An inch of water a week serves as a good rule of thumb for keeping your lawn green during the hot summer. Just be sure to water as early as possible in the morning, between 6AM and 10AM, to help reduce wasteful evaporation.
Water deeply but not often.
Your lawn should receive 1/3 an inch of water every other day in order to remain strong and drought-resistant. Water in the morning to avoid the afternoon's high evaporation rates and the possible fungus risks your lawn could face if irrigated at night. Shoot for 6-10 am.
A 2-3 inches layer of mulch makes a huge difference in hot weather. It acts as a shade cloth to hold in moisture and cool plant roots. Without mulching, the intense heat from the sun can make your soil dry — and you end up watering the garden even more.
Your lawn will expectedly need more water more often to thrive. If it's up to you to provide your lawn the water it needs to stay hydrated, you can give all 1 to 1.5 inches of water within 1 day or divide that up into 2 to 3 soakings on separate days.
It's Noticeably Wilting
One of the earliest and most obvious signs of dehydration in grass is wilting, when blades begin to curl over instead of standing up straight. If you don't take action right away, you will soon see the grass start to change color (which we discuss in more detail below).
Solution: Split your watering cycle to water more frequently for less time and overseed with a more sun tolerant grass type in the spring and fall after an aeration or power raking. Cause: Soil type can cause the water to either pass through too quickly or not at all.
Don't water everyday.
The more shallow your grass roots are, the less hearty it will be in hot weather. Instead water about two times per week for longer periods of time. The local lawn companies I have spoke with around my area (North Central Texas) recommend about 20-30 minutes per watering cycle twice a week.
Watering on a hot summer afternoon is a horrible idea. The liquid will evaporate too quickly and may not reach your grass's roots, so heat and irrigation shouldn't go together. Instead, the best time to water grass during summer is in the morning.
Once temperatures reach 77 degrees, it becomes too hot for root growth, and root growth ceases. When temperatures reach 90 degrees, it becomes too hot for shoot growth and the grasses stop growing and begin to fall dormant, with the surface grass turning a brown hue.
Adding compost to your soil allows the soil to hold onto more moisture, keeps precious microbiology alive (which helps plants thrive), and feeds your plant low amounts of plant food.
Adding organic matter can help. The next time you aerate the lawn, fill in the holes with some compost or peat moss. In clay soils, this organic matter will open the soil, helping water infiltrate rather than run off. In sandy soils, this organic matter will help the soil hold onto the water before it drains away.
The most common culprits for this condition are drought or high heat during summer. During hot summer days, when the amount of water available for your lawn is low, the usual reaction of many kinds of grass is to go dormant. As soon as temperatures drop and start raining, your grass will recover fast.
Wilting & Browning
Browning, especially in shallow-rooted turf areas, commonly occurs. How do you know the cause of brown patches on your lawn is due to drought versus fungus? Dry lawns turn brown starting at the tip and working back towards the roots of the grass plant.
If the grass is dormant, then watering it regularly and properly may revive it. This is why it is important to know if the grass is dormant or just dead. Dead grass cannot be revived by simply watering—it requires reseeding, fertilization, and several other processes to restart growth.
As the heat starts to put stress on your lawn you may notice full brown blades of grass or grass with brown tips. They may have begun to curl.
During really hot weather, water your vegetables at least two to three times a week. Watering the garden deeply is critical. The water must go down, down, down to encourage deep roots and get away from the hot soil surface.
Highlights. Avoid watering grass on a hot afternoon when it's 95 degrees or higher. The best time to water grass is at dawn or in the early evening. Water deeply three times a week instead of a little water daily.
It is ideal to water lawns about one inch of water per week. To determine how long you need to water to get one inch, place a plastic container in your yard and set a timer. On average, it will take 30 minutes to get a half inch of water. So, 20 minutes, three times per week will give a lawn about an inch of water.
In times of extreme heat, it is vital to water your lawn for about 30 to 45 minutes daily. Once the temperatures drop below ninety, you can cut back to watering three to four times a week, until that blissful thunderstorm comes and quenches your lawn's thirst!
In the blazing summer, when temperatures are between 90-100+, try watering 3-4 times a week.
Watering early in the morning is important when it comes to keeping your lawn hydrated. The best time to water is 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM which allows the grass and soil to properly soak in the water. On the hottest days, try to mow even earlier—before the dew dries.
You can fix a dead patch in your lawn by cutting out the patches and adding new grass seed. To avoid future problems, it is best to water often during dry periods, fertilize with nitrogen-rich fertilizer once or twice a year, and aerate your soil periodically for root development.
Thankfully, your dead grass will probably grow back with the proper care if you've caught the problem quickly (within about 3-5 weeks). Depending on why it died in the first place, you'll need to aerate, water, and/or manage unwanted pests.
Wilting Grass
But overwatering can cause similar symptoms. Keep an eye out for signs of overwatering such as leaves and lawns that appear dull and faded, in addition to grass that does not spring back into shape after being pressed down.