Tips for Watering Sloped Lawns or Hillsides

One of the most fundamental parts of keeping your lawn green and pretty during the hot summer months is to keep it watered. This can be more complicated that you would think if you have slopes or hillsides in your yard. When you water a hillside most of the water runs off instead of soaking down into the soil which can lead to dry, dead patches in your lawn. If you have plants or flowers planted on a slope the same thing can happen where they don't get adequate water to keep them alive. Here are some tips for watering a sloped lawn or plants on a hillside.

The key to keeping your sloped lawn alive is to provide enough saturation when you water it and to prevent all the water from running off. That way the grass will get enough to drink and will stay healthy and green.

The easiest way to do this is to break down your watering into short bursts of time instead of doing all of your watering at once. When the water first hits your lawn some will soak in, but as the ground gets wetter it will start to run off. By breaking down your watering into several sessions you can water just until the point that the water begins to run off and then stop and come back to water more later.

For this to be effective you need to figure out how long to water before the run off begins. Begin watering your slope and time how long it takes for the water on the ground to stop soaking in and start running down the slope. This is the longest that you can go for each watering cycle to ensure that the water is not just running down the hill. If it is 10 minutes that means that you may need to break your watering cycle into 3 parts to get 30 minutes of watering in.

It is important to do all of the watering cycles in one day instead of stretching them out over a week. Otherwise the water will not go deep enough into the soil and the roots won't get adequate moisture to keep your lawn alive and healthy. The same process should be used for plants or landscaping on a hill or slope. With plants you can also dig a small "well" on the downhill side that will help to collect water and allow it to get to the roots of the plant.

Watering on a slope or hillside is not complicated, it just takes a little more planning than watering a flat lawn or garden. By taking the time to break your watering cycle into smaller segments you will help your lawn get the water it needs and keep it looking fresh and green all summer long.