No Need to Water the Lawn — Yet
The relatively dry weather over the past two weeks got me itching to turn on the sprinkler system and water the lawn. Keeping in mind the gardening advice that lawns should receive an inch of water a week, it would seem to make sense to water, since we haven’t had a one week period with an inch of rain since March.
I decided to use a soil moisture tester I have before watering. It showed that 3 or 4 inches below the surface, there was actually plenty of moisture — and no need to water.
We have abundant soil moisture, despite the lack of recent rain, for several reasons: First, we had plenty of rain during the last week of March, and much of that rain is still in the ground. Trees draw plenty of water from the ground once they are fully leafed out, but not as much when they are bare. Finally, our cooler than normal temperatures have kept soil temperatures around 60 degrees, by my records, about 6 degrees cooler than what it’s been on May 7th over the last few years. The cooler temperatures also tend to keep moisture in the soil.
Last week’s cooler than normal temperatures are going to be replaced by normal to slightly warmer than normal weather during the upcoming week. The first week of May saw average temperatures about 7 degrees cooler than normal, accented by lows in the 40s. Lows this week will be about 15 degrees warmer than last.
High pressure to our east will bring winds from the southwest, bringing in more humidity as well, adding to the impression that things are much warmer than they have been so far this season. This high pressure will also keep the effects of a low over the upper Midwest away from Georgia, at least through Monday. Midweek, things are a bit more unsettled, as there is a chance of rain Tuesday and Wednesday, and again towards the weekend. For the week of the 15th, we’re likely to see temperatures returning to a more normal range, with highs in the upper 70s, and about a normal chance of precipitation.
If temperatures warm as expected next week, and if we are able to avoid rain, it might be time to water by next weekend, but I’ll use my moisture tester to make sure.
Sphere: Related Content