[frayedends]

I am down in Lake Denham, there only part time. I put in the Rachio controller so I can adjust my times from Massachusetts.

Anyhow, my lawn is very dry. Even Fertigator emailed me to tell me it needs more water. However, the schedule the Villages put in my controller box says I can only water 1X per week, which is crazy. It also says it's only allowed on Tuesday or Friday. The times for each zone are pretty short also.

Is that schedule a rule or just a suggestion. I would like to up the amount of water it's getting. Also, maybe do it overnight. I know watering at night can lead to fungus issues. But my schedule says to start at 7 AM. I feel that water is evaporating quickly with the warmer mornings.

[Topspinmo]

We are about to enter rainy season, I hope your system monitors that? In my area recommend 3 times per week, even or odd days ( last time I looked)( I don’t have grass so not problem for me) When drought proclaimed the raise rates and reduce it to twice week. I’m sure there bean counter somewhere keep track?

[retiredguy123]

There are no strict rules, just guidelines. You should water before dawn, not when the sun is out. If you are having issues with your lawn due to inadequate water, I would not hesitate to increase it. I think that most people water two times per week, but may want to increase that to three, if you have a lawn issue.

[Pondboy]

St Augustine grass needs at least 1” of water per week. You really need to put cups out in your lawn to measure irrigation.

I’m thinking you misread the instructions from the Villages, it’s twice per week, not once. (i.e, your watering days are Tuesdays and Fridays). St Augustine can’t go that long without water. Sometimes it stresses out (grass blades folded in half) and needs water more than twice per week.

7 AM is a bit late to start watering. The sticker (instructions) tell me (at my house over in Fenney) that I can start watering at 4 AM. The later you start watering, the more water will be lost to evaporation. Best not to water after sunset as all that moisture sitting on grass blades will cause fungal growth.

Without knowing your lawn size and you being away, I’d recommend at least a 30 minute run on each zone with two runs on each zone per your allowed watering day (Tue and Fri). This way the total lawn zones will get watered for 60 minutes. I recommend breaking up your watering so that the water has time to permeate into the soil/roots vs running into the gutter.

That’s a good start, measure your irrigation at your earliest opportunity. Hopefully your Ranchio will measure rainfall and you won’t drown the grass.

[metoo21]

If you have the Rachio, why aren't you using Flex Daily so that Rachio can control the watering?

[frayedends]

Originally Posted by Pondboy

St Augustine grass needs at least 1” of water per week. You really need to put cups out in your lawn to measure irrigation.

I’m thinking you misread the instructions from the Villages, it’s twice per week, not once. (i.e, your watering days are Tuesdays and Fridays). St Augustine can’t go that long without water. Sometimes it stresses out (grass blades folded in half) and needs water more than twice per week.

7 AM is a bit late to start watering. The sticker (instructions) tell me (at my house over in Fenney) that I can start watering at 4 AM. The later you start watering, the more water will be lost to evaporation. Best not to water after sunset as all that moisture sitting on grass blades will cause fungal growth.

Without knowing your lawn size and you being away, I’d recommend at least a 30 minute run on each zone with two runs on each zone per your allowed watering day (Tue and Fri). This way the total lawn zones will get watered for 60 minutes. I recommend breaking up your watering so that the water has time to permeate into the soil/roots vs running into the gutter.

That’s a good start, measure your irrigation at your earliest opportunity. Hopefully your Ranchio will measure rainfall and you won’t drown the grass.

I don't think I misread. While it says allowable days are Tuesday and Friday, the frequency shows 1 day per week. See below. I won't be able to measure until July when I'm there.

Originally Posted by metoo21

If you have the Rachio, why aren't you using Flex Daily so that Rachio can control the watering?

I'll check into that. I was assuming the sticker on my box was a rule or restriction of some sort so I didn't allow the Rachio to do anything except the schedule I set.

ETA: I just set up the Flex Daily. Will see how it goes. Thanks for the tip. I hadn't really looked at that before.

[Bogie Shooter]

Water Conservation | The Villages Water Wisdom

[Bogie Shooter]

Duo post

[Altavia]

Dean's Recomendation

[Randall55]

///

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by metoo21

If you have the Rachio, why aren't you using Flex Daily so that Rachio can control the watering?

I've found that their "recommended" scheduling is inadequate. Right now, they recommend once every 6 days.

My neighbor (who watches my house when I'm away) and Dean's have both told me my grass needs more water.

Hence, I manually run the cycle in between the Rachio scheduled settings... So, now, I'm watering twice a week. From what I see on my SimpliSafe front yard camera, things are improving...

[kcrazorbackfan]

Originally Posted by frayedends

I am down in Lake Denham, there only part time. I put in the Rachio controller so I can adjust my times from Massachusetts.

Anyhow, my lawn is very dry. Even Fertigator emailed me to tell me it needs more water. However, the schedule the Villages put in my controller box says I can only water 1X per week, which is crazy. It also says it's only allowed on Tuesday or Friday. The times for each zone are pretty short also.

Is that schedule a rule or just a suggestion. I would like to up the amount of water it's getting. Also, maybe do it overnight. I know watering at night can lead to fungus issues. But my schedule says to start at 7 AM. I feel that water is evaporating quickly with the warmer mornings.

Every other day; with the substandard soil that we’re trying to grow grass on, I have to do it to keep my grass from burning up.

[Pondboy]

[QUOTE=frayedends;2330513]I don't think I misread. While it says allowable days are Tuesday and Friday, the frequency shows 1 day per week. See below. I won't be able to measure until July when I'm there.

Standard time is November thru March. Yes, dormant season for St Augustine Grass…..once per week, if even needed. I’ve turned off my irrigation at times in this period. So you are good for a twice per week watering now.

I think a 7 AM start time is late. Your call.

[metoo21]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

I've found that their "recommended" scheduling is inadequate. Right now, they recommend once every 6 days.

My neighbor (who watches my house when I'm away) and Dean's have both told me my grass needs more water.

Hence, I manually run the cycle in between the Rachio scheduled settings... So, now, I'm watering twice a week. From what I see on my SimpliSafe front yard camera, things are improving...

If you are indeed using Flex Daily then I'd say you have some settings wrong. Like if you chose warm season grass, the app defaults the root zone at 9 inches. Should be 6 at the most. There are other settings under advance that need attention too.

[dewilson58]

Sandy soil, so it drains quickly, so water 3 times per week.

Once or two per week, it drains and the "soil" does not retain water.

The key is how much water per week...........jus divide by the number per week.

Fertigator knows what they are talking about.