A Watering Notice from Deans
 

Sharing A PSA, especially for those South of 44 where low flow spray heads are used. And irrigation water is primarily reclaimed water.

Best to water early morning finishing just before sunrise. Rainy season should start in a few weeks so best to keep the grass healthy until then and avoid cost of replacing sod.

Also, if using a WIFI controller, it is relatively easy to break up your your zone watering cycles into four shorter ones for less risk of run off.



DEANS SERVICES Things are heating up out there! With temperatures rising and little rain ahead, it's especially important to keep our lawns hydrated.

Please take a moment to review our recommended watering schedule and keep an eye on your inbox for our latest Buzz newsletter for more on how you can prevent drought damage this season!

https://www.deansservices.com/sites/...%20Drought.pdf

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Yes, I got one also, and sent a reply back asking which type the ROTATOR heads are, I am not an expert in irrigation slanguage.

See the footnote:

*MP Heads vs. PGP Heads

*MP (high-efficiency) heads disperse water more slowly than PGP heads. This reduces water runoff by allowing your lawn more absorbtion time. While more efficient, MP heads require a longer run time than traditional PG heads.

To tell which type you have, look at the spray pattern:

* MPs apply water in several pin streams

* PGPs spray in a jet-spray pattern simliar to a garden hose.

...

Note: My irrigation guy pointed out the recommended runtime sticker in our home was for PGP heads which is incorrect for most homes before 44 with MP heads.

For HUNTER heads...
Nozzles | Hunter Industries

Pro heads have a different inches per hour depending on the distance (radius) water is sprayed.
https://www.hunterindustries.com/sit...Nozzles-US.pdf

MP rotators come in 2 variants. MP is 0.4in/hr and MP800 is 0.8 in/hr.
Wonder which one Dean's is referencing.

Both water delivery rates vary slightly based upon water pressure.

With the ponds so low, homes using that irrigation water will also be pushing a lot of grit, sand, and biomass into their sprinkler heads. Highly recommend turning on the system and inspect each head to see if it it spraying properly, if at all. There should be a filter screen on every head, but most houses seem to not have them. So instead of cleaning a filter, you get to replace the head.

They used MP1000 heads at my home.

Note: there are many different types of MP heads. MP800 and MP1000 are only 2 of many. See:
MP Rotator(R) Sprinklers by Nelson Irrigation

I replaced the old technology hunter sprinkler controller with a smart wifi sprinkler controller that I can operate thru my iPhone and Siri.
This controller (my last 2 houses had this too) breaks up each zone time into smaller runtimes that allows the water to soak in instead of runoff. For example, if each zone is set to run for 60 minutes, the system will do 4 passes running each zone for 15 mins. So zone 1 will run for 15 mins, then zone 2 for 15 mins, and after zone 4 runs for 15 mins it starts over with zone 1 again.
Plus my system is linked to a nearby weather station so if it is raining or about to, the system alters it’s watering schedule

This is horrible information put out by Deans. According to Yilin Zhuang the turf south of 44 is ProVista St. Augustine. ProVista needs a maximum of 3/4 of an inch of water once a week and no more. It should only be fertilized twice a year, once in the spring, and once in the fall. Any deviation from these recommendations have a high likelihood of developing ’Root Rot’. The Florida extension office put on a very informative seminar in March that was all about Provista St Augustine grass. Here is the doctors information if you would like to verify. Yilin Zhuang, Ph.D. | Water Resources Regional Specialized Agent
UF/IFAS Extension Central District
UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research and Education Center
2725 S. Binion Road, Apopka, FL 32703-8504
Office: 407-410-6901 | Cell: 352-559-9362 | Fax: 407-814-6186

Unfortunately, in reality not true. I have the ProVista St. Augustine and I see stress and wilt in area if I’m only doing 3/4” once a week. I’m currently watering 3x a week and it’s keeping it from wilting and looks fabulous. As soon as I drop back to two days, it immediately gets stressed again. Come on rainy season!!

MP 800 and the red 1000's are generally used on lawns here in the villages. I also like the Rain Bird equivalents. The trick is to determing how much water you are putting on each zone. Generally a lawn needs at least 1 inch of water per week depending on the type of grass you have. In order to determine how much water you are applying you need to put a measuring cup in each zone area and after you run your sprinkler system, check to see how much water each zone got. You can get them on Amazon Amazon.com Depending on the results you can adjust the amount of time you water per zone and adjust the sprinkler heads accordingly.

But although Dean's is right in everything they said, water is expensive so you want to water smart. In order to water smart you really need to replace the manual sprinkler timer with a WiFi one like the Rachio-3. You can pick these up on sale or on ebay for about $125. A WiFi sprinkler control will be able to know when rain is in the forecast and adjust the watering schedule accordingly instead of just watering blindly every couple of days. The Rachio will pay for itself in about 6 months in the amount of water you save. If you have an older home you want to also check the rain sensor on the outside of the house. Typically they only last about 5 years because the sponges inside the unit dry out. I can't tell you how many people are watering after a significant rain becasue their rain sensor is not working. You can get a replacement at Lowes for about $20.

Concerning dirt in the reclamed water, i strongly suggest you install an irregation filter. For a couple hundred dollars this filter installed near your irrigation valve box will filter out most of the sand and dirt that cloggs all your sprinkler heads. Even if you have a professional come and clean them out, the MP rotor heads sometimes can't be cleaned and you will need to replace the head. All this said for the cost of one or two visits from a sprinkler professional you can install an irrigation filter and pretty much never have clogged sprinkler heads ever again. If you are interested in a filter call Chuck Grospitch on 440-823-4273. He can also install a Rachio controller and fix your sprinkler system if it needs it.

Remember you want to water your lawn to keep it nice and green but you want to water responsibly and save money at the same time.

Hope this all helps.

Cleaning
 

Needed-small bucket of water, tooth brush, small pair of vice grips, pliers. Pull up the sprinkler, clamp gently with vice grips to hold up, remove spray nozzle clean in bucket with tooth brush, reinstall and remove vice grips. After cleaning a zone manually turn on sprinklers as they will need to be readjusted to spray the area properly

Deans Confusing Message
 

What I don't understand about this message from Dean's is that they seem to be saying that if it's above 85 degrees, you should be watering your lawn 3 times a week. Unless something has changed, we are under Southwest Florida Water Management District watering restrictions that limit us to watering twice a week. So why would Dean's recommend 3 times a week?

Anyone found a place that sells the Hunter Pro series sprinkler head nozzles? Some of the bug box stores sell them but you have to buy the whole head instead of just the spray nozzle

Yes, FIS (Florida irrigation Supply). They have a few locations, the one I use is off of 44, industrial dr. Just past Russell's chocolate store. They sell everything for your sprinkler systems. MP800 thru MP3000 heads, 90 deg. To 360 deg. Heads, and all the replacement parts.