Irrigation is a key component to good lawn maintenance. For many people, programming a sprinkler system to optimize water use and keep your landscaping healthy seems like an art more than a science. Even if you feel like you have a handle on programming your watering system, what schedule is really ideal for your plants?
The rules for watering vary depending on your climate, of course. While in many places rainfall takes care of much of the watering needs of landscaping, here in Arizona, lawn maintenance is a full time job for your sprinkler system. If you want to keep plants alive and well in the desert, here are some basic tips:
- Really healthy grass gets water down to the roots. Shallow, frequent watering can result in short roots and that grass is less likely to survive heat. To get water down into the ground about 10 inches, there should be ¾ of water for each watering time. After an hour of water, check the depth of the wet soil. If you can easily insert a screwdriver to 10 inches, then you have watered effectively.
- Water an hour or two before sunrise so the water doesn’t evaporate too quickly. And don’t water when it’s windy—that is certainly a waste of water!
- If the ground is mushy or fungus grows on the lawn it is getting too much water.
- Make sure you know how much water your sprinkler system applies. Most pop-up sprinklers provide 4/10 inch every 15 minutes. Impact sprinklers give only about half of that.
Here at J & D Lawn Service, we have expertise and experience to help you save water and maintain beautiful landscaping. We can consult on a watering schedule and lawn maintenance as well as provide seeding, fertilization, trimming, pruning and more. For a complete list of services, contact us.
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