You bought a home in Debary and need some sprinkler repair Debary Florida. After the lawn sprinklers have been fixed, now you want to know how often do you water and for how long?
Irrigation in Debary
Unless you have an unusually high GPM water source your sprinkler system will almost surely have different zones. Nearly all sprinkler systems will allow you to run various zones for different amounts of time. Many will allow you to run different zones on different days.
You should run your sprinkler system for a few minutes on each zone and make note of which zones cover which parts of your lawn. Certain zones will require more time than others, depending on the type of sprinkler head and type of plants/turf covered.
Outdoor Water Use
For example, you may have zones that cover flowerbeds and lawn versus established shrubs. The established shrub will need less water than the flowers or turf. And that’s bed with all the cacti? It will not need much, if any, water at all.
Rotors (depending on sun/shade characteristics) need to run three times as long as conventional spray heads to deliver the same amount of water per square foot even though the GPM per head is somewhat similar. This is because each rotor covers a larger area than each spray head.
When to Water
What time of day should I water my lawn? We can take some tips from sprinkler contractors in Orlando. Watering early in the morning before Sun rises is generally the best time to water, and at that time of day you’ll have the best water pressure. The water will have time to soak into the soil before evaporating before the sun comes out. Watering in the high heat of the day is wasteful because much of the water will evaporate before it is soaked in.
Let’s discuss a few of the factors that influence your watering schedule. First and foremost, when it’s hotter, you will need to water more frequently and possibly for longer times. In the summer in Debary although it is hot, the humidity is high, and it rains on most days. During winter, when your lawn is semi-dormant, you may not need to water at all depending on the type of grass you have. St. Augustine grass requires more water and care than Bahia and Bermuda grass.
Rain Sensors
A rain sensor can save you money by automatically turning off your home sprinkler system after it has rained and help you avoid your soil from becoming waterlogged.
Sprinkler Repair Debary and Soil
Soil permeability is a significant factor in determining your watering schedule. If your soil is sandy or chalky you’ll have to water more frequently.
These soils dry out quickly, even after extended rains, and you may have to water just a few days later. If your soil has a lot of clay it will hold water really well. Unless your home was built on clay fill dirt, the soil in Debary is almost always sandy loam.
During rainy weeks, your lawn will hold water longer than necessary, which may lead to disease. Silty, chalky and peat-rich soils are good at retaining water, yet still drain well. You probably don’t want to irrigate daily. Not only is it against Florida water restrictions in Volusia County, doing so will keep water at the top of the soil, resulting in shallow grass roots and a greater chance for disease since the top inch or so stays wet.
You want deeper roots, which results in healthier grass that is more drought tolerant, requires less pest control and fertilizer, and is less likely to be diseased.
Depth of Soil Water
Watering should soak down to a minimum of six inches, and twelve inches is better. Often “syringe cycling” can help achieve that. You can spot check with a shovel to see if you are watering long enough. The next water cycle should start before the soil dries out. If your soil dries out completely then your grass will become stressed.
Most lawns during spring and summer will do well with an inch and a half of water every week, or three quarters of an inch per irrigation cycle. So how do you know how much three quarters of an inch is?
Various manufactures make water distribution collection devices or “catch cans” that you can use to measure your water distribution.
DIY Irrigation Audit
By placing them within the spray patterns of your lawn. Multiple cups per zone is recommended, so you can average the water depth from the watering cycle for 10 minutes and then measure the depth of the water, each collector or “can.” Your measurement will let you know how long you will need to run a zone in order to get the recommended three quarters of an inch.
This also helps determine if there are any underwatered areas of your lawn. If you find some places in your lawn are not being properly watered, you may need to adjust the rotor sprinkler heads. You should also remove the spray head sprinkler, remove the nozzles and clean out the filters.
Sprinkler System Design Matters
Remember that you should have head-to-head coverage. That is the spray from each sprinkler should reach the next sprinkler head. I should also mention if your lawn has new sod or been freshly seeded you’ll need to water every day for a short amount of time until your grass takes root. Volusia County allows for a 14-day exemption from the water restriction rules for new plantings.
In this case, the top inch or so of soil should stay slightly damp but not be soaking.
You should know that the DIY “catch can” method for determining efficient water distribution is quite flawed and is only a crude “rule of thumb.”
Accurate assessments of Lowest Quarter distribution can only be determined by a water audit.
Below are some videos that will help you repair your lawn sprinklers in Debary Florida.