Rain Rich Blog: Heat Wave Archives

Beat the HEAT

By Richard Silverman on August 8, 2011 10:03 PM

During these hot days of extreme temperatures it is important to implement a plan to protect your lawn and plants. Here are several action steps to care for your landscape investment:

1. Water often and for long periods whenever possible. When water begins to form a puddle on your property then cut back on the run time for that zone. If possible, run a second cycle during the day.

2. Water early morning. Anytime after midnight and before 10am. The water pressure is high, the volume is best and distribution of water will also be at its optimum.

3. Water during the day to cool grass down. Golf courses do this all the time and it is called syringing. Ground water from our aquifer is 54 degrees Fahrenheit and the cool water will calm down lawn & plants and relieve some stress. It is a myth that watering during the day will burn your plants.

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Sprinkler Problems

By Richard Silverman on July 27, 2011 7:09 PM

Due to the heat, many of us are experiencing various problems with our sprinkler systems. Some of these issues might be due to the age of the system and can only be solved by performing preventative maintenance during the course of the summer.

Depending upon the complexity and size of the system some clients need more service than others. Typically the average sprinkler system requires repairs or replacements within 5 - 10 years. This includes sprinkler heads, sprinkler valves, controllers, rain sensors, and pipe repairs. Better grade equipment and installation allow the system to last longer, perform better, and require less maintenance.

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SPRINKLER ALERT!

By Richard Silverman on July 19, 2011 7:25 PM

The HEAT is on! DUE TO HIGH HEAT AND PROLONG DRY PERIOD WE ARE ADVISING ALL OF OUR CLIENTS TO DO THE FOLLOWING:

1. Increase the run time on your rotary sprinkler zones to 60 minutes per day for sunny areas.

2. Increase your SPRAY sprinkler zones to water for 15 minutes every day.

3. Increase your DRIP IRRIGATION zones to water for 60 minutes every day.

4. Increase the water budget key on your sprinklers to 110% or more.

5. Water as early in the morning as possible. Start at 1 am if possible. This will give your system the greatest pressure and volume and operate at the highest efficiency. It will also finish the cycle before you are up and using water in the home.

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Sprinkler Modifications

By Richard Silverman on July 12, 2011 4:48 PM

By now most everyone has had their sprinklers turned on and many of the repairs completed. As the season moves into the hot summer many of the calls for service are related to changes in the landscape and or home due to the following:

1. Plants grow and block the spray from the sprinkler heads. Sprinklers heads either need to be added to improve coverage, raised above plantings, or moved to provide better coverage.

2. Roots from trees can grow around sprinkler pipes and strangle piping reducing flow and loss of coverage.

3. New plantings can sometimes interfere with spray distribution.

4. New landscape construction such as patios, walkways, driveways, etc. can interfere with sprinkler coverage.

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Controllers and Scheduling Sprinkler Systems

By Richard Silverman on June 30, 2011 11:54 PM

It looks like this 4th of July will be the perfect weekend to be outside with the forecast of hot, dry, sunny weather. More than likely you will need to irrigate more frequently or increase your watering to maintain a happy landscape. I won't waste your time getting into all the programming details as this is just a quick guide to get you through the weekend.

Here a few guidelines and items to check in case you have a problem:

1. Make sure your clock is plugged in and the controller is in the "run" position.

2. To increase the watering time for each zone simply use the "seasonal adjustment" button on the face of the controller and press the arrow key that faces up. The display should read 100% and hold the button until you increase the percentage above 100%. Any increment above 100% is an increase and any increment below 100% is a decrease. Some of the new controllers require that you turn the dial from "run" to "season adjustment" before pressing the up arrow.

3. Please! Do not turn dial to "set program start times". Do not set or try to set more program start times unless you are very comfortable with programming and totally "get it". You only need one start time to activate the entire water cycle. Please leave as is!

