Get sharp about blades
Less is best with watering
Step 1: Think “deficit” irrigation, instead of “optimal” irrigation. That means learning how to use your sprinkler timer and turning off your irrigation in the cool months between November and April. When it warms up, water deeply in the early morning or evening for 10 to 15 minutes a maximum of three or four days a week, depending on your lawn type (three days for warm-season grasses like Bermuda, four days for cool-season grasses like fescue). If runoff is a problem, divide your watering time into 3-minute cycles, Baird said. “Your lawn won’t be super lush,” he said, “but it will be good enough.”
Choose the right turf
About 90% of SoCal lawns are planted with deep-green fescue grass, Baird said, but warm-season grasses like Bermuda or buffalograss need about 20% less water to stay green in hot, dry conditions. Think three days of watering each week for Bermuda grasses, versus four days for fescue.
Bermuda lawns aren’t popular because they go brown in the winter, when temperatures consistently dip below 80 degrees, but there are many varieties of Bermuda, Baird said.
Feed your lawn
Lawns are greener and less weedy if fertilized four times a year. (“The best herbicide is a healthy turf stand,” Schiavon said.) Grass responds only to nitrogen, Baird said, so other amendments aren’t necessary. Baird recommends fertilizing fescue and other cool-season grasses around St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Halloween. Bermuda and other warm-season grasses should be fed around Easter, Fourth of July, Labor Day and Halloween.
Mow wisely
Sharpen your mower blades at least once a year (or make sure your gardener has sharp blades), because dull blades shred and stress the grass. Be sure you (or your gardener) is mowing to the right height — 3 to 4 inches for fescue/cool-season grasses and just 1.5 to 2 inches for Bermuda/warm-season grasses. And leave the clippings on the ground, for good, free fertilizer. “I still can’t believe all the gardeners I see collecting clippings to create more waste,” Baird said.
Maintain sprinklers
People tend to water more when they see brown spots on their lawn, Schiavon said. It’s better to hand-water the spots. Every spring, before you resume regular irrigation, clean or replace the filters in sprinklers. Fixed-spray nozzles of the same size are more efficient than rotary type sprinklers, but if you’re replacing or installing a lawn, Schiavon says the most efficient system is sub-surface irrigation, PVC pipes with holes, spaced about one foot apart, 4 to 6 inches deep.