I Agree!
DE... I'll second that! Being new to the St Aug. lawn I was a little befuddled when we moved in last fall but a little study did the trick.
Univ of FL recommends 3/4" to 1" of water per week which you can only determine by measuring as you stated.
I had a lawn service who kept telling me to water more even tho I was set for up to 1.25" at one time.
I quickly concluded they didn't know what they were talking about and gave them their walking papers. As soon as I started my own granular fertilization AND cut back the water to 3/4" per week INCLUDING rain we started doing just fine.
Because of our water shortage situation, not to mention the cost (8,000+ s.f. of lawn), I am sensitive to over watering. I found that by monitoring carefully I was able to significantly reduce may water consumption.
Bottom line is I'm not convinced the lawn people really know what's going on. We've continued with our own fertilizer and bug program and have actually had the water off for most of the summer. Lawn looks great!
Also, past experience has proven to me that longer is better and that unless you get after them the local "mowers" will cut short. I have been told that one of the lawn maintenance companies encourages a shorter cut. Is this to sell more chemikcals and treastments?
We keep ours at the longest the mower allows, about 3 1/2". A longer lawn will retain moisture and fertilizer better.
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