Sprinkler timing

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2,700
Location
Los Angeles, CA
I have a first-time-home-owner question.

I have a front yard that has 14 sprinklers. Previous owners had set the sprinkler system to turn ON once every Monday and Thursday for 15 minutes.

Is that normal? How do you ensure that you are not wasting water or not depriving the grass of water.:huh:

Is sprinkler-watering grass twice a week for 15 min ok?:dunno:
 
How does the grass look? "If it is not broke don't fix it!"

Sounds a lot better than my system, as I have no control over it. It is on right now and has been that way for days. The weather man claims it will shut down for the weekend. I will believe it when I see it.
 
Hi Mohammad,

yes, definitely morning. Preferably *early* before the sun comes up like 5AM. There are good reasons for it. If you water in full sun (like in the heat of the afternoon) the grass can burn. If you water at night, you can problems with mold and rot. You want the water to absorb and then evaporate off the blades of grass! And I agree with Bill. Go with how it looks. If it gets really hot, then increase the duration of each watering, not necessarily the frequency, unless it's like a Ripley's-Believe-It-Or-Not Heat Wave.

:thumb:
 
Mine runs about 8 min, 4 days a week at 4 am. I have a rain/freeze sensor that doesn't turn the sprinklers on if it rains or is below freezing. You can research the type of grass you have and see how much water it needs per month, then put a cup or something out to measure how much you're watering. I think I water about 1in per month to just barely keep everything green, that still costs about $50/month in summer if it doesn't rain all month.
 
Mohammad, unless they changed the regulations recently, Los Angeles residents are only allowed to water on Monday and Thursday, for a total of 15 minutes per zone. That would explain why your timer is set the way it is.

I follow that requirement, but in order to maximize things, I water each zone for 5 minutes, then repeat the pattern two more times. That lets each watering soak in a bit before that zone gets it again. I have ours set to start coming on at about 3:00 AM. That's late enough that I can let the dogs out for their bedtime bathroom break before the sprinklers come on, but is still gets everything watered before the sun comes up and evaporates the water away.

Before the regulations took effect, I was watering daily or every other day for 5 to 10 minutes per zone. With the new pattern, our lawn looks just as good, if no better.

Welcome to home ownership. :D
 
Hi Mohammad,

yes, definitely morning. Preferably *early* before the sun comes up like 5AM. There are good reasons for it. If you water in full sun (like in the heat of the afternoon) the grass can burn. If you water at night, you can problems with mold and rot. You want the water to absorb and then evaporate off the blades of grass! And I agree with Bill. Go with how it looks. If it gets really hot, then increase the duration of each watering, not necessarily the frequency, unless it's like a Ripley's-Believe-It-Or-Not Heat Wave.

:thumb:

I've heard this argument all my life... has anyone told Mother Nature about this timing... she often rains in the middle of the day... then the sun comes out... or she will rain in the middle of the night for a while.... I've watered my lawns when they need it, during the day when I was up, sometimes forgetting to turn it off and watered all night... (The wife hates that :rofl::rofl:)... I know I know all the lawn experts tell you morning, not night, etc, etc....

I live in the country now and have nearly an acre of lawn... if MN doesn't water it for me, then it just gets dry. :D
 
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