Originally Posted by Smallaxe
We can influence the process as spoken of ad nauseum, in phrases like , 'proper irrigation and culural practices',,, so let's try offering an opinion and explanation as to whether:
(1.) allowing the top inch of soil to dry out b4 another irrigation event,,, or (2.) keeping the suface soils wet through out the growing season
My answer is:
No. 1 ,,, and one reason for it is to overcome the 'platy structure' issue in the case of clay textured soils...
If you mean 'struck by lightning' in the sense that I've just took a stand on an issue,,, that the plumber and company will personally attack saying how ignorant I am without
any coherent rebuttal, then I would agree...
A simple choice and simple statement as to WHY is a good starting point,,, so URLs are not discussion points in giving an opinion about a simple concept of rrigation...
The drawback of the OBE strategy in the gov'tt school system is that the outcomes
are ensured without an understanding as to how those outcomes(conclusions) were reached... The notion of "let's think this through" is completely foriegn ,,, isn't it???
Sorry to irritate the fellow that hates this, but here goes...
I wonder if you're not overthinking this.
Soils build structure in nature -- without human management. Sometimes the soil dries out between water events (rain, in this case) and sometimes it doesn't. Even soils in deserts and tundras have soil structure.
Of course, lawns are different than natural landscapes. But, I get the vibe that you're thinking that a useful soil structure can't be created without a strict watering program.
Let's not forget that a lot of things happen in nature -- all we have to do is not screw them up. If we avoid grossly overwatering or underwatering, soil a useful structure will still build, even if the soil is sometimes a little too wet or a little too dry. If we avoid doing the things that are detrimental to plant life (overfertilizing, underfertilizing, improper mowing, etc), we encourage adequate OM and microbial populations to help build soil structure.
In short, when we do the things that produce a healthy turf and healthy plant life, we build soil structure. You can't build soil structure without doing the things that we already know to produce healthy plants.