Watering Bermuda Grass
Keeping your lawn healthy and green requires some amount of water. Whether that comes from mother nature or an irrigation system is irrelevant. Of coarse we’d all agree we’d like mother nature to take care of watering our bermuda grass, but it just doesn’t work out that way sometimes. Although when it’s thirsty it’s blades will bow a bit. It’s subtle but if you’re looking for it, you can easily spot a bermuda lawn in need of some moisture.
Bermuda grass is one of the more drought tolerate types of grass. If you want to give you grass an even better chance during the next drought than consider only watering once a week.
Watering bermuda grass once a week will force the roots of the grass to dig deeper as the water supply is dried up during the week. The deeper the roots the more likely you are to have a greener healthier lawn during the next drought. Watering once a week isn’t suffiecient if you’re not getting enough water down that one day a week.
In general you’ll want to water to a depth of about 6″. Like we said earlier this will encourage deep root growth which will protect it from the heat, cold, and the next drought. A quick test you can do to ensure you’ve watered to the right depth is to stick a screw driver into the ground. If you can sink it easily about 6″ in the ground you’re there, otherwise you need to put a couple hundred more gallons of water on your bermuda grass.
It’s important that when you’re watering that you don’t allow water to run off your lawn. If you’ve got water run off problems you’ll want to only water until the water start running off, and then move to another zone. If you didn’t get to the 6″ mark you’ll need to come back to that zone after your new zone starts running off.
[...] We find out that when Mr Weed’s family came over to Ellis Island their original name was Bermuda grass. Mr Weed dies and Peter loses his job at the toy factory. Becomes a jouster and faces the black [...]
I have just moved into a new home with freshly seeded Bermuda grass. How much watering should I do we have a sprinkler system and at this point I am watering for 3 days a week for 15 minutes each time. We live in the Charleston SC area.
Also I have noticed some red in the small growth is this due to not enough or too much water?
Thanks ?jim
James,
The red growth is not from watering. Bermuda not getting enough water will cause it to turn yellow. I think the red growth may be a fungus or some type of shock. Hard to say.
Your watering routine sounds about right. With a bag of fertilizer you should be on track for a great looking lawn!
Keep us posted.
I noticed red in my seedlings to but after a few days they turn green.
I planted sahara bramuda.
New to Bermuda grass, bought a new home near Dallas that was soded in Janurary. Water is notably expensive. How much water is necessary with an sprinkler system to keep a nice lawn during summer heat?
Hi, im in dubai and have 10,000 sqft of Bermuda grass in my to water. i have an automatic underground sprinkler system that comes on twice a day for 3 minutes each time. it delivers about 400 gallons each time (800 gallon tank half empty after each watering). the temperature here in summer runs from 104 to 114. the soil is pretty much sand with some fertiliser mixed in. MY QUESTION… the system is currently set to water it at 7am and again at 6.30pm (just before sunset). is this the best way yo water? should i dump the 800 gallons on in the morning or keep it split morning/evening? is there a Gallon per sq ft equation in existance?
Any help much appreciated.
thanks
Ralph
HOW MUCH SHOULD BERMUDA BE WATERED IN THE WINTER WHEN IT IS DORMANT?
i too live in dubai and would love to know the answers to the questions you were given in september….
i have been told that by over watering this can cause a black looking fungi to that looks a lot like compost once it has finished with killing the grass…
please give me as much info about how to look after this grass as it gets very very hot here and never rains ( maybe two to three days a year ) we use a sprinkler system automatic and it comes on twice a day for several minutes a time…
what is the best time of year to feed and should we (not sure if this is right ) scarify the lawn once a year ???
Please help as the golf course opposite has great looking lawns and fairways and ours looks terrible….. ps about 15,000 sq ft of it !!!!
Andrew