What Happens If You Water Your Lawn After Mowing

Keeping your lawn growing green and healthy throughout the summer is a challenge, and getting the timing adjusted for both mowing and watering takes practice and patience to get just right. You don't want to make a landscaping mistake, and you understand the importance of your lawn to your home's curb appeal. In this case, you may be wondering what happens if you water your lawn after mowing. The answer is, nothing bad! However, it's not necessary to water your lawn after mowing.

It's crucial to water and mow your lawn at the right times, and while it might seem elementary, it's most certainly not. We're going to give you some simple tips to follow for keeping your lawn in tip-top shape, including the right times for performing each task. Having good landscaping can increase your home's value by up to 20%, so it's easy to see why keeping the lawn nicely manicured is important to most homeowners.

First of all, the best time to water your lawn is before 10 a.m. The weather is ideal at this time for minimizing evaporation and optimizing absorption. Most lawns need about an inch and a half of water per week, and this includes rainfall. Additionally, you only need to water if there isn't much rainfall during the week. If the grass is turning dull or grayish, or your footprints don't disappear quickly, these are signs the lawn needs water.

It's also important to water enough so that the root system can become healthy and established at a good depth. Otherwise, the lawn learns to keep its roots near the surface in order to get enough water. You can use the empty tuna can trick for guiding you on how long to water. Just place a few empty tuna or cat food cans around the sprinklers where the water lands. Turn on the sprinklers and notice the time. Watch the cans until they get about an inch or so of water in them. Check the time so you know how long to water, twice a week, when it doesn't rain. If you prefer to water after you mow, just make sure everything is completed before mid-morning.

The best time to mow the grass is going to be early evening and when it's driest. Trying to cut wet grass can result in cutting it unevenly and clogging up your lawnmower. Additionally, don't mow on a schedule, but rather when needed. Have your mower blades sharpened about once a year, along with a tune-up. Always vary your mowing pattern to avoid scalping the grass or getting worn patches.

Another thing to remember is to never mow more than a third off the top of the grass blades at a time. This is only a general rule of thumb, as certain types of grass will sometimes need to be shorter. Typically, trimming as little as possible is better, even though that will mean you'll need to mow more often. 

The bottom line is that the schedules for mowing and watering just don't overlap. Water your lawn in the early morning hours, and mow in the early evenings between 4 and 6 p.m. for best results.