the next week or two....See MoreLawn Not Greening, Not Holding Water - Do I Start Over?
Comments (3)Hmmmm. You have a lot going on. How have you been watering? How long and how often? Mowing probably has not been a concern because the grass is not growing. Once the grass gets growing, raise your mower to a level from 3 inches (Kentucky bluegrass) to all the way to the highest (fescue). It looks like you might have some KBG in there, but KBG and fescue look much alike. I would expect you to have a rye grass only because you are in the PNW...sort of. On to fertilizer. Since you live in Oregon you must be a tree hugger or a redneck (I've met both from OR). This is good because I am going to suggest the fastest way to improve your soil, regardless of how bad it is, is to pound it with organic fertilizers. I am assuming your gravelish soil actually has 'dirt' in it. If it is really just rocky, then replace it. But I'm going to suggest fixing what you have. Go to the GardenWeb Organic Gardening Forum, find the FAQ, and read the last one on lawn care. The gist of it is you can find inexpensive organic lawn food at your local feed store. Back when I wrote that FAQ, corn was dirt cheap. This year it is the most expensive material out there. I have switched to rabbit food (alfalfa pellets) this year. A 50-pound bag should cost about $12. For you the application rate can be up to 50 pounds per 1,000 square feet. That is a TON of fertilizer. To start off I would go with 20 pounds per 1,000. Put that out and wait 3 full weeks to apply again. Apply the second time at 3-4 weeks and at a rate of 30 pounds per 1,000. Wait another month and apply at 40 pounds per 1,000. If you start that now, you should know after the 4th of July if it is working. At the minimum you should see dark greening of the grass you have. What you should look for is the return of grass in the thin areas. If you don't see that, then at the end of summer you will need to reseed. I would continue with the monthly fertilizer until the grass stops growing in the fall. Organic fertilizer is the fastest way to improve the soil because you can apply it with no fear of hurting the grass. Chemical fertilizers are salty and can burn the grass in the summer. You also need to learn more about your watering system. Put out cat food or tuna cans and time how long it takes to fill them up. That time is your starting point for weekly watering. You should be able to water once a week in the summer and get the job done for the rest of the week. If the grass wilts before a full week is up, then water immediately but water for a longer time than it took the first time. If you get runoff, stop immediately and let the water soak in for 30 minutes. Then start watering again until you get the full amount of time. With my watering system and pressure, it takes me 8 hours to get an inch of water. Your system may only take 45 minutes. Every yard is different. One more thing you can do is a soil structure test. Find a glass jar with straight sides. Fill it half full with soil. Then fill it all the way with water and a drop or two of dish soap or shampoo. Seriously, only a drop - not a squirt. Shake up the jar and let it settle. After 2 minutes measure with a ruler (and camera) how much of the contents has settled. Then measure again after 2 hours and again after 2 days. Note also how cloudy the water is at the times. Sand and rubble will settle immediately. Clay will never settle and will cloud the water after 2 days. Everything else in between is silt. Post the pictures to your Picasa site. For now I'm not worried about how bumpy your lawn is. Leveling is your second priority behind greening. The water and fertilizer suggestions above will definitely green it up. As the soil improves, the surface characteristics may change. It may not improve but it might. Spot spray the black medic and clover with something like Weed-B-Gone for clover. By spot spraying you are minimizing the collateral damage from chemicals. Gnats are not a lawn problem that I'm aware of. You will find that when you are on a full organic feeding program, you will see more lizards, toads, birds, and other critters that take care of pests for you. I've always had little white flying things in my lawn. I notice it when I mow, but then again I don't get down and roll around...much. One more thing you can try to improve water penetration: mix baby shampoo and molasses in a hose end sprayer (I like the Ortho) at a ratio of about 50/50. I just eyeball it in the jar. Take the screen off the down tube on the sprayer and spray it on the lawn. Adjust the dial so you see brown foam coming out. Spray it right before you water the lawn. The soap and molasses each help to 'wet' the water and reduce the surface tension. This will let the water penetrate deeper. You can repeat every time you water or skip to every other watering. At the end of two months you should have softer soil after watering....See MoreLeyland Cypress in the Arizona desert watering
Comments (11)Someone had asked for clarification about whether these 15 cypress trees were Leyland or Italian Cypress. They are Italian Cypress--the narrow, pointy ones. And I also sure do appreciate all of the feedback and insights I received so far. I also, this summer, found many grubs in the mulch I put down this last spring (worrisome, for I hear they eat roots). The nurseryman recommended I keep an abundant layer of composted mulch to retain moisture through the long, dry, hot summer, which I did, by putting down 1-2 inches thick, under some heavy bark, to keep it from blowing away. Also, the trees became somewhat loose and rather than tying them, I found I was able to make the trees much more stable by compressing (actually punching) down the nursery pot soil medium around each tree. 2 months after doing this, the trees look fine. The ribbon of concrete & border blocks also has now made it possible for me to flood irrigate the trees deeply--and less frequently and I think this is good for it is training the roots to go down and spread. I mentioned these grubs to the same nursery people and they then sold me some Hi-Yield Kill-a-Grub, which I haven't yet applied because a recent inspection didn't turn any up grubs now (early October in the Sonoran Desert). I am planning the next deep watering late in October, at which time I will fertilize with a granular 13-7-7 tree and shrub fertilizer. What are anyone's thoughts? Should I hold of on applying the Hi-Yield Kill-a-grub until next spring/ summer? I have a good handle on the spider mites, washing the trees off once in a while with a medium-strong spray of water and an occaisional systemic Rose Food which contains a systemic pesticide. I don't like using this, for the mulch is now producing mushrooms ;-/ that the Cactus Wrens seem to enjoy. Thanks, everyone! Walt...See Moredrygulch
18 years agosirjonny
18 years agotomatofreak
18 years ago
lazy_gardens
18 years agojimdaz
18 years agobirdlady_in_mesa
18 years agoalexander3_gw
18 years agoGardenHits
18 years agoFred Cain
2 years ago
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