When To Stop Watering New Grass (And How to Water New Grass)

Lawn care can be difficult if you just bought your first home and want to make the outdoors the best. But if you follow this simple lawn watering rule, you and your lawn will be perfectly fine.

You should stop watering the new grass once the new seed is established. By established, we mean that the grass seeds have germinated, and the blades of grass are about 1 inch tall, often between 3 to 4 weeks from the seedlings period. At this stage, it’s safe to stop watering the grass daily, and you can turn to a more regular routine that entails watering the new grass 1-2 times every week – you only need to make sure that the weekly watering leaves the lawn with an inch of water. Watering the lawn daily is only ideal if there is no rain. So, if it rains often, you may not have to water the lawn.

Also, don’t allow the soil’s top ½ inch to be dry if the grass is less than 1 inch tall

It’s important to note that in as much as the lawn needs to be watered often; you should be careful not to overwater the lawn, just maintain a sufficient watering schedule to keep the grass seeds with moisture and to prevent them from drying and drying out. Be careful not to drown the seeds or new sods.

Watering information/ Guide or new lawns
Time to stop watering	3-4 weeks or after the grass grows out evenly
How often should you water new lawns	Every day
Length of blades when you can stop watering daily	1”
Soil’s Moisture content	1” water
Frequency of watering for established lawns	1-2 times a week
Precautions	Don’t let the soil’s top ½ inch dry out

When and how to water the lawn

Every lawn owner knows that the best time to water their lawn is in the morning, between 4.00 am, and 10.00am. The early morning hours are suitable because there is less wind, which means that the water isn’t blown away, and also the sun isn’t out or scotching to evaporate the water. So, you should consider sticking to this routine. It also is important in keeping diseases at bay while allowing your lawn to dry in the course of the day.

Frequency of watering

Besides the weather outlook, the lawn watering schedule would also be guided by the types of seeds you’ve used on your lawn.

If you used ordinary seeds, for example, it’s safe to water the seeds daily and after the grass is established, switch to watering your lawn 1-3 days a week. Make sure to water the lawn well (deep watering) to encourage the development of deep and sturdy roots. Light watering isn’t ideal because it encourages the development of shallow roots.

If, on the other hand, you have specialty grass seeds like Pennington Smart Seeds, you could go a few days without watering the seeds because smart seeds are drought-resistant.

When is it safe to stop watering new grass?

The answer to this is it depends on where you live. If you live in an area with four distinct seasons, the best time to stop watering the grass would be in autumn because the temperatures start to drop at this time, as the days grow shorter and grass growth slows. So, with reduced health and sunshine time, the evaporation of moisture from the lawn is reduced, and you can skip a day or two before watering the lawn.

That said, never stop watering your lawn abruptly. In fact, you must continue supplementing ground moisture for as long as needed and until the ground freezes over.

If you live in an area that receives at least an inch of precipitation weekly, you don’t really have to water the lawn.

Should you water the new grass in the fall?

If you have cool-season grass like tall fescue, fine fescue, ryegrass, or Kentucky bluegrass, fall is a very important period of growth for the grass, and it will continue to grow for most of the fall. So, even if you don’t notice much growth at the top, there will be significant growth in the root system, which results in the development of a very solid foundation for the lawn. Fall is also a great time for these grasses because it allows for the repair of damage that could have occurred in summer. Therefore, you have to water the grass well in summer to ensure proper intake of nutrients and the growth of the grass.

How long does it take for grass seeds to germinate?

The germination of grass seeds happens at different rates based on factors like weather, grass species, soil moisture, and the time of the year. But, for most grass seeds, it takes 5-10 days for the grass to germinate, and they will continue growing at a rate of 2 or 3cm each week.

Regarding the soil moisture, it’s important to keep the soil moist, but you also have to be careful not to leave the soil too dry or too wet. Soil moisture is important for grass germination, but you don’t want to overwater them seeds because overwatering means puddles that would wash away the seeds, inhibit the seeds from germinating, or result in fungal diseases.

For new lawns and also in case of overseeding, you must maintain a regular watering schedule, ensuring that the soil only gets 1inch of water every few days.

How to water new grass

You need a sprinkler system to water the lawn. Set a time for the sprinkler to run for 5 to 10 minutes early in the morning.

Though the grass will need daily watering in the beginning, you can reduce the watering frequency to 1-2 times weekly once the grasses have grown and the blades are established.

Problems you may encounter while watering new grass seeds.

• Underwatering – happens if you don’t water daily or if you leave the lawn dry too often, say three days in a row, especially in the hotter months.
• Uneven watering – if the sprinkler is clogged or you are using a hose, you’ll have uneven watering, and subsequently, uneven growth.
• Overwatering the shaded areas
• Overwatering to the extent that the soil gets soggy
• Water runoff and seed wash-away in sloppy areas
• Puddle formation from overwatering

Conclusion

It’s safe to stop watering new grasses after 3 or 4 weeks, which is the same time that the grass blades have reached a height of 1inch.

FAQs

1. For how long should you water new grass?

To maintain the right level of moisture needed to encourage germination, water the new grass once or twice daily for 10-15 days, before 10 am, depending on the ambient temperature(twice in hot summers and once in cooler months or days), sunshineor shade.

2. When should you stop watering the new grass daily?

While the 3-4weeks timeline is ideal, not all seeds germinate at the same rate. You can safely stop watering the lawn daily once you notice even and consistent greens sprouts around the seeded areas.