It's nearly winter in Central Florida, which means some cold mornings, warm days, and then cold nights again. While you're putting on and taking off your jacket, take a look at your lawn. It's dormant but still needs some attention. This blog goes over how to water grass during our not so brutal Florida winter.

A healthy lawn needs about an inch of water a week, and in the winter, Mother Nature isn't providing much rain, so it's up to your irrigation system, and that means making some adjustments.

Before you start fiddling with the controller in the garage, go outside and check out the lawn. What are the blades trying to tell you? If they're folded in half and look a little blue, your property needs water. Then take a walk on it; if you can see your steps 30-minutes later, the lawn is telling you to turn those sprinklers on.

If you haven't set your system in a while, there's a chance your lawn is getting too much water. Look for weeds; Chickweed, Shepherd's Purse, or Speedwell, to name a few. If these ugly things are thriving in front of your home, it's time to water less. Once a week is usually good this time of year.

Here's another reason to dial back your irrigation system, overwatering now can also lead to significant problems in the spring. Too much water forces oxygen out of the soil, which can damage and even kill your lawn's root system.

Don't forget your sprinklers. Make sure they all work correctly and are spraying where they should. Take a walk around your yard while they are popping up to see where they point and look out for any obstructions that may have grown near the heads since your last check.

We know that your irrigation timer can be an intimidating piece of equipment, all those switches and that display-yikes! It's a system that you have to master in this year-long job of keeping a healthy lawn.

Irrigation is a big part of what we do at ELT Landscape. Our pros install and maintain hundreds of irrigation systems every year and are the experts on all the grasses and soil that cover Central Florida.

We would love to make sure that your irrigation system is working this winter so that you won't have to replace your plants and have to install new turf in the spring.