[zybar]

I have been talking to people and reading online, but the answers seem to be all over the place.

Figured I would ask here and see what people thought.

I am specifically interested in what people in the Northeast think since I live in the Boston area.

Thanks,

George

[Big Red Machine]

My brother-in-law is in the "grass" business in Syracuse.  He sells to golf courses, etc. and knows a thing or two about growing grass.  He always recommends deep watering, as in 20 minutes, several times per week.  He does not promote overwatering, as in too ofetn and for too short a time, as that does not teach the roots to go deep and look for water.  My neighbor waters all the time and you can go over and just rip up his yard with one hand because the roots are only as deep as the top sod layer.  You have to get the grass to learn to go deep for moisture and then it will stay healthy on its own.

Dormant grass, yellowed, is okay in the heat blasts of summer as this is a self protection mechanism.  Just don't water after 7 AM so steam builds up and creates rot as if the grass were in a sauna.

The thing I do is use the Scott's 4 step on my puny lawn because it is easy.  He rattles off the combinations that work and my eyes glaze over because I don't want to chase the real stuff down nearby outside of going to HD.

That's the extent of my grass knowledge.  Now if I could stop the neighbors from letting their dogs pee along my sidewalk....

[bpape]

2-3 days a week - 45 minutes to an hour.  Same reasoning.  Force the roots deep.  Twice a week in the spring, 3 times during the hot summer months.  Sprinklers are on a timer to start about 4AM.

Bryan

[BRILEY804]

3 days a week - 45 minutes to an hour.  Same reasoning.  Force the roots deep

watering 3 days a week is not going to promote deep root growth

[bpape]

Went back and edited.  Only do 3 days a week when it's 90-100 degrees every day during the summer months.  Spring is less and only if we don't get natural watering.  Have had plenty of that this year. 

Bryan

[soundbitten1]

Never ... water is more valuable than grass .

[TONEPUB]

I live in the Pacific Northwest, I don't have to water my lawn, or my car or my head....

[geezer]

In flower beds, foundation plantings and newly planted trees or grass, one inch once per week, including what falls as rain. With two acres of lawn we never water the established grass. It goes brown during dry periods, but always comes back with the rain. It'll be fine as  long as you tend to its other needs (fertilization, aerating, lime or gypsum, etc. when necessary).

[Goosepond]

I'm not sure about this, but I've heard if you water your grass, it will GROW.

And then you'll have to CUT it. 

Gene

[jono2channel]

I'm with Gene. My yard is easy care....Brown for most of the summer. It is also easier to clean up after my dogs on short brown grass....The city reservoir is only so big you know

[richidoo]

Boston soil is very easy to grow perfect lawn without watering. Feed it Ringer lawn food according to the directions. Test soil yearly and apply lime to maintain 6.5pH. Apply gypsum 50#/1000sf 2x/yr. Apply Ironite 1x/yr.  That's it. Once it gets used to this cocktail after a year or so, the soil is soft and well aerated by worms, the roots grow a foot deep, soil is full of plump wet bacteria, the grass is growing all the time, thick and green, then it can coast for a couple weeks of summer heat with no rain, it will just slow down the growing in the heat. Then just water in drought, deeply once every two weeks of drought. http://www.planetnatural.com/site/ringer-lawn-restore.html or find it locally.

Cut out the chemicals like Scotts, insecticides, etc. All you need is the above and a year for the lawn to come back to life. Go natural Zybar!

[sts9fan]

Never. If it dies it dies.  Scotts chicken crap for fert.

[Len_Dreyer]

Currently I'm trying every four days for twenty minutes at 9:00 PM. There's truth to the lyrics "golden rolling hills of California".

[aerius]

I'm not sure about this, but I've heard if you water your grass, it will GROW.

And then you'll have to CUT it. 

Gene

When I was a kid one of our neighbours paid me $40 to take care of their lawn while they were away on vacation.  I let their lawn go all yellow and dry before I watered it so it wouldn't grow too much, and then a week or two before they came back I gave their lawn a good soak almost every day to make it nice & green again.  I think I only cut their lawn twice.  It was great.

[Canyoneagle]

One would think that the Northeast has enough naturally-occurring moisture to preclude the need for supplemental watering.   
I've read that the average lawn requires the equivalent of 30" annual rainfall (sorry, that was long ago, no link).

Out here in the West, many are obsessed with maintaining perfectly green lawns, despite the fact that we receive (on average) far less than the necessary 30".  Xeriscape, anyone?

Perhaps a discussion with a local gardener would help identify local grasses that thrive in the Boston climate, thereby eliminating the need for supplemental watering.
Just my $.02

[satfrat]

Never. If it dies it dies.  Scotts chicken crap for fert.

Ditto,,, except mine has never "died". I purposely leave mine about twice as high as my neighbors who will get the brownouts in august but mine only rarely has brownout spots. Leaving the grass high thickens the root base and the fact that I use a mulcher only intensifies this. The only real downside is I have to mower every 4-5 days cuz my lawn is like Barry Bonds(on steriods). I also use Scotts w/weed control in the early spring and Scotts w/ insect control in August.

Cheers,
Robin