During
the past few years with all the residential and commercial development
increasing, and the water shortages happening it has become increasingly
important to conserve water.
Some
cities have even gone to the extent of requiring Smart Controllers which work
directly off of weather stations and drip in some lawn and bed areas.
For
those of us who still have the regular systems, here are a few tips for
watering your yard and conserving our water.
·
Grass does not require a lot of water, particularly common Bermuda, compared to new plants or flower beds. Even in
the summer time watering 2-3- times a week is sufficient. The root system on
grass is not very deep, approx. 3”-5”, so watering for long periods of time for
deep penetration is a waste of water as 90% of your water is running off down
the street as I am sure we have all seen. Something to consider, just one 4”
pop up on your lawn with a full circle nozzle will emit 3 gallons of water per
minute. At 10 minutes that is 30 gallons out of just one head and 27 of those
gallons is flowing down the street. That is a lot of water and money wasted.
o
Unless you have a really old controller, even the simplest controllers
have 3-6 programs and 3-6 start times.
·
At Daltex Landscape, we suggest separating your lawn and beds on separate
programs. For example:
o
Beds on program A, Lawn on program B. Use the 3 start time on program B
for your lawn and run each section for 2-3 minutes. Allow it to soak in for 10
minutes then run the cycle again. In this way you allow the water to soak in
and avoid unnecessary run off and save water and save you some money.
If
you are unsure on how to use your controller contact your local irrigation specialist
to help you set it up.
Installing
a Rain & Freeze sensor can also help. This will interrupt the weather
watering cycle temporarily if rain or freezing weather is present and prevent
some dangers from icy sidewalks and save you some water.
Don’t
forget your lawn and plants still require a little watering in the winter to
stay healthy and survive, particularly St
Augustine lawns.
Be
smart and help conserve our water.
