Watering
If you haven’t already, get yourself a Rachio irrigation controller. It’s one of the best upgrades you can make to your irrigation system. It automatically adjusts watering schedules based on weather, rainfall, temperature, and seasonal changes, which means you’re not watering during a thunderstorm or running sprinklers when your lawn doesn’t need it.
As an added bonus, JEA currently offers a rebate of up to $150 on qualifying smart irrigation controllers. Check their website for current requirements and eligibility because utility companies love paperwork almost as much as they love rebates.
Now for the part nobody wants to hear:
Most lawn problems are watering problems.
Yellow grass? Maybe water.
Brown spots? Maybe water.
Fungus? Probably water.
Weeds? Sometimes water.
Grass not growing? You guessed it—water.
The challenge is that homeowners tend to assume more water equals a healthier lawn. In reality, both overwatering and underwatering can produce similar symptoms. Too much water can be just as damaging as too little.
A common mistake is copying someone else’s schedule.
For example, I currently irrigate three times per week for about 25 minutes per zone. That works for my property because I have heavy clay soil, builder-grade compaction, and specific sun exposure conditions.
Your lawn might have:
- Different soil
- Different grass type
- More shade
- More sun
- Better drainage
- Worse drainage
- Different sprinkler coverage
In other words, your lawn isn’t my lawn.
Use recommendations as a starting point, not a law.
The Golden Rules of Irrigation
Start irrigating around 5:00 AM
Finish irrigating by 10:00 AM
Irrigate deeply and infrequently
Adjust seasonally
❌ Don’t irrigate during the heat of the day
❌ Don’t water at night
Here’s why:
Midday irrigating is basically an evaporation contest. The sun and heat take a large portion of that water before it ever reaches the root zone.
Night irrigating creates the perfect environment for fungus, disease, and other lawn issues. Grass blades stay wet for hours, temperatures drop, and bad things start growing.
Think of it this way:
Morning irrigation feeds the lawn.
Midday irrigating feeds the atmosphere.
Night irrigating feeds the fungus.
How Much Water Does Your Lawn Need?
Most established lawns need roughly 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week, including rainfall.
The easiest way to know if you’re getting enough is to perform a simple tuna can test. Place a few empty tuna cans around your yard, run your irrigation system, and measure how much water accumulates. This will tell you how long your system actually needs to run rather than guessing.
You might discover one zone puts out twice as much water as another.
That’s normal.
Signs You’re Overwatering
- Mushy or soggy soil
- Fungus or mushrooms
- Excessive weeds
- Shallow root growth
- Constant mowing because the lawn is growing too fast
- Water running into the street
Signs You’re Underwatering
- Footprints remain visible after walking
- Grass blades fold or curl
- Blue-gray coloration
- Dry, hard soil
- Slow growth
Final Thought
The goal isn’t to irrigate more.
The goal is to water correctly.
A healthy lawn starts below the surface. Deep roots, proper moisture, and good timing will solve more lawn problems than any fertilizer, fungicide, or miracle product from the garden center.
So set your sprinklers for the morning, pay attention to what your lawn is telling you, and remember:
Be kind to your grass. Like the rest of us, it’s just trying to survive Florida. 🌱☀️💧
