Weather Station Hardware > Ambient Weather and Ecowitt and other Fine Offset clones

Ecowitt WH51 - moisture reading when time to water turf grass

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Rammer47:
I only find one reference to what moisture reading below which I need to water my lawn. Is there a discussion thread related to this question? I live in Rhode Island, USA. For years I have struggled with lawn disease. Apparently, I water too often, too late in the day, and not enough water at one time. The RI and CT extension services say I should water 1 - 1.5" per week.
I would like to know at what low moisture reading I need to water.

eliteweathernz:
I don’t water my plants/ lawn until the soil moisture reading is below 30%.

The unfortunate issue with the soil moisture probes by Ecowitt is they don’t sample deep enough into the soil. Ie they are really only good for pot plants or shallow rooting applications.

Often lawn roots are much deeper.

So basically you’re sampling the top inch or 2 of the soil not a 3-5 inches deep where lawn roots often reach.
Hence why when I figure if the first 2 inches get relatively dry it’s time to water and supply a bit more moisture to that deeper layer.

Always water at dusk or dawn, water for short durations often rather than long periods infrequently. You want to simulate a steady shower of water not a downpour that could cause the water to sit and puddle.

Hope this helps

Rammer47:
Thank you for your reply and experience. My biggest concern now is lawn disease mid-summer and onward. The UNIV. OF Conn Home & Garden Education Center stated: "High incidences of disease on lawns are usually caused by excessive watering and excessive fertilization. Lawn grasses need 1 1/2 inches of water per week, applied once and deeply. Watering every day keeps roots shallow and prone to rot, or heat damage since they are shallow and not deep in the soil during hot weather."
Watering in the evening leaves the grass wet all night and prone to disease development.

I ordered a new WH51 and will test it in water at various depths in a cup of water.
? Does anyone know if the moisture reading is taken over the entire surface of the device or at the tip?
? Is there a similar device that takes readings at a deeper depth?

kheller2:
I thought someone modified their WH51 so that it could be used deeper via a PVC pipe with the antenna at the surface.  Or I might be confusing that with something else... but I thought it was on here.

As for watering...  people can argue all day about what works better for what types of plants.  My own research on pepper plants, for example, states that watering once weekly and deeply is the way to go.  Deeply sort of implies a long slow watering so that it penetrates the ground: think drip lines running for a few hours so the soil several inches down gets moist.  And yes, water early in the morning or late evening.  I've read that watering in the morning is better to prevent fungus, etc., from growing since during the night the ground tends to stay wetter for longer. If you water in the early morning, the surface area and plants can dry off.  Watering in the midday sun should be avoided to not damage leaves.   (Mind you, the weather doesn't care and will rain whenever, be it sunny or not).

Rover1822:
I think we need more input from those that have used them for lawn use, I have not. I do use a bunch for growing veg in pots, so I can't answer.

I think , depending on size of lawn , etc, this is a very complex question, as most lawns , depending on terrain will have different moisture levels in the soil.

Also, it should noted , that some calibration may be needed as some may report lower/higher than others.  So you can either calibrate or just be familiar with what the unit may report. I typically , and this is for pots, take mine and stick them in a saturated soil mix in a bucket, which has a drain. I then move them around in the bucket over a period of days to get a feel for what they are doing. I note all this down. I then start the drain on the bucket and watch the graphed data, etc.. I do not calibrate , as I don't need to really I just need to know how they differ.. reads high/ low etc.

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