I have a dry yard with many trees in the Kansas City Metro area and I water often, why is my yard so dry?

Question

It is extremely warm right now and I have been watering a lot lately and my yard still dries up shortly after and you can see cracks in the soil. Am I watering too much? I do not think I could be watering too little. Any ideas/suggestions?

Answer 1

Could be a lack of good top soil, the trees may block out the sun for grass to grow, watering during the day is not good for any plants when the sun is high.

If you water your lawn, do it in the early morning and in the evening as the sun is low in the sky. If you water during the day , the beads of water act like tiny magnifying glasses and burn the grass and leaves of plants.

Answer 2

A normal lawn needs around an inch a week, but on hot weeks 100*c and above will need around 3 inches a week. also make sure that there are no bugs in your lawn such as grubs, they could be eating the roots killing the grass. If it is bugs, spray some bug killer that you attach to your hose, and you can buy this at the homedepot or any home improvment store, then just re-seed. Good luck.

Answer 3

You say you have many trees.  That may be your "problem" (it's never a bad thing to have lots of trees) right there.  All those trees are sucking up a tremendous amount of water each day.  

As far as when and how much to water: the rule of thumb is to water infrequently and deeply.  So you might water two or three days a week for several hours instead of watering daily for a half hour for instance.  The surface will dry out and crack, and your turf might not be absolutely lush (but then again if you have lots of trees you likely don't have lots of turf), but watering infrequently and deeply is the best way to help promote deep healthy root systems that can handle stress.  You'll also likely save water as well.