Watering Lawn costs too much for my 10,000 sqFt — How do i keep it green?
July 19, 2010
Question by BS9999: Watering Lawn costs too much for my 10,000 sqFt — How do i keep it green?
My lawn is huge for my suburbia house…its the biggest in the neighborhood at 10,000-12,000 sq feet…To keep this lawn green i fertilize, aerrate, mow, and water it. The problem i am having is that the watering which is handled by a lot of underground sprinklers is costing me an arm and a leg…Just to water the lawn in total to give each zone 1 hour worth of water which equates to about 0.25 inch of water based on my sprinkler type it would total 4 hours and 35 mins…This amount of time amounts to extra on the water bill…but remember this is just to give my lawn 0.25 inch of water in ever spot…I read that the lawn needs 1 inch of water per week. So to do that it would cost me *4 = /week = 0/month just to give my lawn enough water to stay green….OUCH! Is there an alternative i can do to keep my lawn green during the coming summer heatwave hear in Southwestern Ontario, Canada??
I was thinking of watering my lawn 2 mins for each zone coming to 12 min lawn total
Best answer:
Answer by lyllyan
You could always make larger islands in your lawn, plant drought resistant plants and use a good mulch around your existing trees to cut down of water evaporation.
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talk to a landscaper about adding xeriscaping. you can have an attractive yard with some grass. you initial expense will be greater than your water bill, but you will reap the rewards over time.
I agree with lyllyan. But you think you have a water bill, Ha! We have a small place, only 55 acres of alfalfa with another 85 in pasture. We live in Arizona; cost about $1,500 a month and that’s with water saving irrigation. Of course selling the alfalfa pays for watering everything. Hum… rent out pasture.
Well I have an acre lot (43,560 sq. feet.) and to water the entire lawn one time with a farm sprinkler set to 2-3 hour intervals costs me $5 per incident, most folks here do see an increase of around $20 / month on their water bill with irrigation systems.
But for $20 which one’s it going to be, you want a green lawn or you want to save the chump change? You don’t seem to mind fertilizing, that’s not exactly cheap, but with an irrigation system a normal interval is 20 minutes every 2nd day and if money is still an issue, try 30 minutes twice a week… I dare say if you have to compromise, then fertilize a little bit less, but do water, and you always get back what you put into it.
Unfortunately, a round-robin garden hose sprinkler does have to go for at least an hour, I let mine run for 2-3 but it goes full circle because I have a bit of lawn here. Way I do it is when it’s been really dry, I cut it and then water it ONE time real good and let it be, don’t touch it. The water helps keep things green but not watering it but once keeps it from growing out of control as well.
It also helps if the blades are sharp, I sharpen mine every 6-8 cuts.
Cutting it too often or with the blade height too low will brown spot it. I start the season cutting at 3″, then in May I raise it to 3.25″ and right now I’ve got my mower’s cut height set to 3.5″ and I only cut it when it really needs it, this helps preserve the green as well, and don’t fertilize after April or before September.
Peace
Well,I treat lawns for a living and have been doing so for several years. The lawn need about an inch of water per week to stay green. I would suggest to save money but keep the place looking good,try watering just the front. Also you could use a slow release fertilizer early summer to feed the lawn a little slower. If you can find something with iron in it, it will give you a boost of color for a birthday party or whatever. I hope that helps. p.s. If you don’t want to water the right way and proper amount it is best,for the turf,not to water at all. You will cause more damage due to heat or summer stress
Here’s a link to a product that I hear many people swear by here in Florida where the drought situation has been worse than usual this year. I’ve never used it myself but it is supposed to increase water retention in soil thereby reducing irrigation.
http://www.hydretain.com/
Have you considered looking into getting a well installed?
FREE WATER, except for the cost of the electric pump to bring it up. Look in your local yellow pages under “Water Well Drilling” for contractors in your area. Rough estimates are generally free. You may be able to split the installation cost with your neighbor(s), if you get along with them.
I hope this helps!
Go with coladog’s idea. When you mow what do you do with the clippings? If you have a fancy riding mower that has those storage bins on that you empty when they are full get rid of it and get a mulching riding mower. Leave the cut clippings on the lawn they provide a few benefits
1.free organic mulch
2. Mulch adds nutrients to the soil.
3. Mulch means moisture retention
4. Moisture retention means less watering. lol
Or get some big water storage tanks and collect rainwater then hook up a pump of some sort that’s hooked directly to the watering system i think you can buy some sort of algae sucker fish like in aquariums to keep the aquarium clean might work on a larger scale or maybe theres some other non chemical way to keep it clean til you need the water if you go with plastic make sure theres a drain so in winter it wont crack when the water freezes Hope this helps