Just realized my neighbor's lawn advice was completely backwards

My neighbor Bob told me last spring to water my grass every day for 15 minutes to keep it green. I did that for 2 months and my lawn got all yellow and patchy. Turns out he was watering his own yard the same way and his grass looked just as bad. I switched to deep watering twice a week for 30 minutes and now my lawn is actually healthy. Has anyone else gotten bad yard tips from people who have been doing it wrong for years?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_oscar1mo ago

Most people just repeat what their dad did without ever questioning it.

fisher.adam1mo ago

Picked up my dad's tools but found my own way @the_oscar, worked out fine.

rowan7251mo ago

Actually read something similar in a gardening blog a few months back. Apparently a lot of folks water shallow and often because their parents or neighbors did it that way, but it trains the grass roots to stay close to the surface where they dry out fast. That's why Bob's lawn looked bad too, he was just keeping the root zone damp on top. The deep watering thing gives the roots a reason to dig down deeper for moisture, so they can handle dry spells better. Funny how bad advice just spreads around neighborhoods for years without anyone thinking to check it.