Anyone with a lawn wants it to look nice. Just remember: too much water doesn't help your grass -- it just costs you money. So what does your lawn need?

"You really need about an inch of water a week in the hot season," said Gwen Stahnke, the WSU Turfgrass Extension Specialist. "A good idea is about one-third of an inch three times a week."

If you're not sure how much water your system puts out, put a few empty tuna fish or cat food cans on the area that's being water. When the system shuts down you can measure how much water is in there. If you have an automatic irrigation system, there are certified irrigation inspectors who can check the efficiency of your irrigation system.

Water in the early part of the day, when it's not as hot, so that the water does not evaporate as quickly.

Some people mow the grass really close to the ground. They figure it keeps them from doing it as often. But that only puts stress on the grass.

Dr. Stahnke said that the general rule of thumb on mowing is to remove no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade per mowing. For Western Washington that means if you mow your lawn at 2 inches, when it gets up to 3 inches, you should mow it. You can also return clippings to the lawn to recycle the nutrients.

Most lawns around here are Colonial Bentgrass or a Perennial Ryegrass mixture. WSU's Stahnke says the Bentgrass should be cut to 1.5 inches above the ground. The ryegrass mixture should be cut 2 inches tall.

"If you mow at the correct height," she says," your grass will actually become thicker and crowd out more weeds."

Note: This story has been updated to include specific information for lawns in Western Washington.

For More Information:

WSU Turfgrass Web site

Consumer Reports: 7 lawn care secrets for a perfect lawn and garden

WSU Turfgrass website

Turfgrass drought bulletin

Read Herb's other lawn care tips

Turfgrass drought bulletin