How often and how long should I water my grass for?

Question

I have Hybred Bermuda grass (sod) laid in my backyard now for about a week. How often (how many times a day/week) and how long (minutes) should I water my grass for? I live in Fresno 100+ temps still, and I'm on a watering schedule of Tuesday's, Thursday's and Saturdays... but my sprinklers are on a timer, so if need be I can water in the middle of the night. Thanks for the help.

Answer 1

After your bermuda has established it will require less water, but for the first 10 days to 2 weeks keep it watered.(daily).this is a critical period for your lawn.After that a thorough watering every 5 days or so for 1 hour or till run off appears. Your goal it to achieve a penetration depth of 8 to 12 inches, this will encourage deep rooting.Short frequent watering on established sod creates shallow root system and susceptibility to insect and disease problems.Since you can only water T T & S..water it good for the 1st couple weeks.Many people think that watering their lawn during the night hours is preferable when compared to watering during the heat of the day. Actually neither is recommended. When someone waters during the heat of midday they risk losing water to the suns rays (evaporation). Watering your lawn at night is not recommended because the sun is not out and cannot cause the water to evaporate in a timely manner.Causing your lawn to deteriorate and making it susceptable to insects and diease.When watering at night your lawn can stay wet for way to many hours and cause serious problems. The best time to water is early morning hours.Watering during the heat of the day(tho not recommended as mentioned above) will not "burn" the grass.

Answer 2

Watering it every day for an hour or two after the sun goes down is the optimal time for water as it give about 1 inch of water to the yard which allows for deeper penetration. Night time watering is best anyways as watering during the heat of the day or even in the morning will cause your grass to burn as much of the water will evaporate before going deep into the ground. Watering at night will allow the water time to soak in and really do the grass some good.

Answer 3

With water restructions you can usually get a waiver for new sod.  You need to contact your Cooperative Extension Service http://cefresno.ucdavis.edu/

and see if they know about waivers from your water department.

Phone number and address shown.......and get some help.  Three days a week isn't going to cut it for new sod.

Are you getting dry spots?  You can hand water those several times a day and then on your watering days water 3 times.  

Yeah, I'd be watering at night on your off days!  For sure.