A very popular question we get asked is “should I shut off my irrigation controller when it rains?” To be honest, you shouldn’t have to worry about remembering at all if you have a properly installed system with a weather sensor or smart controller. If you have one of those two things, it does that for you automatically - and so much more. Let us break it down for you…

First, what is a rain sensor?

As you might have guessed, it senses rain.

It’s a device that communicates with your sprinkler controller about the recent rainfall. If enough rain has fallen, then the sensors inform the timer to skip the next irrigation cycle and not run. It’s a convenient piece of technology. If you’re out of town or just unaware of the weather forecast, the rain sensor will make sure your lawn isn’t overwatered.

The sensor would save you the mental anguish and money from not running your sprinklers during a thunderstorm. You’ll conserve water while still maintaining your lawn if you let a rain sensor manage your sprinklers.

Without a rain sensor, overwatering can occur. Not only is this a problem as it can damage the health of your lawn, waste water, and run your utility bills up - but it can also create run off from your property. Once the soil in your lawn absorbs all the water it can at one time, the ground will become saturated.

Second, what is a smart controller?

Smart irrigation technology uses your WiFi signal to read the forecast and soil moisture data to determine if your lawn needs additional watering. This is done with local weather stations that help inform the system whether or not the landscape is in need of water. These controllers are a proven technology to improve outdoor water use efficiencies. The transition will be both cost-effective and useful. Just a year of water-savings can easily pay for the smart controller upgrade, depending on the size of your lawn.

Your smart system will be able to decide how much water is needed, and when. If it rains heavily, the system may skip watering for that day. This type of lawn engineering can save up to 50% in watering costs - which is a lot when you're paying the local utility fees.

But wait, there's more…the smart controller can control many systems from anywhere in the world by opening an app on your phone. You can set your lawn watering schedule, days, and zones, or manually start and stop the sprinklers from your mobile device!

Why would this matter? Let's say you're out of town and your local lawn fertilization company sprays your lawn. Most of the time, they'll email a service slip  requesting you to water their lawn application in that evening. No problem when you have the Hydrawise app!

Be sure to visit other articles we have on this topic:

• 5 Reasons to Install a Smart Irrigation WiFi Controller on your Gainesville Sprinkler System
• Are you wasting water in the rainy season?

If we can be of help with any of your St. Augustine or Nocatee lawn care, please don't hesitate to reach out to us give our team a call or text at (904) 813-LAWN. We look forward to working with you!

As we have mentioned before, the second basic need for a lawn is water. Everyone loves to focus on fertilizer, but without proper watering, your lawn cannot thrive. Type of grass, amount of sunlight, temperatures, humidity can all play a role in how much water your yard needs. We have been asked many questions about this topic and want to share some of the answers with you here! For other topics you may have questions about, check out our FAQ page here! 

When is the best time to water my lawn?
Watering in the morning (before sunrise) is the best time for your lawn; it's cooler and winds tend to be calmer so water can soak into the soil and be absorbed by the roots before it can evaporate. Although it might seem smart to wait until the evening, watering in the evening is only recommended in very dry seasons. Under normal watering circumstances, watering at night can cause fungus due to sitting on the lawn too long before evaporating.

How much water does my lawn need?
Most lawns need 1.5-2.5" of water per week, either from rain or sprinklers to get to the roots. This changes through the seasons at certain times of the year, we experience high evaporation (spring and early summer in North Florida) and others we experience low evaporation (fall and winter) due to humidity and temperatures. This also changes within your lawn where certain areas are in full sun (higher need for water) vs. shaded areas (lower need for water). If you're wondering how long you should run your sprinkler zones, please see below. 

Should I water my grass after mowing?
While it's definitely fine to water after mowing the lawn, you should avoid watering before you mow. Wet grass will just clump up as you mow it, clogging your mower and being a pain in general. This is also why you should avoid mowing right after heavy rains.

How do I know if my lawn has enough water?
An easy way to determine if your lawn is wet enough is to push your finger in the soil. If soil does not stick to your finger at all, you should add water. If it is still moist a knuckle or two deep, then it doesn't need water yet. You can also grab a handful of soil and see if any sticks to your hands. If it sticks at all, it has enough moisture. Read our blog post: 4 Signs Your Lawn Has Too Much Irrigation for more information.

