Irrigation

What is a low maintenance lawn? Who sets the standards? An honest answer to both of these questions is probably "I don't know". By my standards most people in western Oregon already have low maintenance lawns. Their lawns are mowed sporadically in spring, occasionally in summer and fall and not at all in winter. A clear majority don't irrigate at all and of those who do, few irrigate consistently. Perhaps seventy percent of these homelawns are never fertilized and very few are ever treated with herbicides for weed control. Sounds pretty low maintenance to me.

As I drove into campus this morning, I noticed several sprinkler systems running.  After a week of on and off rain, day temperatures in the 70s and night temperatures in the 40s, it is time to reduce watering times and/or days or even better, turn the irrigation system off.  The turf is using very little water this time of the year and it will allow the turf to naturally harden off as the winter months approach.  An additional benefit of turning your irrigation system off is that the lack of moisture will greatly reduce the survivability of European Crane Fly eggs.  So, turn the irrigation

Shade Trial – Area 4
Seeded Spring 2003

Introduction: