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PLANNING AND DOCUMENTING A WATERING SCHEDULE
Irrigation Direct recommends planning your watering schedule and writing it
down on a �Water Scheduling Form(s)?provided on this website in Direct
Tips, before you do any actual programming of your controller. If you have
our DMC controller we have also provided you with a handy Irrigation Direct
pencil for you to write down your program information. Once you are done you
can store this manual in the spring loaded instruction manual holder, you
can also fold the manual so you can have your programs displayed when you
open the door of the DMC.
There are so many variables (soil type, sprinklers, wind, sunny areas, shady
areas, slopes, etc.) that it is impossible for us to give you an exact
formula for how to program your controller. One thing that is for sure the
more time you spend fine tuning your sprinkler system programming the better
results you will achieve. Here are some tips to help you get started:
?How do I know how long to water each station? To make sure that you don�t
over or under water a particular station, we recommend finding out what the
saturation point is for each valve station on your system. By using a stop
watch or wrist watch, turn on the valve and watch the sprinklers watering.
Once the water starts running off of the area being watered the soil has
reached its saturation point, stop the stop watch and mark down what the
time was. This is should be repeated for each valve on your system. This is
an excellent starting point for how long to water each station on your
system.
?How often will I need to water each station? Now that you have determined
how long it takes to saturate the soil the next factor is how long does it
take for this water to evaporate. This will vary throughout the year with
the key variables being: how warm it is, if it is windy and whether the area
is normally in a very shady or sunny area. Again this will require some
experimenting on your part to fine tune your system. You will find that some
valves will need to water more frequently in a week then other valves will.
The good news is if you have our DMC controller it has three different
programs and four different start times to accommodate any scheduling
requirement.
?We also recommend that you create your watering schedule based on medium
weather conditions, based on your areas weather patterns, in most cases this
will be early spring. This way you can use the �Seasonal Adjustment?feature
on your controller, this way in the summer you can increase your overall
programming, and in the fall you can reduce your overall watering.
?We also strongly recommend installing a rain sensor with your controller,
this will turn the system off until the rain stops and things dry out.
?What time of day should I water? It is usually recommended that you water
1 to 3 hours before sunrise when water pressure is optimal. You should water
early in the morning, but every neighborhood is different as far as when
people are up and using their showers etc. The other thing to consider is
that since most irrigation manufacturers suggest doing this, all of your
neighbors may be doing the exact same thing. You should pay attention to
your neighborhood and find the best time to start watering for your
situation.
?What days should I water? During extreme heat you may have to water every
day. You should definitely consider days that you don�t to water as a good
starting point such as: The day your gardener comes or the day you do your
gardening, certain days you want to use your yard such as weekend barbecues
or your children�s play habits.
?Please do not waste water. Be on the look out for excessive run off from
your irrigation system as well as puddles or pools of water.
?Remember brown spots are not always a sign of under watering, a lot of
times lawns can turn brown or off color from too much water. You should
always check the soil moisture before making your adjustments.
?Also lawns can look unhealthy due to lack of fertilizer, diseases or it
may need to be aerated.
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