Garden

[Nightowlz]

We have only watered twice. We have had 11" rain so far in July.

We have had unusual weather with all this rain & now we have some 60°'s for lows in July? It's normally really hot with hardly any rain.

Lawns are suppose to get 1 - 1 1/2" water per week.

[Still Raining]

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@Snoopp wrote:

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@Still Raining wrote:

You can install sensors for ground moisture which take the guesswork out of it.  They manage the timing.

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@Still Raining  is that hard to do?  Do I need the service to do that or is it a DIY project?  I'm not too good with DIY things.

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Depends your comfort level.

It has to be in the ground and talk to your controller, which has to accept the instructions.  You have to understand your zones.  If you do not already have zones, it will be a pipe problem too.  It can be shut down by zone too.

If you know your pipe layout and can switch out a controller as needed, you will be fine.

ETA:  think about it....men can do it

[LonestarBabs]

I live in Dallas TX. Have a sprinkler system with sensor/controller that will bypass the programmed cycles for freezing temperatures or moisture levels. Right now the sprinklers are set for two cycles, two hours apart on Mon/Fri. I have a drip system around the foundation and through the flower beds that runs three times per week. Today it's raining so my sprinkler system will go on bypass status and not run until it determines that everything has dried out enough.

[ValuSkr]

It's been hot and dry here in PA but I don't water the lawn at all.   It's turning yellow but no worries - it's going dormant and will return to green when rains return.  

IMO and the opinion of conservationists, it's silly, not to mention wasteful, to water lawns.  

[shaggygirl]

I quit a few weeks back when robo calls were coming from regional water authority (to whom my bill is paid) to please cut back on water usage by 10%. The call said due to Covid water usage was up by 60%.....I guess more people home doing watering/laundry/bathing/whatever. So that was my way of cutting back.

A friend who had a pretty big above ground pool put in late May said the pool place commented on it being the busiest year for pool sales they could remember. Probably to give the kids who can't socialize much and parents at home with them something to do. I'm guessing filling all those new pools would also account for a lot more water usage.

[JustJazzmom]

Our underground sprinkler system goes on every other day at around 5AM in the morning. Our system is a combination of rotary heads (lawn areas) & misters (landscape shrubs). I can program it so the grass doesn't get water but the shrubs do.

Right now our water district has requested we don't water our lawns for the same reason mentioned below (conserve water). 

We do have a moisture sensor on the system  (a tube connected to an electric wire that goes into the programmable clock) situated on a gutter rim. 
Right now the clock is off. Not sure if it's because of some rain we had (it's set up to not run the sprinkler if 1/4 of rain falls in the tube).

We may need the sensor replaced as we have had a short heat wave & it should have gone on yesterday. 

I will call tomorrow the sprinkler company.

[Snoopp]

I think I'll just turn off the sprinkler if it looks like rain.  Easier for me.  I ran it last night.  I can manually change the time and zones so I'll see what the weather is this week and adjust it.  I'll keep it on every 3 days if we get some rain in the forecast.  

[Patriot3]

I don't use mine......too expensive.  I water my few plants by hand.  The grass will come back.  We used to live on an acre w/no sprinkler system.  The grass always came back.

[DiAnne]

I don't water my lawn at all but I do water plants when they need it.  

[Allegheny]

We don't have sprinklers for our 2 acre lawn, we rely on rain.  This year we are -2 inches in rainfall.  I have gardens around the house, I do water the plants there as needed.