New turf - watering

[Humpy D]

Laid some new turf on Saturday but am not sure how best to water it.

I had the sprinkler on for 15-20 mins Saturday and Sunday. Is this enough/too much? When is it best to water - morning or evening? Do I need to keep watering daily and if so, for how long? I'm thinking 2 weeks but then how long after this? (PS I know a lot of this is dependant on rain fall but the forecast for the south is pretty dry this week.)

Sorry for all the questions but although it's only a small area I've turfed (@4 sq yards) I'm keen to give it the best possible start before winter.

Thanks.

[netherfield]

Keep watering daily for at least 2 weeks,depending on rainfall,at this point try to lift a corner and see if the roots have started coming through to the soil underneath,and by this time the gaps should have started to fill in. By the middle of October,unless we get an indian summer,the grass will start to become dormant and need a lot less attention.

Mid Oct you could also give it an Autumn fertiliser which will help the roots to develop for next year,and if the grass has got a little shaggy give it a high cut with the mower.

At the end of March/early April give it a summer feed at half the rate stated,then give the other half 6 weeks later,new grass is vigorous in it's first year,besides there is no point in growing grass to then have to cut it every other day.

And no you are not giving too much water at present,initially grass can use 2 gallons of water per sq metre,although less now the weather is not as warm.

Edited by netherfield on Monday 13th September 10:18

[Humpy D]

Thanks Netherfield, that sounds good advice.

At this time of year, is it best to water the turf first thing in the morning? My thinking is that if I water in the evening there's the danger that the soil will dry out by the following evening. At least by watering in the morning the soil should stay moist all day and then any dew will top this moisture up.

[Deva Link]

Humpy D said:

...any dew will top this moisture up.

It needs water at its roots, not on the surface.

I suppose there's a point when you could consider to have over-watered, but that's probably when there are puddles on the surface. I wouldn't have thought 15mins sprinkling was anything like enough.

[fulham911club]

Humpy D said:

Thanks Netherfield, that sounds good advice.

At this time of year, is it best to water the turf first thing in the morning? My thinking is that if I water in the evening there's the danger that the soil will dry out by the following evening. At least by watering in the morning the soil should stay moist all day and then any dew will top this moisture up.

Water it in the morning and the evening for 20 mins or so each - you can't really over-water grass at those levels. Do this for a couple of weeks.