The day my neighbor called me out for overwatering my lawn

I was out one Saturday morning near Phoenix with the hose running for 45 minutes when my retired neighbor walked over and asked if I was trying to drown my grass. Turns out I was watering every single day because I thought more was better, but he showed me how the roots were rotting from too much moisture. I cut back to twice a week and within a month the yellow patches went away and the grass actually looked thicker. Has anyone else had a neighbor just casually drop some gardening wisdom that saved them time and money?

3 comments

3 Comments

lindag331mo ago

Oh man I feel this deep in my soul. I was the same way - watering like I was trying to grow rice in the desert. My neighbor just watched me for like two months before finally coming over and saying "you know that grass is gonna float away, right?" Made me laugh but he was totally right. Now I water twice a week and my lawn somehow looks greener than when I was drowning it every single day. Funny how doing less actually does more sometimes.

the_anthony1mo ago

Ah man that is rough but also such a classic desert mistake. We moved to Tucson a few years ago and I did the exact same thing. Thought I was helping my grass stay green in the summer but turns out I was just drowning it and wasting a ton of water. Your neighbor did you a huge favor honestly. I had to learn the hard way after my sprinkler system broke and I saw how much better the lawn looked with less water. Its crazy how overwatering makes things worse especially in our dry climate. Glad you got it sorted out without having to completely redo your lawn like I almost did.

kelly3851mo agoMost Upvoted

Watering twice a week sounds like a luxury compared to what I ended up doing. My neighbor finally came over and just handed me a rain gauge without saying anything, which was the nicest passive-aggressive hint I've ever received. Turns out my grass was basically living in a swamp and wondering why its roots were rotting.