How long do I need to run my sprinklers?
Most lawns need 1.5-2.5" of water per week, either from rain or sprinklers to get to the roots. These changes are based on the type of sprinkler head, weather, soil type, amount of sun, and grass/plant type. With all of that said, here is a basic guideline for sprinkler systems to keep a healthy lawn:

Rotor Zones - 40-65 minutes (These are the heads that rotate and cover larger areas of the lawn with one strong stream of water.
Spray / Mist Zones - 20-35 minutes (These are the heads that steadily spray a flat stream of water in a concentrated area and do not rotate)

Drip Zones - 60-90 minutes (These zones just slowly drip water at the base of root systems and do not put out much water at all. Although concentrated, they need more time to fully wet the plant's rootballs)

How can I tell if my Gainesville lawn needs more water?
Grass Blade Folding - St. Augustine and Zoysia leaves have a crease down the center that allows them to open and close as needed. Healthy, well-watered grass will appear almost completely flat and open. When grass begins to dry out, the blade will close in half upon itself, to reduce its exposure to the sun and thus conserve water. This will also give the grass a “hazy” look, as the backs of the blades are not as deep green as the enclosed fronts.

Slow Spring-Back - Healthy grass should return itself to the upright position within a few seconds of being walked upon. If your footprints last more than 5 seconds in the turf, this is a guaranteed sign of drought stress.

How do I keep my yard healthy when I can only water twice a week?
At certain times of year (typically, spring in North Florida), we experience low humidity, warm weather, and minimal rain. These 3 factors cause terrible drought stress in sunny areas of the lawn when they can only get watered two days per week. During those dry spells, we recommend watering in the morning AND in the evening of your scheduled days. (2 days a week) and that's still within the watering guidelines. Much of the problem with this time of year is that the water is evaporated and causing drought stress long before the gap between the 2 days is complete.

For example, if your watering days are Wednesday and Saturday, setting the sprinklers to run at 5am and 9pm both of those days increases the water on the lawn, shortens the gap of stress between the waterings, and keeps you within the watering guidelines.

HOWEVER-this is a plan only to be used during hot and dry times of the year (spring).

Why does Alachua County recommend smart controllers in their new code?
Most people hear "smart" and think of voice activation - like Alexa. Irrigation Smart controllers have nothing to do with voice, but everything to do with saving water. They intelligently optimize your irrigation system by automatically adjusting to your local weather, effectively helping your landscape, and cutting water use. It reads the weather on your WiFi network and then responds to it. For example, it knows if rain is forecasted above 80% for today, it will not water. If it's above 85-degrees, it naturally adjusts with more water and does the same with deducting from cold temperatures.

It's not about voice activation it's about saving water and improving the way you water by the changing weather.

Be sure to visit other articles we have on this topic:
Gainesville Sprinkler Tips for Watering Your Lawn
4 Common Gainesville Sprinkler System Issues to Watch For
Quick Tip: How Much Should I water my Gainesville Lawn in Summer?
5 Reasons to Install a Smart Irrigation WiFi Controller on your Gainesville Sprinkler System

If we can be of help with your Gainesville Irrigation please don't hesitate to reach out to us at (352) 378-LAWN or fill out our form at the top of the page!

Ever heard of the term 'Feast to Famine'?
That is exactly what almost every transition from Spring to Summer is like in North Florida. A couple of weeks ago, lawns were burning up, drought-stressed, and begging for water. It almost seemed like no amount of irrigation could quench their thirst. Fast forward a couple of weeks, and rainstorms are a daily occurrence.

Instead of worrying about sprinklers, people are worried about drainage solutions and run-off erosion. Quite the change for a short period of time. So why would I be writing about irrigation in a season like this? Because your water use matters - even if you aren't concerned with the environment, you certainly care about your GRU or municipality's water bill.

This is where the Irrigation Smart Controller (such as Hunter's Hydrawise system) comes in. It reads the weather from your WiFi network and then adjusts your sprinklers based on the weather. It's very possible that you could be saving $50-75/month on your water bill.

