Lawn repair 101
 

We have a section of lawn (about 50 sq ft) that is bare & needs repair. I searched all over for zoysia sod/sod pods. I finally resorted to ordering online. I just read in another post here that there are multiple varieties of zoysia. Does that make a big difference? Secondly, the lawn is in need of a ‘lift’. What type soil do I need and where do I get it? Finally, the Hunter Pro-C irrigation system is ‘acting up’. All settings are accurate except the seasonal adjustment. No matter how many times I reset it, it constantly reverts to 10%. So my sprinklers only run for < 5 minutes. How do I fix this so it sticks?

Leave the seasonal adjustment at 10 percent and increase the watering times manually. In my opinion, it is not worth fixing. The seasonal adjustment is a worthless feature.

Home Depot has fresh zoysia sod on Thursdays.

Find someone who understands the irrigation system and have him/her check it out.

Used Massey for a year and each of the 5 technicians they sent set system differently, wasting a lot of water in the process.

Found a neighbor who has a small business helping the rest of us in our village and it runs much better.

Call Nick at Villages Irrigation 352-235-0000

Good luck with that. Most irrigation technicians I have seen don't have a clue about the solar sync or seasonal adjustment features. Most controllers I have inspected have the solar sync set to the wrong geographical zone. By the way, you can buy a new controller from Amazon for about $90, but the issue may be with the outside sensor. Another option is to replace the outside sensor with a wireless rain sensor only, which eliminates the seasonal adjustment feature altogether. Many irrigation companies will recommend that option.

I agree with the outside sensor, these may last 4 or 5 years at best, I think i am on the 3rd one in 10 years.

If it is the outside sensor, you can buy the entire sensor assembly, including the solar sync and the rain sensor for $105.97 on Amazon.

Amazon.com

Note that I think you will need to cut the existing wires and splice them to the new wires because I don't think there are any wire terminals for connection. Another option is to pull the new wires through the conduit and into the controller box in the garage. A lot of homeowners have opted to replace the solar sensor assembly with a wireless rain sensor only, which eliminates the solar sync function, and allows you to control the watering times manually.

Slightly off topic, but you can now buy the rain sensor cork disks for the Hunter solar sync system on Amazon. In the past, these discs were only available on Ebay.

Amazon.com

Welcome aboard

It can be one of several issues, first the rain\solar sync sensor on the outside of the house, second, if its an older ProC with an external solar sync in the controller it may be that. The last one I had this problem with ended up changing out the entire controller. I think I paid $130 for new ProC controller four station, the rain, solar sensor cost $85 at Site One in Leesburg. I do this type of work all the time and would be happy to help. PM me.

One last thought, it may simply be your solar sync setting. On the older ProC while holding down the + button turn the dial to seasonal adjustment. On the newer controller simply turn the dial to solar sync. Your reading should be 3 10.

Irrigation
 

I disconnected the solar sync and now have it at 100% all the time. Unless you are a seasonal resident, it is easy to turn off the system when it rains. Now i know exactly how much & when sprinklers are on. No need for piece of cork on the roof for rain sensor. Call Hunter's Service Connection at 814 516 7923 for sprinkler maintenance.

Hunter control
 

I found the hunter control that came with the house difficult to program and impossible to keep programmed. I replaced it with a B-Hyve unit from Lowes made by rainbird. I can now program and control the system from my phone from anywhere. I believe it's made by Rainbird, comes in either 4 or 8 zone. It was the easiest thing I have ever paired to wifi and programmed.

I have the same Hunter controller and the same issue as the OP. The seasonal adjust setting is always on 10 percent regardless of how you initially set it. So, if you set the watering times for 20 minutes per zone and the seasonal adjust for 100 percent (per the instructions), the next day, the setting will have reset to 10 percent and now you are watering for 2 minutes per zone instead of 20 minutes. I think VT, the poster who said the outside sensor is defective, is correct. I decided to just leave the seasonal adjust at 10 percent and set the watering times manually. I could replace the outside sensor, but then the solar sync system will control the watering times, not me. Many people have replaced the outside sensor with a wireless rain sensor only, and I think that is the best way to go. In my opinon, the Hunter solar sync system is a worthless feature, and it cannot be permanently disabled without disabling the rain sensor as well.

The solar sync sensor on my unit completely quit working at less than 2 years old. I called Hunter Tech Support (very nice and very helpful folks), and learned those sensors are warrantied for 5 years. But...Hunter cannot send you a replacement, you must go through the installing dealer. The dealer confirmed the sensor warranty, but wanted $115 labor to install. They would not simply provide me with a new sensor to install myself.

I wound up replacing my controller with a Hunter WiFi controller, and have been very happy with that decision. The WiFi controllers don't need the external sensor, have many more features and benefits, and you can control them with your phone. Yeah, it was an expense of about $140, but in my view, money well spent. Then again, maybe the solar sync sensor going bad just gave me an excuse to go WiFi!

