Sprinkler time length?

[mmac321]

My documentation says that I should be watering my lawn for 30 minutes twice a week. My lawn is dormant and looks pretty brown much like most of TV now. Is 30 minutes twice a week about what I should be doing or is that too much/little? Thanks.

[aln]

Massey tells me 30-40 minutes every 2 weeks is enough . . . I recall seing that in the newspaper too

[billybye]

If lawn is dormant - no sprinkling is needed.
Number of times a week to water and length is determined on the weather and lawn at the time.
Rotor sprinklers will require more time than stationary sprinkler heads.
You can find info online at the county site.

[chuckinca]

From Rain Bird Website:

As a general rule, Palmetto St Augustine grass should receive ¾-1” of water once a week from irrigation or rainfall.

Place pans around lawn and turn sprinkler zone on and see how long it takes to get 1" in the pans.

They also recommend watering in the morning before it gets too hot and the water evaporates before it has a chance to seep into the ground.

.

[784caroline]

lawn may not need it but if you have palms you may want to water once a week

[downeaster]

I have owned Florida lawns for 33 plus years. I have installed sprinkler systems, I have repaired them and I have adjusted them. Based on my experience I have become concerned about the advice given by lawn mowing and lawn treatment "professionals".

They persist in telling their customers to irrigate for a specified time. They do this with no knowledge of the output of the sprinkler heads or areas covered. Example: If you have two identical oscillating heads on the same zone and one is set to cover a 90 degree arc and the other is set to cover a 180 degree arc, it stands to reason the first will deliver two times as much water to the area it covers as the other. The obvious solution is replace one or both nozzles. Adjusting the time will only result in underwatering one area or over watering the other.

The object of irrigating is to get the proper amount (in inches) for the conditions and the type of grass. I like to get between 3/4" anf 1" each time I irrigate. To reach this goal I use rain gauges. ( Any straight side receptacle will suffice. Tuna cans are good. Place them in numerous places around your lawn to get a good read. Once you have done that you adjust outflow by changing nozzles and/or replacing pop-up heads, and run times, to give you the required results. This may take a few cycles to get proper results.

If replacing and adjusting is a chore you would not like to do then hire a pro. Get recomendations and when he is through do the measuring drill I outlined above. He will get your lawn covered but I can almost guarantee it will be spotty. There may be some spots where there is overlap and over watering that area is inevitable.

[mulligan]

Zoysia grass does in fact need to be watered, even though it looks dormant. Once a week, 1/2 to 3/4 inch is sufficent. The plant structure below ground does not go dormant, and if you stop watering now, you may see a dead lawn in august. This came direct from zoysia.

[faithfulfrank]

I have owned Florida lawns for 33 plus years. I have installed sprinkler systems, I have repaired them and I have adjusted them. Based on my experience I have become concerned about the advice given by lawn mowing and lawn treatment "professionals".

They persist in telling their customers to irrigate for a specified time. They do this with no knowledge of the output of the sprinkler heads or areas covered. Example: If you have two identical oscillating heads on the same zone and one is set to cover a 90 degree arc and the other is set to cover a 180 degree arc, it stands to reason the first will deliver two times as much water to the area it covers as the other. The obvious solution is replace one or both nozzles. Adjusting the time will only result in underwatering one area or over watering the other.

The object of irrigating is to get the proper amount (in inches) for the conditions and the type of grass. I like to get between 3/4" anf 1" each time I irrigate. To reach this goal I use rain gauges. ( Any straight side receptacle will suffice. Tuna cans are good. Place them in numerous places around your lawn to get a good read. Once you have done that you adjust outflow by changing nozzles and/or replacing pop-up heads, and run times, to give you the required results. This may take a few cycles to get proper results.

If replacing and adjusting is a chore you would not like to do then hire a pro. Get recomendations and when he is through do the measuring drill I outlined above. He will get your lawn covered but I can almost guarantee it will be spotty. There may be some spots where there is overlap and over watering that area is inevitable.

Excellent post. It is not about the TIME...it is about coverage and amounts.

I'll only add that I like the newer Hunter MP Rotator nozzles. Much is dependent as to how your system is laid out. One should avoid having rotors and sprayers on the same zone, as you will get over/under watering because the rotors oscillate as the sprayers are constant. This can be "somewhat" controlled by the nozzles in the rotors.

Frank

[PaPaLarry]

Excellent post. It is not about the TIME...it is about coverage and amounts.

I'll only add that I like the newer Hunter MP Rotator nozzles. Much is dependent as to how your system is laid out. One should avoid having rotors and sprayers on the same zone, as you will get over/under watering because the rotors oscillate as the sprayers are constant. This can be "somewhat" controlled by the nozzles in the rotors.

Frank

What are MP Rotator Nozzles? How far do they go?

[Bill-n-Brillo]

What are MP Rotator Nozzles? How far do they go?

Here's some info straight from Hunter's web site:

MP ROTATOR | Hunter Industries (http://www.hunterindustries.com/product/nozzles/mp-rotator)

Bill :)

[SoHumble]

If you go to this web site for Toro brand timers, you will get info on a timer that allows you to use your computer to set each of your zones - based on the weather (temperature/humidity). I believe you can just download the software and then manually adjust your zones instead of buying the new timer. The program asks questions about your average high temperature, the type of sprinkler heads you have in each zone, etc. It then prints out a weekly schedule for each zone.

I suppose it assumes that your system is properly installed and each zone is operating at its optimum level. It only makes sense to water according to the weather. Why would you want to water the same when the average temp. is 50 degrees as when the average temp. is 90-95 degrees?

Toro EC XTRA Timer (http://www.ecxtra.com/)