Dead Grass? Tips on How to Properly Water a Lawn

If you live in the Midwest then like me, you've probably recently attempted to off-set the staggering 90-100 Degree Heat Wave we've had to keep your grass alive by watering it.  I thought it was appropriate to find some useful tips to share so that you can maintain a green lawn, or close to it despite mother nature as of recent :)

How to Water Your Lawn Efficiently

The Environmental Protection Agency reports that nationally, lawn care and landscaping accounts for more than 30 percent of water use in the United States.

That is an amazing amount, especially if you consider how much time and energy it takes to treat water to make it suitable for drinking, only to use it on the grass. The worst part of it is that much of this water goes to waste due to inefficient watering techniques.

Knowing how to water you lawn efficiently can make for greener, healthier grass, and big water savings during the year. This article will cover some basic techniques to get the most out of your water when you irrigate your lawn.

When to water your lawn

Water your lawn only when it needs it. The first three to four inches of soil below the turfgrass should be dry before you water. Use an electronic soil tester to test the soil moisture, or use a trowel or a screwdriver to open the soil and feel it with your finger. Another way to test when you lawn needs water is to step on the grass. If you can easily flatten the grass with your foot, you should water it. If the grass regains its form quickly after you step on it, wait to water.

It’s always a good idea to water in the cool of the early morning or the evening to reduce the levels of evaporation. Watering in the morning is best as the water may sit overnight and cause problems with root rot or fungal diseases. Never water on a windy day.

How and how much to water your lawn

Water less frequently and more deeply. If you water deeply, your roots will begin to grow down further into the soil. This means that your grass will perform better during hot and drought-like periods.

One inch of water is a good rule of thumb for your lawn. However, this will really depend on where you live, the quality of your soil, etc. Soil types can make a big difference on how efficiently your lawn uses water. See this site from the Better Lawn and Turf Institute for a guide to how soil types affect watering rates.

Adding organic compost to your garden soil is one of the best ways to improve the efficiency of your lawn’s water use. You should water a little more during the hottest times of the year, and less during the fall. If your area is getting an inch of rain a week, there is no reason to water more. You should save you water until you need it.

Measuring how much you’re watering:

Go out and test to see how much water you’re using each time you water. Remember that your goal should be an inch of water about every week. Place a series of shallow containers throughout your lawn. Turn the sprinklers on and water your grass. When you’re finished, measure the water in the dishes. Adjust the time until the water is about an inch deep.

When you do this test, also observe your grass. If you see pools occurring quickly, this means that your soil may need some adjustment. Adding compost will do the trick.

In the meantime, you can turn off the water once the pools start to form and let the water soak in before you continue to water. If you have a sloping lawn, you’ll want to probably reduce the rate of your sprinkler system so that the water has more time to soak in.

If you have an automatic sprinkler system, this test will also help give you a time setting for your sprinkler system. This technique will also help you determine if your sprinkler system is working well. If you note large discrepancies in the level of water in the containers, you may need to adjust you sprinkler system.

Adjusting your sprinkler system:

Check your sprinkler system to make sure that it’s watering your grass and not your sidewalk, driveway, etc. Check all the sprinkler heads. Some may be clogged or pointing in the wrong direction. Replace and adjust any sprinkler heads that aren’t working properly. You can talk to a professional lawn and garden service if you need help with this. Also check for leaks, broken pipes, etc. If you have a timer for your sprinkler system, set it based on the 1 inch watering system.

How to water new lawns:

For newly laid sod, give the entire area a good, long drink right after you set up your lawn. You should continue with frequent soakings (every 2 days) for about 2 and a half weeks so that the roots establish. After this period, use the one inch rule for watering your sod.

When you seed a new lawn, it’s important to water it properly. You’ll initially want to water more frequently, but without saturating your lawn. You should keep the first few inches of soil moist during the establishment period. It will probably take a little over a month for the roots to begin to establish. At which point you can use the 1 inch of water rule.

Aerating your grass for efficient water use:

Soil aeration is another way to get your grass to use water more efficiently. Aerating your grass involves punching holes in your lawn with specialized aerating equipment.

Through time and continued use, the soil beneath your lawn becomes compacted and this affects water drainage, air circulation, and how efficiently your grass makes use of nutrients. The overuse of chemical fertilizers also can create soil compaction. Thus, aerating your soil is one of the best ways to get your lawn to make the best use of water and nutrients.

You should aerate your lawn to about 3-4 inches deep. A lawn coring aerating tool is a great tool for small lawns. For larger lawns, you may want to go ahead and rent a larger lawn aerating machine. When you aerate your lawn, try passing 2-3 times over the same area so that you properly cover your lawn with enough holes. If you use a machine aerator, make sure you leave the soil plugs on the grass. They should decompose quickly and will return nutrients to the soil.

Other water saving tips for your lawn:

To further increase your water savings, you should mow your grass correctly and use “grasscycling,” which means leaving the grass clippings on your lawn. The grass clippings act as natural mulch, retaining moisture and returning nutrients to the soil. This will improve soil texture and water retention. Reel mowers are a great way to grasscycle. Also, make sure to read this guide to grass cutting heights for more information.

