Simple ways to know when your grass needs water

grass droplets sparkling

Early morning grass by Yes Man

Love it or hate it, if you live in the suburbs like me you most likely have a lawn, an area of grass at least in front or your home, if not completely around.

Lawns needs a whole lot of care to keep them looking reasonable, something I’ve written about before, and that care most often includes periodic watering.

When to water your lawn

The main trick to getting watering right, to keep your costs and water use down without killing your lawn, is knowing when your grass needs water.

Even if, like me, you don’t love your lawn, you’ll probably hate a dead lawn even more!

There are a couple of simple tests which will let you know when your grass needs water and they don’t need any specialist equipment or knowledge. Let’s take a look.

The eyeball-it lawn watering test

Although my garden in North-East Kansas had heavy rain last week, by Sunday my grass didn’t look right. The eyeball-it method of knowing when your grass needs water is pretty simple and effective and it doesn’t need any planning ahead.

Some areas of your grass dry out faster than others. In my lawn these are caused by competition from tree roots and shallow patches of soil where the house builders left rocks near the surface. These patches are like grass alarms – they’re early warning signs that your grass is about to die.

As soon as you see patches which are dull, slightly shriveled, bluish-green, or turning yellow get the sprinklers out and on.

The poke-it lawn watering test

Take a sharp object, which is at least 6″ long, and poke it down into the soil of your lawn. The best object is a metal screwdriver (don’t use your partner’s best one).  I don’t have a screwdriver just for this task so I tend to grab an alternative. Any hard, long narrow object works – I’ve used pieces of stiff wire, bamboo canes, and even hard sticks. I really should invest in a screwdriver!

When your lawn is well watered the sharp object should penetrate to a depth of 6″ to 8″ (15 cm to 20 cm). If the soil is rock-hard and you can’t get your object in more than 1″ it’s time to water. The poke-it test is very useful too after watering to see if you applied enough. Ideally you want at least 6″ of penetration after watering and then you wait until you have 1″ before watering again.

Which lawn watering test is best?

While the eyeball-it method works, it only works well if you’re a quick-response kind of person. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven up my street, eyeballed my lawn, thought “the grass needs watered“, then rushed inside to check email, prepare dinner, or whatever, and left my grass to suffer.

The poke-it lawn watering test is more accurate, more forgiving, and is a better tool for lawn water management. It’s useful after watering, as well as before, and you don’t need to know whether it has rained recently to use it. Of course you do actually need to walk as far as your lawn to do it, so it requires being just a bit more disciplined. Either method works, as long as you do it regularly. Your choice!

Have you tried either of these methods for knowing when your grass needs watered? What other lawn care questions can I help with?

Kid tip: playing in sprinklers is one of the joys of summer. It can take upto 3 hours of slow watering to hydrate your lawn down to 6″ – plenty of time for playing!

Why you need to sleep "naked" in your garden tonight

young man sleeping on a rock by a cool natural pool

My Bed by whologwhy

Soft evening breezes kissed my hair. I reclined on my blue blanket, under the trees. No bugs were biting.

I was out at  Shakespeare in the Park.  MacBeth was magnificent, but Mother Nature stole the show. She drew me in and captured me.

This time and place will never be again. Stay with me. Sleep under the stars tonight.”

Why be afraid?

I’d never slept outside without a tent before. What was I afraid of?

Last year when Karen Wilde tweeted with me about sleeping “naked” under the stars, I was afraid to admit that I was somehow scared of going tent-free.

How else could I explain that I’d never camped out “naked” in my own garden, with my house right there beside me, if I wasn’t scared? I mentally checked my list:

  1. It might rain. Score off – unlikely without warning, and anyway I love the rain. It couldn’t be that.
  2. Bugs or spiders might bite me. Since when was I afraid of bugs and spiders? Score off.
  3. Scary men might come by and steal me. Um, I live in a really safe neighborhood. Besides, who would know I’m out there in my garden on this one specific night? Score off.

There wasn’t any rational reason for me to be afraid of camping “unprotected” in my own garden. Maybe once-upon-a-time my mom had scared me indoors for the night, but I’m too old to be afraid of the bogey man.

Why you should sleep “naked” in your garden

I dragged my camping bed and sleeping bag outside. As I lay there listening to night sounds, the breeze caressing my cheek, it seemed the most natural thing I’ve ever done. Why exactly did I wait 50 years to try this? I felt my connection to life all the way back to the beginning of time. This was simple, and perfect – just nature, my garden, and me.

During the night I awoke to the sounds of wild animals fighting in a nearby yard and in the morning the bird chorus in the trees around me was almost deafening. I was not the least bit afraid. My senses were alive, I thrilled to the life around me. My garden took on a whole new dimension. I felt as though I could sleep outdoors every night. This beat National Park camping in a tent hands-down!

Are you ready to go “naked”?

Robin Easton writes in her book Naked in Eden about her own night-time experience with nature and how it changed her, “The brace I’d worn on my crippled spirit began to fall away, and I understood how to walk with my eyes and heart fully open. Although I still had fears, I recognized them as part of myself that I needed to fill with insight and wisdom.”

Are you ready for some “naked” garden camping? Life is out there waiting for you – don’t let fear stop you from growing. Sleeping out without a tent might be just what you need. If you don’t try it, you’ll never know.

Kid tip: what better way is there to connect kids to nature than to let them sleep out on the porch or deck, with your house right there if y’all need something?

Vegetables to plant in July

a row of young, green, lettuceAs the heat of July strikes your garden planting vegetable seeds might be the last thing on your mind.

Surprisingly, July is the right time to plant many kinds of  vegetable seeds for fall harvest.

Vegetable seeds to plant in July

Almost the same vegetable seeds which are planted in spring can be put into the garden in July.

Here is a partial list:

- Snap Beans

- Potatoes

- Onions, Scallions

- Parsnips, Rutabagas, Turnips, Carrots, Beets

- Mustard Greens, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Chinese Cabbage, Endive

- Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, Kale

Does it matter where I live?

Yes, you may not be able to plant all of the vegetables above if you are much north or south of Kansas, or if you live in the mountains. If you are in the southern hemisphere things will be altogether different for you.

If you are south of Kansas, hold off until August or September for most fall vegetables. If you are north, in Minnesota for example, go ahead and plant snap beans, beets, Chinese cabbage and kale.

What can I plant in July in my area?

There are many vegetables you can plant in July. For a complete vegetable planting calendar for your area simply search Google with words Kansas vegetable planting calendar, substituting the name of your state where I have Kansas. Or leave a request for help in the comments below and I’ll help you to figure out what you can plant and when.

Have you ever planted vegetables in July? Leave me your questions and comments please.

Kid tip: give kids full-size containers to plant vegetables in (5 gallons or larger). Small containers heat up too much and dry out too quickly, especially in the heat of July.