What Irrigation Method Will Save You Money and Water

You may have heard the phrase "water lawns 1 inch a week." While this is a good rule of thumb, it is based on your landscapes’ water needs as averaged throughout the year. 

Our typical desert summers tend to be long, hot, and dry with rainfall at a minimum.  Therefore, it is likely that your landscape may require more water during the summer months and less water during the spring and fall months when the weather tends to be wetter and cooler.

The key to watering efficiently is to frequently adjust the amount you water throughout the growing season as the weather and your plant’s water needs change. 

First step in your watering system being efficient is to find out how quickly your sprinklers distribute 1 inch of water. once you have that knowledge set a base schedule and adjust it as needed based on water needs of your turf.

Easy Steps To See How Long It Takes Your Sprinkler To Water An Inch:

1. Place two watering gauges at two different places within your sprinkler’s spray range.  Then run your sprinkler for 15 minutes. (You may also use a tuna can and a ruler to conduct this test)

2. Find the average amount of water (in inches) collected in your gauges. To do this, measure the amount of water in each gauge. Add these amounts together and divide by two. This is the average  amount of water your sprinkler puts out in 15 minutes.  

(This will provide you with a good guideline amount.  For increased accuracy, repeat steps 1 & 2 several times, placing the gauges at different distances from your sprinkler.)

3. Use this chart to see how much time it will take you to water one inch.

Pros & Cons Of Different Irrigation Systems

A good way to prevent over watering is to install rain or soil moisture sensors to override your automatic watering system when necessary. A rain sensor simply senses rainfall. Once a designated amount of water has been detected, it shuts down any regularly scheduled irrigation. Rain sensors are small, simple devices and are generally less expensive and easier to install and maintain than soil moisture sensors. Soil moisture sensors are more accurate than rain sensors because they can detect moisture at the level of the root system. They are more exact in measuring how much water your plants are receiving and thus offer greater water savings. However, they are somewhat complicated to install and manage.

Sprinkler Systems
• Sprinklers can cover large areas.
• Manual sprinklers require you to open the valve, time the watering and then shut off.
• Automatic sprinkler systems offer the benefit of programmable controllers.
• Make sure you set automatic sprinklers correctly and adjust it as conditions change.
• Water early in the morning to reduce the evaporation rate.
• If water runs off your yard, split your watering times into two or more sessions.
• Be sure to turn off your system if you’re getting enough water from rain showers.

Drip Irrigation
• This system is good for a small area or for watering individual plants.
• Drip irrigation is highly effective at supplying one to four gallons of water per hour directly to the soil.
• The advantage of drip irrigation over sprinklers is that there is little water loss due to evaporation or runoff.
• It’s particularly good for mulched areas because it can directly soak the soil without washing away the mulch.

Depending on your landscaping you might need to find a balance between these two watering methods.  

You are already busy enough, let Greens Keeper Landscape Maintenance, LLC take the watering and landscaping worries of your commercial property off your mind.  To find out how give us a call at 623-848-8277.

Presented by:
Greens Keeper Landscape Maintenance, LLC
623-848-8277
http://www.commerciallandscapecare.com
greenskeeperllc@cox.net