Lawn Care
- #81
Hire a qualified pro to install your irrigation system and keep it working properly and efficiently.
- #82
Hire a Smartscape Certified professional landscaper who has received landscape training specific to the Sonoran Desert.
- #83
Adjust your lawn mower to the height of 1.5 to 2 inches. Taller grass shades roots and holds soil moisture better than short grass.
- #84
Leave lawn clippings on your grass, this cools the ground and holds in moisture.
- #85
If installing a lawn, select a lawn mix or blend that matches your climate and site conditions.
- #86
Aerate your lawn periodically. Holes every six inches will allow water to reach the roots, rather than run off the surface.
- #87
If walking across the lawn leaves footprints (blades don’t spring back up), then it is time to water.
- #88
Let your lawn go dormant (brown) during the winter. Dormant grass only needs to be watered every three to four weeks, less if it rains.
- #89
Avoid overseeding your lawn with winter grass. Ryegrass needs water every few days, whereas Dormant Bermuda grass needs water monthly.
- #90
Remember to weed your lawn and garden regularly. Weeds compete with other plants for nutrients, light and water.
- #91
While fertilizers promote plant growth, they also increase water consumption. Apply the minimum amount of fertilizer needed.
- #92
Water your summer lawns once every three days and your winter lawn once every five days.
- #93
Catch water in an empty tuna can to measure sprinkler output. 3/4 to 1 inch of water is enough to apply each time you irrigate.