Ratibida Columnaris- Mexican Hat - a prominent summer wildflower
A Nice Start to Summer
We have finally erased the deficit on our annual rainfall total, making up for a dry May with several inches in June. That really helped our soil moisture levels and our lakes are in pretty good shape. Plus we had a bonus on June 24, the fifth day of summer, with a cold front that kept our high temperature under 80 degrees! I’ll give June 2017 an A.Here’s a fun fact: The high on June 24th was 10 degrees lower than the record high set in the dead of “winter” on Feb. 11 when we hit 88. Okay, I’m wearing everyone out with weather trivia, but this lack of normal patterns plays heck with our gardens. We coupled the warmest winter on record in DFW —great for insect pests, with a couple of 14 degree days in early January that burned crapes and other plants. So what does the rest of summer hold? If the first six months are any clue, who knows?
We can likely count on 2 months of hot, dry weather and a need to supplement Mother Nature’s blessings with regular water from our sprinkler systems. With that in mind, read on for a primer on how your sprinkler system works, and how to get the most out of it.
Horsemint- A wildflower that loves the heat and is great forage for honey bees.
Sprinkler Systems 101
(most likely a lot more than you want to know, but not nearly as much as we could tell you!)
Thanks to Murphy’s Law, it seems that right when you need your sprinkler system the most is also when it is most likely to break down. Unlike changing the oil in your car, there isn’t a whole lot of preventive maintenance you can perform on your sprinklers, but routine inspections are extremely important.
A typical sprinkler system starts at the backflow device, which is usually in a large box located a few feet from your water meter. There are 2 handles here which are used to turn the water off to the sprinklers without affecting the water to your house. Silt often accumulates around this valve and the handles corrode, making it difficult to turn off the water in an emergency. We recommend cleaning out the silt once a year and replacing your handles with stainless steel handles. Stainless handles will last forever.
Your control valves are located throughout the yard and have an electric solenoid and rubber diaphragm. These parts fail over time, the wire splices may corrode, and fire ants eat the insulation off the wires. If a valve is not coming on it is often an electrical problem. If it sticks on and runs continuously, it is usually a bad diaphragm or debris may have lodged in the valve. In most cases, we rebuild the valve with all new components, or replace the valve entirely if there is internal wear or other issues.
Spray heads are typically used for patterns of 4 ft up to 15 ft, rotors for patterns of 15 ft to 40 ft, drip irrigation for ornamental beds or pots, and bubbler heads for trees, large plants, or large pots. Pop-up sprays and rotors have seals that harden with age and leak or prevent the head from lowering after it pops up. This is the main reason heads get broken by mowers. Properly installed, a head that is working properly cannot be hit by a mower. If you see a lot of water pooling around a head when it is running it may have a bad seal. Spray nozzles also become clogged, and heads settle so that they are crooked, too low, or too high. Drip is notorious for being damaged by digging in beds, and rodents also love to chew on drip. Correcting these issues is all part of routine maintenance. Your controller is the brain of the system, and most of today’s controllers have sophisticated settings that allow you to optimize how and when you apply water. Like any computer, they may be damaged by power surges, lightning, or gremlins. But what is the first thing you always check when your controller isn’t working? The electrical outlet! Plug something else in and make sure you have electricity there. If so, then you can call us to come look for the gremlins.
Sprinkler system scheduling: Okay, this is a subject that can get very involved. There are formulas for calculating how much water you may need using actual rainfall amounts, evapostranspiration rates for your lawn or different types of ornamentals, soil types, slope, micro climates, etc. And the truth is that most sprinkler systems are not perfectly designed. There's lots of really good ones, but an equal number with coverage issues. In fact, most spray zones have an efficiency rating of only 60% and rotor zones 70%.So, for the average property owner with the average system, here are some easy to follow guidelines:
- Most weeks in summer we need to apply about 1 inch of water to our yards.
- A spray zone applies about 1.5 inches in an hour.
- A rotor zone applies about .5 inches per hour.
- A drip zone applies about 1 inch per hour, but drip can vary considerably because there are so many different products and ways to design it.
For lawns and established shrubs it would be ideal to apply all that water at one time so you get a really deep soaking, encouraging deeper roots. But flowers, new plantings, and some common plants like hydrangeas and caladiums need water more than once a week. For ease of programming, and to cover the variety of plants that you may have, most properties should be set up to water two to three times per week.
So now we have a twice a week schedule that looks like this:
- Spray zones 20 minutes, Rotor zones 60 minutes, Drip zones 30 minutes
And here is the last tweak that is not difficult and will really help you get the most out of your water. Except for some lucky folks (like me) that live in a narrow sandy band of the Cross Timbers that runs through north Texas, most of us have clay or clay-loam soils. These soils are tight and accept water very slowly. That means that your water will start running off after just a few minutes of watering. How to solve this problem? Set your sprinklers to run twice in one cycle, using half the water each time. Some controllers have a built in Cycle/Soak function that you can program, but all controllers have the ability to let you set two or more start times. That is a really simple way to get more water to soak in.Lets say you have 4 spray zones, 2 rotor zones, and 1 drip zone.
What is the total run time needed?
- 4 zones x 20 minutes = 80 minutes, 2 ones x 60 minutes = 120 minutes, and 1 zone x 30 minutes for a total of 230 minutes or about 4 hours.
- Set your sprays for 10 minutes, your rotors for 30 minutes, and drip for 15 .
- Set your first start time for 12:00 AM, then set a second start time for 4:00 AM
Again, these are basic guidelines. You may have shady areas that need less than hot sunny areas so adjust those times down. Or a big bed of begonias that may struggle with watering just twice a week in the heat of summer, so you could add a “B” program for an extra day to water just that zone.
As I said at the beginning, this can get very involved. You can follow these guidelines, or consult with us further if you really want to see how much you can do to keep more of your water going where you want it—the roots of your plants.You are welcome to email questions to me at:
John@primelandscapeservices.com
Texas Licensed Irrigator #0004812
The Big Email Push
Experts agree, e-mail is the only way to go!
Once again, we are reminding everyone to sign up to “Go Green” and start receiveing your invoices and newsletter via e-mail. We do not share your address with anyone, and we do not send out e-mail blasts soliciting your business.
You can also pay with your favorite credit card if you prefer.
Just call Olivia at 817-461-4000 to set it up.
Better yet, send an e-mail to: contactus@primelandscapeservices.com
Thanks!
July Chores
- Mow Weekly
- Finish planting summer flowers
- Mulch beds
- Treat new fire ant mounds after rains
- Watch for chinch bugs in the lawn
- Treat for grub worms
- Check sprinklers
Our goal is to fulfill the needs of the customer by providing timely, quality services and products.
Thanks for your business!
John Hoover, General Manager
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