Removing weeds can also help your grass use water more efficiently, as weeds compete with your grass for water. Invest in a good quality weeder to effectively remove weeds from your lawn.

Also, look for drought resistant and water-wise grasses. This website from Texas Aggie Horticulture is a good place to look for grasses that will use less water than standard turf grasses.

To further your water savings, you can use water absorbing polymers (water crystals) in your lawn to help you save water. These water absorbing gel products, such as Solid Water polymer gels, can help reduce the amount you water your landscaping by up to 50 percent.

Water absorbing polymer gels work by absorbing high quantities of water, in addition to beneficial nutrients, and then slowly releasing the water through osmosis. When mixed into the soil, the gel polymers come in direct contact with the roots of your grass. This translates to extremely efficient use of water in your landscaping. Gel polymers are safe for your family and pets and will not cause problems with root rot or soil borne diseases.

Foreclosure Activity falls to 42 Month Low in May!

Is the market finally on its way towards brighter days?  Can we really expect that with foreclosure numbers dwindling that our home inventory levels would finally subside and come down to normal levels within the next year? 

Anything is possible right? haha....Well I being the optimistic person that I am would love to see the foreclosure activity continue to fall, not just a month at a time but month after month.  This would then prove to me and to many others that we are in fact on our way to a recovery.  Yes, I said it....There is hope for a recovery folks but it starts with inventory levels as compared with the number of buyers and as long as we see the number of homes that hit the market decline from banks and short sales then we are on the right track. 

Foreclosure activity falls to 42-month low in May

Default notices drop to lowest monthly total since December 2006

By Inman News

Inman News™

Foreclosure-related filings on U.S. properties fell 33 percent year-over-year in May, hitting a 42-month low, according to a report from foreclosure data site RealtyTrac.

One in every 605 housing units, or 214,927 properties, received a foreclosure-related filing such as a default notice, scheduled auction, or bank repossession. That's a 2 percent drop from April and a 33 percent drop from a year ago.

"Foreclosure processing delays continue to mask the true face of the foreclosure situation, although there were some clues in the May numbers of what lies behind that mask," said James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac's CEO, in a statement.

"First, activity spiked in May for various stages of the foreclosure process in some states, a pattern that has occurred in several states over the past few months. This pattern provides evidence that lenders are somewhat unevenly pushing batches of bad loans through foreclosure as they overhaul their paperwork and documentation procedures and as they determine that some local markets are able to absorb more foreclosure inventory.

"Second, while the inventory of properties in the foreclosure process has declined steadily over the past six months -- thanks in large part to 16 consecutive months of year-over-year declines in new default notices -- the inventory of unsold bank-owned REOs increased in April and May even as new REO activity slowed in both of those months. That points to continued weak demand from buyers, making it tough for lenders to unload their REO inventory. Even at a significantly lower level than a year ago, the new supply of REOs exceeds the amount being sold each month."

Default notices declined to a 53-month low in May, falling to 58,797, the lowest monthly total since December 2006. Default notices fell 7 percent month-to-month and 39 percent year-over-year.

After eight straight months of decreases, the number of foreclosure auctions scheduled rose slightly, to 89,251, up 3 percent from April but down 33 percent from a year ago.

Bank repossessions fell 4 percent month-to-month and 29 percent year-over-year in May, with lenders taking 66,879 homes into their real-estate owned (REO) inventories.

"Since the so-called robo-signing controversy came to light in October 2010, REO activity has followed a roller coaster pattern, with five monthly decreases and three monthly increases," the report said.

States with a judicial foreclosure process saw activity decrease 45 percent year-over-year in May, while states with a nonjudicial foreclosure process saw activity fall 25 percent year-over-year. Scheduled auctions rose in both judicial and nonjudicial foreclosure states on a monthly basis, 6 percent and 2 percent, respectively. REO activity rose 1 percent month-to-month in judicial foreclosure states and fell 6 percent in nonjudicial foreclosure states.

Five states accounted for 51 percent of all foreclosure activity last month. California had the highest volume of properties receiving a filing (51,906), followed by Florida (19,192), Michigan (14,614), Arizona (13,122), and Nevada (11,039).

Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate among states for the 53rd straight month in May, with one in 103 housing units receiving a foreclosure-related filing that month. Overall foreclosure activity in the state fell 23.1 percent year-over-year, with bank repossessions falling 21 percent from an all-time monthly high in April. Default notices rose 8 percent and scheduled auctions fell 1 percent on a monthly basis.

For the sixth straight month, Arizona held the second-highest foreclosure rate in the nation with one in 210 housing units receiving a filing. Overall foreclosure activity in Arizona fell 18.5 percent year-over-year. Scheduled auctions rose 4 percent month-to-month and bank repossessions fell 8 percent month-to-month but were essentially flat year-over-year.

