lawn watering

[village dreamer]

how long do you water your lawn and how many days a week ?

[Cobh521]

Twice a week. The amount of time in each zone depends on the sprinkler head. Some zones are 27 minute while another could be 60 minutes

[rubicon]

At these prices I pray for a lot of rain

[Phanatic Luvr]

We usually water 2x per week. Our bushes for 15/20 minutes, lawn sprayers 30 minutes and rotors 50 minutes. We have a spot of grass which always dries out in our back yard so if I see that start to happen, I will run that one zone by itself. This summer, as I am sure you know, has been very wet, so I shut my system off when it doesn't need water.

[billethkid]

the last 2-3 weeks zero!

[Papa Cuma]

Rotary's 60, beds 25, turf 45 Tuesday & Saturdays

[getdul981]

This summer, as I am sure you know, has been very wet, so I shut my system to off when it doesn't need water.

That's what the rain sensor on the edge of your roof or gutter is for.

[njbchbum]

Here's some info provided by The Villages District Govt:
The Villages Water Wise | Water Conservation (http://www.thevillageswaterwisdom.com/)

[billybye]

My sprinklers have been off since June and I have best looking lawn in neighborhood according to lawn people. Only ran once when fertilizing in July.
Most people overwater causing brown spots and a lot of business for people replacing lawns who are more than happy to set the timers on their sprinklers.
Will probably turn on later this month. Twice weekly 40 minutes for rotor 25-30 for other sprinklers.

[billethkid]

That's what the rain sensor on the edge of your roof or gutter is for.

but if it rained yesterday and the gutter is dry the system will come on anyway.....atleast that is how my operates.

And how many times have we seen the sprinklers in the area going while it is raining.

The sensor is one of those lowest bidder parts.

[mulligan]

Water stays in the root zone for no more than 15-20 minutes. Long watering times make no sense. You can check this for yourself. Dig a 10-12" hole, fill it with water, see how fast it drains. I water every day for 10 minutes per zone. The sensor shuts the system off when we get rain.

[mulligan]

but if it rained yesterday and the gutter is dry the system will come on anyway.....atleast that is how my operates.

And how many times have we seen the sprinklers in the area going while it is raining.

The sensor is one of those lowest bidder parts.

Then you need to replace the cork in your sensor.

[janmcn]

My sprinklers have been off since June and I have best looking lawn in neighborhood according to lawn people. Only ran once when fertilizing in July.
Most people overwater causing brown spots and a lot of business for people replacing lawns who are more than happy to set the timers on their sprinklers.
Will probably turn on later this month. Twice weekly 40 minutes for rotor 25-30 for other sprinklers.

And a lot of business for the people selling you the water.

[mac9]

We have zoysia grass. Turned the irrigation system off 18 months ago and the lawn looks great. Water company has been out twice to check the meter as they won't believe that we don't run the system. I guess that it depends on the type of grass that you have. We have 5 palms and some foliage. Apparently the rain is enough as everything looks great.

[Vladimir]

"lowest bidder parts"? The water sensor works and works well - check to see after it rains whether it shuts the sprinklers off and for how long. I would never turn off the sprinklers since if it does not rain for a few days the grass starts to stress; my neighbor left his off for a week and his grass turned brown. Some people only water twice a week for longer periods and some four or more times a week for shorter periods - personally I found that the latter works best on my lawn. Water and supplement your landscapers fertilization program with your own every so often and your grass will look great.

[Bogie Shooter]

Water stays in the root zone for no more than 15-20 minutes. Long watering times make no sense. You can check this for yourself. Dig a 10-12" hole, fill it with water, see how fast it drains. I water every day for 10 minutes per zone. The sensor shuts the system off when we get rain.

Fungus loves everday moisture.

[Beth P]

This has lower times than most times I've seen in this thread, including frequency:

http://www.thevillageswaterwisdom.com/content/Irrigation%20Zone%20Run%20Times.pdf

Also, I was surprised to find out that the sensor on our system in a new home not only detected rain, but detected it for the last 3 days. It also considers the temperature for the last 3 days, and using that information adjusts the run times (as opposed to just turning the system on or off). I'm not sure I trust it yet, but if that works it would be great. It's easy to see why TV would put these kind of sensors on new homes. With so many homes to sell and some that sit for a few months, they want to keep the lawns looking nice but use as little water as possible.

[travelguy]

This has lower times than most times I've seen in this thread, including frequency:

http://www.thevillageswaterwisdom.com/content/Irrigation%20Zone%20Run%20Times.pdf

Also, I was surprised to find out that the sensor on our system in a new home not only detected rain, but detected it for the last 3 days. It also considers the temperature for the last 3 days, and using that information adjusts the run times (as opposed to just turning the system on or off). I'm not sure I trust it yet, but if that works it would be great. It's easy to see why TV would put these kind of sensors on new homes. With so many homes to sell and some that sit for a few months, they want to keep the lawns looking nice but use as little water as possible.

am quite surprised, since i have always thought that the water sensors that came with our homes were so un-sophisticated since i have seen them going on during rainstorms. we turned our sprinkler system off at the beginning of june, and our lawn is fine, and the shrubs and trees are doing so well with the natural rainfall that we get almost every day. would be nice to have a
$ 0.00 bill for the irrigation water, but there is a minimum charge whether you use or do not use the water.