A lush lawn is a welcome sight. However, maintaining a glowing lawn can be difficult for many people as they are unaware of the basics of proper lawn care. One of the most important ways in which you can improve your lawn health is to water competently. You should water the lawn only when absolutely necessary. This means that in dry areas in the dry weather, you might need to water the lawn twice a week. Monitor the lawn and only water it when it displays signs of drought strain. Such stress is manifested when grass that is stepped on does not bounce back, the grass looks dull or yellow. Avoid watering the lawn after a rain or reduce the frequency if the weather is cool and moist. Frequent watering of the lawn will prevent the roots from going deep in search of water. This leads to damaged grass that cannot resist drought, pests, or other conditions. Moreover, frequent watering can lead to the germination of weeds. Thatch development is also a sign that you are watering the lawn more often than required. Another issue with everyday watering is soil compaction as the soil does not get time to ventilate. When watering a lawn, you need to ascertain that the water does not runoff. This will help lower water wastage and also ensure that fertilizer or pesticide is not dissolved and mixed with the water in the drains. The sprinkler should be set to provide an inch of water all over the lawn. You can measure this by setting up empty coffee tins around the sprinkler and measuring the time taken to fill it to an inch. In case the soil is compacted, finish watering when the water runs off and wait until the water is absorbed before continuing to water to the required inch. The best time to water the lawn is at dawn or just before it. If your sprinkler has a timer, set it to water the lawn before sunrise. This will ensure that the lawn receives cool water, instead of warm water. Also, the sun will help evaporate excess moisture and prevent the growth of mildew and rot in the roots. This will also help reduce the presence of pests in the lawn. Another part of proper watering is to ensure that the soil is able to retain water. Compacted soil needs to be aerated to ensure that it can absorb and hold moisture. For this, you can add appropriate mulch and other material to the soil to ensure that it can retain moisture for longer. Proper lawn care begins with appropriate watering regimen. While most people are aware that inadequate watering can prevent proper lawn growth, excess watering, frequent watering, and erroneous timing of watering can all lead to poor lawn growth as well. This means that you need to observe the lawn before you decide to water it, to ensure that it stays healthy .