SPRINKLER TALK FORUM - You Got Questions, We've Got Answers

I know there are many posts here on this topic, but I just could'nt find and put together what I was looking for. So I searched, and made up my own scheduale, and thought I'd share it!



I am in NJ, and my dirt is very hard, dry, clay. My lawn is in the sun 80% of the day, with the shade only being in the morning. In the past, I use to (before automatic sprinklers) water in the evening about 10 minutes a zone) This created mold in some areas though, and it was still hard as a rock and dry/crisp in the mid-day, plus it was dying. Watered longer, 20 minutes a zone, it stayed green but created mold. I tried every other day, and it crisped.



I now have my automatic system though, with 1gpm and 2gpm nozzles in each head. I figure I would water about 8:00am every other morning for 20 minutes. This created crisp lawn AGAIN! I tried 30 minutes a zone and it would flood water down the driveway and create mud.



I found out that my best scheduale here in NJ is 8:00am (we use water early morning + we have a well pump). I water 20 minutes a zone every day when its regular 80*F out, and when its REALLY hot (90*F-100*F), I do 30 min a zone every day. I have a nice lawn, not soggy in the evening, and its dry before night. No mold or fungus yet! I have 5 zones, so I take a while to water the lawn in the morning.



I have had good results so far with watering usually 20 min a zone(x5) every day. If anyone could think of a better water saving solution, let me know! This post was to give others ideas and help on there own scheduales.



This is my lawn now. I bit spotty in some areas because of groundhogs/moles (<any help with these!) . And some mud spots I still need to put seed down in. But! This is good since its been 100*F for the past week. This result is still 20 min a zone(x5) every day at 8:00am.

Well. Everything is head to head coverage, with 3 heads per zone, 2gpm nozzles in each (1gpm in some). I put the system in, as this was the post

My sprinkler system


The front was the only problem. I tried getting "head to head coverage", which was a success in the backlawn, but was impossible in the front. There are large oak and pine tree roots all over. I was going to put sprinklers on the outside perimeter all the way around, and put a row down the center of the lawn for head to head, but could'nt dig near the outside at all. So, I just centered a row down the middle the best I could to get everything. I might have to water it a few extra minutes, but....it works.



The back is watered very evenly, but needs to be re-seeded, so it looks weedy and a mess right now. The front is the only problem. We do have low water pressure, thats why its 2gpm nozzles and only 3 heads per zone MAX. Maybe 5 heads per zone if I put 1gpm nozzles in all of them, but then i'd have to water longer per zone.



For the front, (at least the small "outfield" I'm trying to water, is there a better 3 sprinklers I can install in place of the Hunter PGP-Ultra's that would water more volume and farther with the water pressure I have?



I will try to water earlier in the morning I guess. 2am start time? And do the cycle irrrigating.

"Use a cycle and soak method of irrigating. Instead of 1 start time of a zone to run for 30 minutes. Split it up... ( within a few hours not through out the whole day) .. 2x 15 min... or 3x 10 min. This allows the water to soak into the dirt and properly apply the correct amount of water the lawn needs instead of creating run off"



The dirt is a pretty good topsoil that was put down last year. It was actually raked in, and had about a good 4-6 inches of topsoil, but that was a nightmare, because even know we had it the same grade as the old stuff before, and we packed it down too, most of it washed away along with the seed. Never again Our whole lawn slopes down hill through some front woods, and down to the road. Raising the level of the lawn and grading it is not an option either. We are lucky its as flat as it is now. Thankfully most of the clay is down about 4". So we will just have to live with the soil we have right now, unless they have some kind of magical "clay loosening fertilizer"