It's getting to be that time of the year when many of our lawns start to dry out and go dormant.  If you water your lawn, or have new grass seed that you are watering, here are a few tips to make sure you are helping your lawn and not doing it harm.

When watering a lawn it's best to apply at least one inch of water to each area before moving your sprinkler to another area.  The easiest way to measure how much water you apply is to place a bread tin in the area being watered.

The ideal time to water your lawn is early in the morning just as the sun starts to rise.  If you water when the sun is high in the sky you will lose a lot of water to evaporation before the water even has a chance to reach the grass.

DO NOT water your lawn in the evening right before sunset.

Never let your lawn go to bed with wet hair! 

Ever heard of Pythium Blight?  Probably not.

Pythium Blight is fungal disease that attacks lawn grasses. It's found in both warm and cool climates and will attack your lawn at night, during periods of high humidity.  Evening watering greatly increases your chance of inviting this disease into your lawn.

In the morning this disease looks like cotton candy on your lawn, and it turns the grass slimy and greasy and will kill certain varieties of grass.

It's easily prevented by watering only in the morning.

Mike McGroarty is the owner of McGroarty Enterprises and the author of 2 books. You can visit his website at www.freeplants.com.