Angie's LIST Guide to
Lawn irrigation and sprinklers

This doesn't seem complicated, but there's definitely a wrong way to water your lawn. Many people assume that a little watering every day is the way to go, but you can actually hurt your lawn by watering too frequently and not enough at any one time.

Assuming you're growing grasses and plants native to your area, a good rule of thumb is to emulate nature. In much of the eastern half of the United States, a good rainfall might occur once a week on average and last an hour or more. This gives plants a good soaking that goes down to the roots.

When you only water for 20 minutes, all you're doing is soaking the surface while the deeper roots remain dry. If you do this too frequently you will also encourage the growth of moss and water-borne diseases.

Experts say the optimum amount is one inch per watering session. You can measure this easily by placing an empty tuna can or other small container in the yard and keep the water on until an inch of water is in the container.

Expert advice on irrigation systems

We talked with four lawn irrigation experts in four different states.
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Hidden sprinklers allow you to water your gardens and lawn without having to drag hoses around the yard. A network of irrigation tubes is strategically placed around the yard to keep your gardens and grass properly watered.

Small spray heads are available to create a basic fan-shaped water pattern. Specialty heads can be used to customize the system. This includes heads with lower pressure that will irrigate flower beds without soaking delicate petals and various shapes for watering add shaped areas. Rotor heads that will run the water in a circular pattern over a large area are also available.