LaCosta Sod on 466 has zoysia ($3) per piece

Zoysia types
 

Uh oh. I somehow got the idea that the zoysia in my lawn is of the emerald variety, but looks like LaCosta's is palisades. From the way they describe it on their website, I'm now wondering if mine is actually palisades, as it has a wider blade than zoysia I had been around previously. Would love to chop up a slab and tuck pieces into some "holes" that we have. I suspect that mixing the two would be less than optimal. . . From their website:

Palisades Zoysia Compared to Emerald Zoysia

The Palisades Zoysia grass is a little lower maintenance, but it does not have the shade tolerance that the fine-bladed Zoysias do. Shade tolerance, I guess, is probably the key difference between Palisades and Emerald Zoysia. Emerald only needs about four or five hours of direct sunlight per day to survive, whereas Palisades Zoysia needs six or seven hours for the most part.

Installing new sensor
 

I just replace the outside sensor for my Hunter System after 7 years. A wired sensor comes with a very long wire attached. You remove the old sensor and cut the wire on the existing sensor. Tie the wire for the new sensor to the old sensor's wire and then pull the wire through the low voltage box in your garage. You open the Hunter controller and look at where the sensor wires are placed making sure you have the correct color with the correct terminal as you remove the old wire and put in the new wire. You'll have a significant amount of extra wire from the new sensor, you can cut this and strip the ends for putting in the low voltage box.

Thanks. It looks easy enough as long as the conduit is free of other stuff.

I disconnected mine, no more issues of time going from 2 minutes to an hour. Set the timer and all done!

When it changes you’ll be watering for hours $$$$$$$$$

Call Hunter and they’ll send you parts for free

It has not changed in more than a year. I think the outside sensor is non-functional.

I tried that, but they wouldn't. The PRO-C controller was warranted for 2 years, and the solar sync sensor for 5 years. I could have gotten a free outside sensor from a local supplier in Summerfield for free during the warranty period by taking the old one to their office, but it is now out of warranty. On Amazon, you can buy the outside sensor for $105.97 and the PRO-C inside controller for $110.38. At this point, if I do anything, I will replace the sensor with a wireless rain sensor, and not use a solar sync system. The problem with the solar sync system is that it can change your watering times without your knowledge, and not always the best timing for your lawn. Also, you cannot permanently disable the solar sync function without also disabling the rain sensor. I never did like the system even when it "worked".

Lake Jem Farms in Tavares sells Empire Zoysia. $2.25 a slab. However, I used it to replace a dead spot, and it has been quite slow to grow. I bought a slab on Amazon, of all places, and it grows like crazy. It is quite expensive, however, thus my looking to find someone more local and cheaper.

Sod
 

Go to Lowes and buy St Augustine sod. It's more hearty and blends fine with the Zoysa.

To deactivate the "seasonal adjustment" setting open the sprinkler box and disconnect the blue wire.

You must have a different controller. The Hunter PRO-C controller has a green and a black wire. You must disconnect both wires to disable both the solar sync and the rain sensor. Disconnecting only one wire will not do it.

#1, I'd rely on LOCAL Home Depot or Lowe's to pick up sod, they ONLY stock varieties that are appropriate for our area.

#2, We took the free Florida lawn maintenance classes provided by the U. of F. when we first built our home here. Don't know if they have changed over the years, but, we were give the following advice and through the years it has proven very very reliable:
. remove as much of the dead "thatch" as you can in the bare areas, but don't obsess over it, just see that it's "roughed" up.
.fill in the spaces between the pieces of sod with Black Cow (comes in bags where garden soil, manure, etc. is stacked)
. and lastly, they taught us that if you only have small bare spots, places here and there, perhaps from grubs, after spraying for the grubs, you can just "rough up" areas smaller than a dinner plate, and simply fill them with Black Cow... they WILL fill in with the need for purchasing sod if they are small areas.
#3 As for the system, they are a headache, why not just manually set the number of minutes ? But, I understand if you are seldom here and really need to rely on the auto. The university extension USED to also offer free classes on irrigation systems, Hunter and one or two others. You might inquire (their office is/was in the Sumter Co. Sheriff's annex on route 466 near Morse Blvd.) if they still offer these very helpful classes. Many of us have found the "rain sensors" are also frequently not working, or are completely useless ! Good luck. The extension classes are GREAT, and "free"(well, our taxes support the ag. extension office of course) makes them even better.

All three questions answered! Thank you for taking the time to respond. I’ve become well versed in irrigation. My initial question was as a result of not finding zoysia in any of the local stores and I looked over time at multiple retailers.

Sod Plugs
 

Jngiblin....I would like to ask for your help and recommendations concerning sod installation. You seem to have knowledge about this subject and I definitely need help.
Hope to hear from you soon.

Barb

352-504-7827 May I suggest best sprinkler guy, Joe , FLI Irrigation, also 352-245-8971 Alans sod, also IMHO the best

When you go to Lowes, ask when the grass will be available, I think they only get it one day a week. My neighbor picked up 3 or 4 squares for me, and I cut these up in to 4 pieces each, then placed them several inches apart to cover a much larger area, and 2 months later I have a nice green lawn. NOTE: I did manually water these areas for about 6 weeks to get the patches established.

Thanks, I was looking for what top dressing to use !

Sod Installation
 

Bogie Shooter,
Does Lowes lay sod plugs?
Can you recommend a good landscape company?