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Tips for Efficient Irrigation and a Healthier Landscape

By Richard Silverman on June 30, 2011 7:33 PM

July is Smart Irrigation Month and is typically the month of highest water demand for lawns and landscapes in the United States. The Irrigation Association has named July as Smart Irrigation Month to increase public awareness about simple practices and innovative technologies for homeowners, businesses, and property managers can use to:

1. Save money on water usage.
2. Conserve water and protect the community's water supply.
3. Reduce runoff and prevent leaching of valuable nutrients in the soil.
4. Public safety. When the demand is high for water usage the pressure and availability of water is reduced at fire hydrants.

According to the experts, most homeowners and property managers over water by up to 30%!

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Controller Adjustments

By Kim Steed on June 7, 2011 7:59 PM

With the warmer temperatures moving in, don't forget to adjust your irrigation controller! You can literally save thousands of gallons of water in your landscape, and save your plants from drowning, with the proper setting of your irrigation controller. You need to change the watering schedules as plants become established, with the changing seasons, and when it rains.

Programming sprinkler systems clocks can be a relatively simple task once you have a few basic guidelines. Program your controller for the number of days per week you want the system to operate combined with the duration that each zone waters also known as the run time. You can have your sprinkler system programmed to come on every day, every other day, every third day, and so on.

Operating your sprinkler controller is an important part of irrigation management and maintenance. The sprinkler controller should be adjusted bi-monthly to minimize under watering and over watering. Inadequate sprinkler controller management can lead to turf and tree dehydration, fungus problems and insect infestation.

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Spring Start Ups 2011

By Richard Silverman on May 26, 2011 2:56 PM

Spring start ups are more than 50% complete and if you haven't had your sprinkler system turn on yet than this would probably be the last good week before the hot weather arrives. Hot weather is sure to return and I recommend you be prepared.

This spring we are finding more problems than usual due to the long and unusually cold winter that just passed. There are many different types of sprinkler systems that we install and with more than 70 days of snow cover on the ground we have found damage due to:

• Snow plows and snow blowers
• Machinery such as thatches, core aerators, and lawn mowers
• Continuous freeze thaw action of the ground on pipes and fittings tearing them apart

Sprinkler equipment, specifically residential grade sprinkler equipment, is only manufacture red to last 10 -12 years at most. Many of the sprinkler systems that Rain Rich services are much older and this is due to better quality equipment we install vs. the equipment our competitors install and the superior service we provide e.g. winterizing.

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Happy Mother's Day

By Kim Steed on May 5, 2011 7:52 PM

3-mother's-day.jpg This weekend marks a very special holiday, Mother's Day.

In celebration of this holiday most will buy flowers, or beautiful plants such as geraniums, marigolds, petunias or impatiens. Like anything else, plants require constant care, and a few hot days without rain or water can kill off even the most drought tolerant plants. Most find it difficult and time consuming to water them regularly.

In honor of Mother's Day, you can receive $50 off any new drip system for flower pots, window boxes and hanging baskets. This year why not buy her something different, the Rain Rich Drip Irrigation System.

For those of you that may not know drip irrigation, it is a low volume method of delivering water slowly, close to the root zone of plants. The technology has been around for over 50 years and has been successfully used in the agriculture and landscape industry.

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Lawns Looking Terrible?

By Richard Silverman on July 20, 2010 5:00 PM

"I water all the time and my lawn still looks terrible!"

This is the most common complaint from many of my clients that have been calling during this hot and dry period. When I respond to the call I first look to make sure that the sprinklers are coming on and running. Second, I check the program to see that the watering is more frequent and for a longer run time. July is the hottest and driest month of the year. Lawn and plants are under great stress to stay healthy and look their best.

Here are the top 10 problems I find :

1. Not watering enough. The average evapotranspiration rate of a plant on a sunny hot day could be 0.25"/day or greater. Equal amounts of water need to be replaced with an irrigation cycle. Check the coverage of the sprinkler heads and make sure that they are covering from one sprinkler head to the next sprinkler head and overlap each other.

2. The water pressure may be to low to allow sprinklers to operate properly due to high demand by all consumers during specific times of the day.

3. Watering during the day when sun is the strong and evaporates most of the water before it penetrates into the soil.

4. Lawns are cut too short. Grass should be cut 3" and higher each time it is mowed in the summer. Cutting it shorter that 3" allows sunlight to bake the soil and roots.

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