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Does
how
I water affect how much
water I use?
How many minutes should I water?
You'd
be surprised how important proper watering is. You can save a lot of
water by watering properly. As usual, the rules are quite simple
(there's only one rule):
"Water your lawns deeply, not daily, and only water twice a week."
What? Isn't that what my town recently told me to do, and we all
freaked out because we were used to watering every day?
Well, we've been telling people to water
twice a week for almost 40 years!
You
should only water your lawn every third day or so, and water enough so
that you are applying sufficient water to meet the lawn's minimum
needs.
Lawns need about 1" of water a week.
So, how many minutes is that overall?
It depends on your sprinkler system, and they can vary widely. Some
sprinkler systems use lots of heads fairly close together. Other
systems have far fewer heads and cover
much more area so they need to operate longer to deliver the same
amount of water. Here's a test you can do to find out how many minutes
to water every week:
To
determine how many minutes to water to get the required 1" of water
every week, do this test:
Using a bunch of empty yogurt containers or coffee cups, distribute the
cups all over the lawn, then water for a set amount of time, (go
through each zone or station) such as 15 minutes.
Measure the amount of water in the driest cups, ignoring the cups that
seem to have twice or three times the amount of water in them.
If 15 minutes got you an average of 1/2" water in the driest cups, then
30 minutes would equal 1" of water.
Do this test for each station or valve, then set the timer accordingly
so you water twice a week for the total time needed.
Tip: You
can adjust your sprinklers to water the drier areas more by cutting
back on the heads that put out too much water in a given area. Use the
test above to determine how long to water, then locate the fullest
cups. The heads that cover those wetter areas can be turned down,
increasing the pressure to heads that will benefit by the extra water
pressure created.
If
you
have "impulse" or "rotor" style sprinkler heads like the ones pictured
below,  it may take
up to six times as long to get the coverage needed, because impulse
and rotor sprinklers must cover large areas.
Since there are fewer heads,
they require much more run time to finally achieve the coverage you
need.
Adjustments
can be made to these streaming and impulse style heads to make them
cover their territory
better. You need to witness each sprinkler head in operation to see
if it needs
adjustment, and water for as long as it takes to achieve coverage.
 If
you use a hose-end "oscillating" sprinkler like the one at the right,
don't use it!
These
type of sprinklers spray tiny streams of water
over huge areas, effectively (eventually) only moistening the top 1/2"
of soil. These sprinklers
should only be used when you are trying to keep the top soil moist.
They never really wet the soil deeply; that would require many hours of
running because they sweep back and forth and the streams become 12"
apart at the maximum distance. Note: the lawn in
the picture above is
being mowed way too short.
 If
you use a hose to water, the best sprinkler turns out to be an oldie.
This one has no moving parts, and it delivers water very
evenly.
Plus, the flow is high, and it delivers the water quickly, so you don't
lose too much water to evaporation. (Thompson
sprinkler shown).
Usually, 15
minutes is plenty. When looking for a Thompson sprinkler, be aware that
the "square"
pattern (pictured) is
not as good as the "round" pattern, where the holes are more random and
plentiful. Either works well, however. Some have smaller "ears" that
are
intended to keep them from inverting; care is needed when setting up
this head to make sure it doesn't flip over when you turn the water on.
NOTE:
If
water runs off your lawn within the sprinkler cycle, be sure to have
your lawns aerated.
Did you know?
When
you water too often, it makes the roots grow closer to the surface. Why
should roots grow deeper if all the water is near the surface?
Watering frequently also promotes weeds. In fact, 80% of
crabgrass control is watering. If crabgrass seeds dry out during
germination, they die and never become plants.
Watering
too often also makes more thatch, as the roots respond to surface water
availability and respond by making shallow hair-like roots that
eventually die and become thatch.
Questions about your lawns? Call Green Lawns
at
1-800-281-6482 or click HERE
for free advice.
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