Utah lawn care that doesn't waste water — print version.
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SUS Farms · Utah Gardening
Utah lawn care that doesn't waste water
lawn · beginner · ~5 min read
A typical Utah lawn uses 60–70% of the home's summer water. Not because grass needs that much — because most lawns are watered wrong. Mow tall, water deeply and infrequently, fertilize in fall, and your lawn uses half what it does now and looks better.
Mow at 3 inches
Tall grass shades the soil, holds moisture, and chokes out weeds. Cutting too short forces the plant to spend energy regrowing leaf instead of putting down deep roots.
Water deeply, infrequently
1 inch of water once or twice a week, in the early morning. Don't water at night. Don't water every day. Use a tuna can to measure how long your sprinklers need to apply 1 inch.
Fertilize in fall, not spring
Heavy spring fertilization forces leaf growth at the expense of roots. Fall fertilization (Labor Day and Halloween) builds root reserves for next year.
Don't use weed-and-feed
These broad-spectrum herbicide+fertilizer combos kill what they touch and miss the timing window for both products. Spot-spray weeds when you see them, fertilize on a separate schedule.