Thanks reel. i appreciate it. it's not there yet, but I'll check it again this Saturday.

Many years ago I got into a relatively heated and prolonged discussion with a lawn care professional in Phoenix about how to water lawns. At the time my position was to water daily just a little bit. He convinced me that the only way for the lawns in Phoenix to survive was deep and infrequent watering. Since then we (the lawn forums I deal with) have come to a temperature based watering plan based on deep and infrequent. Here is the plan.

Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.

It often happens that people with bermuda lawns complain that the water will not penetrate the soil fast enough to apply a full inch all at one time. If that is your situation, try this. Spray the soil with any clear shampoo at a rate of 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. Follow that with 1/2 to 1 inch of water or rain (if you are lucky). The shampoo reduces the surface tension of water and allows it to penetrate deeper. Deeper watering develops deeper roots which can hold more water and dive deeper into the cooler soil under the surface. It also helps your soil biology to improve and help to hold water better.

Before you spray the shampoo try to stick a screwdriver into the soil. Three weeks after spraying with the shampoo do the screwdriver test again. It should be easier to stick in and go deeper. If not spray the shampoo again. There is no unsafe limit to shampoo. Some lawn gurus have tried to overdo it and they could not. But their lawns got very very soft. One of them had a tree limb fall during a storm and plunge itself 27 inches into his lawn. This shampoo thing really does work.

Fantastic. What is the best way to apply it? With a pump sprayer? Garden feeder? Also, is baby shampoo the best?

Either kind of sprayer works, but hose end is easier because it foams up less

Thanks reeljake. I have used the miracle grow in the past only to have the thing leak a lot of water. Do you have a particular one in mind?

http://lawniac.com/battle-hose-end-sprayers-chapin-g362d-vs-ortho-dial-n-spray

:-)

The Ortho sprayers can get goofed up inside. There's a tiny o-ring between the dial and the body that keeps the air and the water apart. That can get twisted.

I also replace the hose end flat washer with a #15 o-ring and replace a stamped brass hose end with a plastic one. Any plastic one is better than stamped brass.

Here's a guide from ASU for the phoenix and tucson area. they tell when to water and how much to apply

http://ag.arizona.edu/azmet/phx/

Brady, where do you live?

78260