Scheduled auctions also rose month-to-month in California, 16 percent, though default notices fell 16 percent and REOs fell 25 percent. Though overall foreclosure activity fell 27.9 percent, the Golden State had the third-highest foreclosure rate in the nation, with one in 259 units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Daily Motivation - I THINK I CAN

I THINK I CAN

If you think you are beaten you are;

If you think you dare not, you don't;

If you want to win but think you can't;

Its almost a cinch you won't.

If you think you'll lose you're lost;

For out of the world we find

Success begins with a fellow's will;

It's all in a state of mind.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger faster man,

But sooner or later the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can.

Make a Home Investment in 2011

Location, location, location. In the latter half of 2011 that adage should come back into vogue. But first, more declines. C'mon, you're thinking, you've been hearing for months that prices have been more or less stable nationwide. True, but the still-soft job market, the foreclosure crisis, and the absence of incentives such as the homebuyers tax credit will push down the median home price another 5% or so next year, according to Moody's and Fiserv, before it stabilizes by late 2011 or early 2012.

Individual markets, though, will start diverging from the downtrend by summer. About one-quarter of the nation's 384 metro areas should see higher prices by year-end, and half will see drops of less than 3%.

Certainly, conditions will favor anyone in the market to buy a new home -- or homeowners looking to refinance. Today's record low mortgage rates, averaging 4.2% for a 30-year fixed term, are expected to remain low at least through the first half of the year.

Even if the economy picks up steam in the latter half of 2011, rates are unlikely to climb higher than 5%, says Amy Crews Cutts, deputy chief economist at Freddie Mac.

On top of that, assuming that banks can solve their issues with poorly documented foreclosures, home seizures will revert back to record highs, creating competition for sellers and keeping a lid on home values.

The combination of low prices, cheap mortgages, and a slowly improving job market should gradually entice buyers back to the market, setting the stage for prices to stabilize.

Demand, though, won't be strong enough for values to rise substantially, largely because the weak labor market is depressing new household formation as family and friends opt to live together, and recent graduates return to their childhood bedrooms, says Patrick Newport of IHS Global Insight.
Only about 350,000 households are forming a year, vs. 1.3 million typically. "All you hear about is foreclosures and the supply problem," says Michael Castleman Sr., CEO of housing research firm Metrostudy. "But the bigger problem is demand."

Wildcards: Foreclosures. If the investigations into robo-signed seizure documents and other issues turn up more problems for banks, foreclosures could be halted indefinitely. That would prop up prices in the short run but weigh them down over the long run.

Jobs. Housing demand could rise if the labor market picks up faster than expected. In that case, prices would firm up earlier in the year.

What to Watch: Signs of an improving market: three straight months of rising sales and a decreasing inventory of homes (a six-month supply is considered healthy; today it's 11 months). A local agent or realtor's association can supply you with that data.

Action Plan: Buyers. Don't try to time the market perfectly. Even if prices fall a bit more in your area, mortgage rates could rise later in the year, offsetting the drop. Initially bid about 10% below what comparable homes have sold for over the past three months; go even lower if the area is rife with foreclosures.

By contrast, if well-priced houses in your desired area are receiving multiple offers -- your agent will know -- bid close to list price. But don't engage in a bidding war, plenty more homes will be coming onto the market.

Until your house keys are in hand, don't change your financial profile don't buy a car, take a new job, or pay a loan late. Increasingly lenders are re-pulling credit reports and reconfirming jobs just before closing,

Action Plan: Sellers. Hang on a few more years until the market recovers. Can't hold off? Then try to unload fast.

Prices will be falling in most areas for the next several months and, depending on your location, the foreclosure slowdown in place may temporarily reduce your competition, advises Ellen Klein, a realtor in Rockaway, N.J.

Wherever you are, pricing your home right is key. Buyers typically put an upper limit on their search in increments of $25,000 or $50,000. If your house is priced at $365,000, shoppers who cut their search at $350,000 may never see your home.

Best idea: Slightly underprice your house. More often than not you'll attract numerous buyers who bid up the price, and you'll end up getting fair value in much less time.

Action Plan: Investors. Assuming foreclosures have slowed where you are, hold off until a few months after they ramp up again. Until then, inventory will be limited, and that will set a floor under prices. When you're ready to make your move, paying in cash will better the odds of a winning bid, says Foreman.

Action Plan: Owners. One word: refinance -- even if you just did it a few years ago, urges Keith Gumbinger of HSH.com, a mortgage information publisher.

If you can shave at least one point off your rate and plan to stay in your home for at least four years, a refi makes sense. On a two-year-old $300,000 loan at 6.5%, refinancing will save you $465 a month and $120,000 in interest.

Or go with a 15-year loan, which averages 3.7%. Your payment will jump $225, but you'll own your home 13 years earlier and save $253,000 in interest.

Underwater or have little equity? You may be able to refinance through a federal program known as HARP (for details go to makinghomeaffordable.gov). Have funds to spare? A cash-in refi, in which you put in enough to reach 10% or 20% equity, will let you nab those record low rates.