Benefits of Sprinkler System

If a nice, lush green lawn is important to you, even in the dog days of summer, and you are tired of wrestling with hoses, looking for your sprinkler, changing the location of your sprinkler, all in the name of a green lawn, consider installing a sprinkler system in your yard. Done properly, a sprinkler system ensures that all parts of your yard and landscaping are evenly watered without much effort on your part. Especially if you’ve spent a lot of work and money on a new yard or new landscaping, you’ll want your investment to look nice and last a long time. Good, even watering is essential in keeping your lawn nice-looking and weed-free, and a sprinkler system makes this job easier.

Installing Your Sprinkler System

If you are installing the automatic irrigation sprinkler system, this is one project that should probably be left to the professionals. There’s a good deal of measuring involved in order to place your sprinklers where they will do the most good. Unless you are good at making these calculations, along with digging and laying pipes, etc., hire someone to do it for you. There are some online sites with do-it-yourself tutorials for installing an automatic sprinkling system if you really must do it yourself. On the other hand, the drip irrigation system is a good do-it-yourself project. Some of the better known brands of sprinkler systems include RainBird, Hunter Sprinkler, Toro Sprinkler, and Nelson Sprinkler. Each of these companies have their own web site with specific information on their systems. RainBird’s web site does offer a tutorial if you are interested in doing it yourself. You can order your kit from them, get information on the best watering techniques and tips for improving your lawn. And they will assist you in selecting a contractor to install your new system. Toro also offers both types of systems and has some do-it-yourself tips on their web site. 

 Winterize Your Sprinkler System

Whether you have your contractor perform your winter maintenance or you do it yourself there are some steps that have to be performed. Most important is the removal of all water from system.Shut off water supply to system and apply compressed air to remove all water from system.  Then open all drain points to drain any remaining water. Any exterior valves should then be insulated and covered.

Setting Up Your System for Optimum Performance

Let rainfall be the main water source for your landscape whenever possible. The frequency of rainfall and the resulting amount of irrigation needed changes from week to week and month to month. The water needs of plants change with the seasons as well. A controller that will let you easily adjust the operating time of each irrigation zone for the seasons is desirable and will save a considerable amount of water.You can utilize a rain gauge to measure the amount of rain your landscape receives. Rain amounts reported for your community may not represent what is actually happening in your own landscape. Your own rain gauge is a better way to manage your irrigation system.A rain sensor is an essential component of the automated irrigation system. The easiest way to make good use of rainfall is to connect a rain sensor to your control system. A rain sensor detects rainfall and prevents the irrigation system from operating during rain. Rain sensors are add-on equipment, but they are inexpensive and usually pay for themselves in water savings in one or two years. You can purchase a rain sensor at your local home improvement store and install it yourself or have an irrigation contractor install it. Either way, the rain sensor needs to be in a location that is not covered by building eves and does not collect irrigation water. For homes, the rain sensor can be attached to the roof edge where there are no interfering trees.The maximum operating time for a zone should be no longer than it takes for runoff to begin. The time it takes for runoff to begin depends on the soil texture, the land slope and the cover on the soil. Soil covered with mulch will not produce runoff as quickly as bare soil. Once runoff begins to occur, the water needs to be turned off or re-directed to another station.Water infrequently and deeply according to the root system depth of the plants. The irrigation applied is a combination of the frequency and operating time of the irrigation system. Watering as infrequently as possible helps plants develop deep, strong root systems that can handle hotter and drier conditions with less stress. Plants that are watered very frequently, such as every day or every other day, have no tolerance for dry conditions and will show this weakness quickly on a hot summer day.

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