9 replies to this topic

[Sailor]

We have asked several people and gardeners when and how long to run our sprinkler system and have gotten several different answers. Some say everyday, some every other day, some ttwice a week. Also from one minute to 10 minutes. I think in the month of May until the rain starts it should be every day. Does any one know for sure. Also, is it better to water during the night or in the morning. Thanks in advance.

[cedros]

You don't say if you are watering trees, shrubs, or grass which can make a difference. It depends on how much water your sprinking system outs out. To test it put several pans out and measure how much water they collect in a measured amount of time. So if it is lawn maybe 1/2 inch every other day. Newly planted trees will need more-established ones less. It is always better to water at night as you will lose less to evaporation.
Keep an eye on how the plants are doing. If they are lush and green maybe you could use less and vice versa.

[johanson]

My system runs three times per week most of the dry season and now 4 times because it's getting hotter out. Also I run the system at night to give the water a better chance to be absorbed into the ground rather than being allowed evaporate.

How long (how much water)? there is no simple answer, because there are many many variables to include the type of soil and the type and maturity of the plants you are watering.

[Sailor]

My system runs three times per week most of the dry season and now 4 times because it's getting hotter out. Also I run the system at night to give the water a better chance to be absorbed into the ground rather than being allowed evaporate.

How long (how much water)? there is no simple answer, because there are many many variables to include the type of soil and the type and maturity of the plants you are watering.

Our system is watering everything-grass, trees, shrubs and flower beds. How many mintues do you run it?

[johanson]

Sadly I don't know. My gardener does it. But it would also depend on how much water the system puts out per minute per unit of area. A wild guess is 5 to 10 minutes per zone at my home.

Sorry I can not be more helpful.

[Ferret]

Sailor, I believe that you live on the street below us in Riviera Alta. We are running the sprinklers for five minutes at 5 a.m. every day.
The pressure here is great and there is good coverage from the installed systems. Early a.m. is a good time to do it because there is time for the water to soak in but not enough time to encourage mold growth. If it gets any hotter, then it will be increased to 8 minutes and then, totally off in the rainy season. There is a manual button that you can push during the time it's off if no rain falls....run like hell when you push it or you'll get soaked.

[cedros]

The length of time you need to water may be very different than your neighbours as your system might deliver much more/less than theirs so you need to calibrate yours.

http://www.ehow.com/...sprinklers.html

http://www.ecpgroup....nsystemfor.aspx

As you are watering different types of plants you may find that you have to water some a bit more by hand.

[Mainecoons]

When we installed ours, I laid out the zones to cover areas that would have similar watering requirements. We have 8 zones which we are now running nightly (in the middle of the night) at varying times depending on how dry they get.

[Sailor]

Sailor, I believe that you live on the street below us in Riviera Alta. We are running the sprinklers for five minutes at 5 a.m. every day.
The pressure here is great and there is good coverage from the installed systems. Early a.m. is a good time to do it because there is time for the water to soak in but not enough time to encourage mold growth. If it gets any hotter, then it will be increased to 8 minutes and then, totally off in the rainy season. There is a manual button that you can push during the time it's off if no rain falls....run like hell when you push it or you'll get soaked.

Yes, we are below you. We do run two different zones every morning at 5:30 for 5 mins but were told it was too much. I will leave it at that until the rain comes and then in the fall will probably cut back to 3 times a week and see what happens. --. Thanks all for your advise. The video was good also.

[wardo10]

You may have asked a question to which there is no answer.

By this I mean that every system is different

......in its delivery of water to your plants,

......on the water requirements of plants

.....by how you have eliminated evaportion by putting mulch around your plant beds and trees

.....by how much fertizer you use.

.....by the type of soil you have in your yard


If you can, you might try to go to drip irrigation as it saves energy, and delivers water efficiently
to your trees and plants.

Bottom line........try to buy a Moisture Meter and check the soil moisture to determine water requirements.