Mastering Lawn Watering: Smart Scheduling Tips for a Healthier Lawn with Rachio

When it comes to keeping your lawn healthy and green, water is a key component to success. How and when you water make a huge difference. From setting up zones to figuring out the best time to water your lawn, many homeowners are searching for smart, water-efficient answers. That’s where Rachio comes in. As the smart watering leader, Rachio takes the guesswork out of irrigation. In this guide, we’ll walk through the most common questions homeowners have about watering, as well as how you can solve them with Rachio’s smart watering features. When Is the Best Time to Water Your Lawn? Let’s settle this one: the best time to water your lawn is early in the morning, before sunrise. This allows water to soak in before it can evaporate during the heat of the day. Rachio schedules can automatically adjust your watering time based on your local sunrise time. And if you live in a water district with restrictions, they may specify the hours in which you are allowed to water. Rachio Fixed Schedules can help you meet those requirements. How Long Should You Water Your Lawn? The answer depends on your lawn’s soil, sun exposure, and sprinkler type. This is the type of information we ask you for when you set up a zone in the Rachio App so that we can provide a custom schedule recommendation. Watering Your Lawn in Summer: Do’s and Don'ts Hot weather and sun exposure increases evaporation and lawn stress. Rachio automatically compensates for this by increasing watering frequency based on the time of the year. If you opt for a Fixed Schedule, this feature is called Seasonal Shift and it increases and decreases your watering time throughout the year based on historical weather data. Flex schedules have similar features that match the temperature curve of the seasons. Signs of an Overwatered Lawn (And How to Recover) Overwatering is more common than you think—and Rachio helps prevent it. Here’s how to spot an issue: Common signs of overwatering: Runoff on your sidewalk Grass feels squishy underfoot Fungal patches or mushroom growth Rachio’s Cycle & Soak feature breaks long run times into smaller pieces, helping reduce puddling and runoff. For instance, if you have a 30-minute run time with traditional nozzles, it may break it into two 15-minute runs. We also recommend using efficient rotary nozzles that water slower over increased run times to ultimately use less water. Water-Efficient Lawn Care Starts With Smart Tech If you’ve ever Googled: “How often to water grass” “Signs of overwatering lawn” “Grass turning yellow after watering” You’re not alone. These early-stage questions are common — and they’re exactly what Rachio’s Smart Irrigation System is designed to solve. Our goal? A lush lawn with less waste. Key Rachio Features for Water-Efficient Lawn Care: Local weather data to skip unnecessary watering Soil and plant type detection for customized run times Advanced algorithms that use the best plant science to keep your yard healthy