A watering schedule that actually works in an Austin August

The single most common thing we find on a first visit is a controller set to run every morning for eight minutes. That keeps the top inch damp and teaches the roots there is no reason to go deeper. Then the first week of hundred-degree days arrives and the grass has nothing to draw on.

Water deeply, and less often

Two or three run-days a week, long enough to put down about an inch in total, will beat daily watering every time. On clay soils, which is most of central Austin, split each run into two shorter cycles an hour apart so the water soaks in instead of running down the drive.

Run it before sunrise

Between four and seven in the morning. Evening watering leaves the blades wet overnight, which is how fungus gets started.

Check the system, not the schedule

Before changing any timings, run every zone manually and watch it. A tilted head or a cracked lateral wastes more water than any schedule will save.

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