Do you literally have to water EVERY day? or is every OTHER day OK?

I just had the yard aerated and over seeded yesterday...and watered yesterday evening. (about 20 minutes each spot with a fan sprinkler)

I know the ground should stay moist not soaked or muddy and the answer may depend on how long the water is 'absorbed,' but .....

My question is: if the ground is still moist the day after watering (like it is now) do I still need to water again that second day in a row? It's still most now at 11a.m., after watering between 5 and 8 last night.

Temps here for the next days are 86 today, then 94 tomorrow, 89, 84, 81 -- with no rain until MAYBE Monday.

I will water every day if I have to but don't want to OVER water. (was told seed will rot). I don't have any standing water issues, but clearly the ground is moist from last evening's watering)

My watering takes HOURS to hit all the spots. I need to put the sprinkler in FOUR different spots for the back yard, and FIVE for the front yard. At 20 minutes each spot that's THREE hours start to finish. If I start watering at 5, the last spot isn't finished until after 8p. Because of my work schedule sometimes I can water in the morning. Sometimes it just has to be midday....mostly it's in the evening though.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: clbselah,

The seed bed needs to be kept moist, not wet, so how often, more so then how long, depends on your weather. If you are experiencing hot, dry weather you may need to wet that seed bed twice a day, while if its cool and cloudy once a day or maybe even less will be adequate.
Covering the seed bed with straw can help conserve the soil moisture and that might lessen the number of times needed for wetting the seed bed.
Later, after the seed has germinated and the grass is growing you will need to get water deeper into the soil than when there are just seeds or the seeds are just newly germinated.

When we had to start areas of seed, I found it easier to put a good, adjustable spray nozzle on a hose and water/dampen the topsoil/seeds by hand. It took little time and I was able to do it several times a day.
Clean straw from a nursery, can sure help too as mentioned above. One can also get a burlap blanket to place over the seed to help keep it damp. Just be sure to remove it once most of the seedlings have started to poke through the weave.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: conrad,

selah, Kimm has it down, grass seed needs be kept damp....not wet. So the amount of time you water has to be changed to the amount of water you apply. If this requires multiple times due to the temperature then so be it. But sprinkle...not soak.

I've never been a fan of scattering straw over a seed bed. I'd rather spread a thin layer of compost or topsoil. The straw has to be aged so if you use it be sure that its at least a year old otherwise, the seeds that is in the straw can germinate as well.
You don't want a barnyard for a lawn.

After a 65 year old healthy looking Locust came down in our back yard a month ago (carpenter ants), we will be planting a whole new turf area...assuming this drought ever ends this fall.
I have always had good luck with clean straw scattered over the open soil, and never had weed seeds. (But also only purchase it from a local nursery)

You can get bales of straw, and that straw may include some of the seeds the straw grew which some people think are "wweds" when they germinte. You can also buy rolls od compressed straw that do not seem to have the seeds. These mats are the same thing that highway departments use when they reseed an area.