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Some lay their lawn with great effort and according to a precisely defined plan. The others, on the other hand, put the grass seeds into the ground with little effort and let nature take its course. But no matter which philosophy you adhere to, no lawn will grow without watering. The success of creating closed, dense lawns depends in large part on how often you water your newly seeded lawn.
Water the freshly seeded lawn
After the lawn has been laid, the lawn seeds are in the ground and should germinate as quickly and completely as possible. The first basic requirement for this is an adequate water supply. Because while the seed grain draws on its own energy reserves in the form of stored starch until the first root is formed, it is completely dependent on external supplies for water. It is particularly important that water or moisture is available at all times. Because if lawn seeds dry out, the germination process is interrupted. The consequences are:
- Uneven development of the lawn
- Varying growth density
- Gaps in the lawn due to partial loss of seed after drying out
danger: If the seed of the lawn dries up early in the germination stage, the germination process is interrupted, as the seed grain protects itself from deficiencies due to a lack of water. Once the germ envelope is open, the sensitive radicle is so severely damaged by dehydration in a very short time that it dies.
Water lawn seed
But how often do you have to water lawn seeds to germinate and grow successfully? With regard to the permanent supply of sufficient moisture, there is no general answer to this question. The question of how often should also be broadened and reinterpreted as "how intensively". After all, it is not the frequency that determines the success of the lawn sowing, but rather the amount of water administered over the long term. The amount of water required depends on various factors:
- Frequency and regularity of natural precipitation
- soil permeability
- Temperature and solar radiation due to evaporation
- Wind intensity due to additional drying of the surface
As a rough average, the relevant specialist literature repeatedly reads a quantity of around two to two and a half liters of water per square meter of lawn and day. Depending on how the factors mentioned turn out, this value can also deviate significantly up or down. In the case of continuous rain, no additional watering is required, while in the case of dryness and high temperatures, 5 or more liters per square meter may well be necessary.
lawn seed
casting amount
At this point, the question is justified as to how the correct watering quantity and frequency can be determined. Unfortunately, there is no generally applicable formula. Instead, you should regularly check the soil moisture after sowing and thus approach the respective water quantities and watering intervals. The so-called finger test has proven itself. This means that the soil is pressed at any point with a finger and the moisture is determined by touch and sight. The pouring amount is correct if:
- the soil is permanently damp down to a depth of approx. five centimetres
- Waterlogging is avoided
- Seed and soil do not dry out
To ensure that the irrigation water penetrates to the required depth and does not immediately evaporate again, watering processes must not be too short. For example, the use of lawn sprinklers, which apply water to the lawn with moderate intensity but over a long period of time, has proven itself. However, since the soil surface dries out even at moderate temperatures and overcast skies, the individual watering processes must not be too far apart. The big challenge for you as a hobby gardener is to find the right balance between the optimum amount of water, watering for the required depth of moisture and watering sufficiently frequently to prevent superficial drying out. The following approaches for the frequency of watering are common:
- Spring: daily, in the morning or in the late afternoon after the midday sun has subsided
- Summer: early morning and late evening, before sunrise and after sunset
- Autumn: as in spring
tip: Watering once a day is watering the lawn seeds ideal in the evening. Then the moisture has enough time to penetrate into deeper soil layers without the sun evaporating too much again. In addition, during the transitional periods, morning dew often ensures additional wetting with moisture.
How long to water
After the extent and frequency of watering have been sufficiently clarified, a word should be said about how long a lawn has to be watered at all. So that a real lawn is actually created from the lawn seeds, the area should be over at least three to four weeks be kept moist without restriction. Only after the first mowing are the plants so well developed that they can obtain sufficient moisture from the soil even during dry periods. However, even an established lawn requires occasional watering when it is extremely dry.
Lawn sprinkler in the garden
notice: Here, too, close observation of the turf development is essential. Weather, type of lawn and soil conditions can speed up the development, but also slow it down significantly. If the watering of the lawn seeds is stubbornly stopped according to schedule, although the plants are still developing, all the previous effort can quickly become obsolete.