Lawn Maintenance BMPs
 

Why? Texas faces a critical water shortage. Even with development of alternative supplies of water, Texas is still looking at a water deficit. Consumers and landscape professionals are working together to ensure wise use of water in the landscape. To reach this goal, the Texas WaterWise Council has adopted a list of best management practices (BMPs) to help implement WaterWise landscapes across Texas.

HOME LAWN FACT & FICTION

Fact: Urban lawns provide oxygen for your family and friends and reduce pollution.

Fact: A healthy turf efficiently absorbs precious rainwater and prevents erosion.

Fact: Lawns surround our homes and work environments with a cooling blanket in the summer lowering temperatures as much as 30 degrees.

Fact: Lawns provide recreational areas that cushion falls and prevent injuries.

Fiction: A beautiful lawn is labor intensive. Maintaining a beautiful lawn requires use of chemicals that are damaging to the environment. Only the rich can afford a beautiful lawn.

A beautiful lawn is not labor-intensive or expensive. It provides oxygen for your family and friends and reduces pollution. A healthy turf efficiently absorbs precious rainwater and prevents erosion. It surrounds our homes and work environments with a cooling blanket in the summer lowering temperatures as much as 30 degrees. It also provides recreational areas that cushion falls and prevent injuries.

Attention to four basic practices: fertilization, irrigation, mowing, and weed control can keep the home lawn healthy without negative environmental impact or excess use of water.

FERTILIZATION

To maintain a healthy lawn, fall fertilization is usually adequate. Use a 3/1/2 quick release balanced fertilizer. Usually, no spring fertilizer is required. Nitrogen in spring rain is sufficient for healthy turf. A quarter-of-an-inch of compost applied as top dressing may be substituted for chemical fertilizer. For the very best results, get the soil tested and apply nutrients according to what the test indicates.

IRRIGATION

Healthy, properly irrigated turf rarely requires more than one inch of water per week.

What is "proper irrigation"?

Practice these WaterWise ways for properly irrigated turf:

  • Water early in the morning when evaporation is minimal and when winds are likely to be quietest.

  • Water only when the plants need it. Footprints that remain evident in the turf or leaf blades rolling or wilting in the morning are signs that turf needs water.

  • Water deeply and infrequently. Light watering encourages shallow roots. For the healthiest turf, water to encourage deep, well-established root systems.

  • Water your trees, shrubs, and other landscape plants separately from turf.

  • Tolerate straw-colored turf in the most intense heat of summer. There are two distinct dormant periods for drought tolerant turf in Texas, the dead of winter and the heat of summer. Straw-colored turf may be resting, not necessarily dead.

MOWING

  • In early spring, lower your mowing blades by a third to remove dead grass. Keep mowing at this height through the spring to enhance the turf's density. As daytime temperatures increase, raise your mowing blades by a third. Longer leaf blades will help insulate the lawn and soil from the intense heat of summer.

  • Mow frequently enough so no more than one third of the leaf blade is removed at any mowing.

  • Do not bag clippings. Valuable plant nutrients and organic matter are returned to the soil, which reduces a need for chemical fertilizers.

WEED CONTROL

A healthy, dense turf is the best weed control measure - it effectively crowds weeds out. If weeds are a problem, consult a qualified nursery professional for the most environmentally friendly product for your lawn. Apply the product only to the areas of absolute necessity and in strict accordance with the label instructions.

If you have more specific questions about your turf, your WaterWise nursery/landscape professional and county extension agent are excellent sources of information and are there to help you and your turf.

Being WaterWise...

Benefits your landscape, environment, community, and budget. Outdoor residential irrigation accounts for as much as 60% of municipal water use in the summertime.

Benefits for the Homeowner...

Being water-wise is a win-win proposition. Benefits for you:

  • Plants and turf are healthier if you water them in accordance with their needs.

  • Turfgrass and ornamentals develop deeper root systems with proper watering.

  • Native or adapted plants usually require less maintenance.

  • Proper irrigation means less run-off of fertilizer. If fertilizer flows down the street, it is not helping your plants and can harm the water supply.

  • Less water for irrigation means lower water bills.

For the Environment...

Less run-off means healthier rivers and streams. Steady or increased river flows mean a healthier river and bay aquatic community.

For the Community...

Overall decrease in water use, especially during peak water demand periods, means forestalling or avoiding building new drinking water and wastewater treatment plants. This saves millions of dollars for taxpayers and water utilities.
 

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