Benefits of installing a Smart Controller:

1. Adaptability - Your smart system will be able to decide when not to run much more consistently than the out-of-date rain sensors.
2. Scheduling - You can program your watering schedule into your smart system.
3. Avoids Over Watering - It will take into account the temperature and rainfall and delays between water zones.
4. Flexibility - You can control your system from anywhere by opening the app on your phone
5. Integration - Smart irrigation systems will integrate with many pre-existing smart systems like Google Assistant, Alexa, Nest, Wink, or other smart systems..

If we can be of help with any of your Summer Irrigation needs - please don't hesitate to reach out to us give our team a call or text at (352) 378-5296. We're local and have been serving Gainesville for over 15 years. We look forward to working with you!

With temperatures beginning to rise, it’s important to start preparing your Gainesville landscape for success in the months ahead. Does your curb appeal need some added color? Is your lawn ready for the warm weather and adjusted irrigation times?

We have compiled a few tips that will keep your lawn in great shape during the summer months.

1. Don’t Butcher the Grass
It’s tempting to lower your mower blades to cut the grass as short as possible. After all, you reason, it’s sort of like your hair—the shorter you cut it now, the longer you can go between trims. Grass doesn’t work like that, especially when it comes to St. Augustine and Zoysia grass.

Chopping the grass is more likely to leave it brown and dead. For the warm season, not only should you sharpen the blades, but you should also position them to never cut more than 1/3rd of the leaf blade off for an optimal lawn. Leaving the grass slightly taller won’t interfere with the groomed appearance of your lawn, but the blades remain long enough to bathe in the sunlight, which creates nutrient-rich roots and soil.

Learn more about caring for your specific Gainesville turfgrass here.

2. Trust your Smart Controller or Weather Sensor
Watering the lawn is a necessity in Florida, but our area is also humid, and we get a good amount of rainfall in summer. That eases a bit of the burden of irrigating, but it depends on the weather. A week of scorching weather can torch the yard if you aren’t watchful, which is why many summer lawn care tips focus on hydration and irrigation techniques.
As tempting as it is, we do not recommend “turning the sprinklers on manually when it’s dry,” because inevitably life happens. Once the lawn is stressed, you are already negatively impacting your curb appeal - and inviting pests and weeds in. A scheduled watering plan, that is paused automatically when rain is in the area, is the best way to ensure top-notch health in your summer landscape.

Learn more about Smart Irrigation Controllers here.

3. Put Away the Nitrogen
This summer lawn care tip doesn’t apply to garden beds and edible landscaping, but for your lawn - don’t fertilize your lawn with any nitrogen (first number of the N-P-K content on fertilizer) after June, per Alachua County regulations. This is why our lawn and ornamental health programs include slow-release nutrients applied at the end of spring that will feed the landscape through summer and fall.
You can still apply micronutrients and topdressings that will help feed your roots and soil to improve your landscape’s health through the summer, but avoid nitrogen if you don’t want on the County’s 'naughty list.'

Learn more about the Alachua County Fertilizer Restrictions here.

4. Prune back your azaleas
Most landscape professionals go by the July 4th rule, which is to make sure all Azaleas (Specifically larger varieties) are pruned back heavily and shaped by Independence Day. This will allow them to start budding in late Summer for next Spring’s bloom season. July to next Spring is an extended growing period - so starting from a tight shape is important to not looking overgrown and unkept.

Some homeowners prefer a manicured shaped Azalea at the expense of the blooms, so if that's you please ignore this tip and continue to shape after budding season - but most love the flowers and so this is an important task to get checked off.

Learn more about Azalea care here.

5. Plant some Summer Color
After your Hydrangeas, Irises, Agapanthus, Azaleas, and Camellias are done blooming - Summer color can be hard to go without. If your landscape needs a little color throughout the dog days of summer - consider adding these heat-loving plants into your design:

• Drift Roses
• Salvia (Perennial and Annual)
• Cardinal Firespike (late Summer)
• Golden Cassia
• Coreopsis
• Vitex Tree
• Coleus (Annual)

Find more Summer Color Landscape Inspiration here.

If we can be of help with any of your Gainesville Landscape needs - please don't hesitate to reach out to us give our team a call or text at (352) 378-5296. We're local and have been serving Gainesville for over 15 years. We look forward to working with you!

Mistake #1: Set it and forget it
Mistake: Leaving your sprinkler on autopilot throughout the year means you aren’t watering right for your landscape's needs today - which are very different when it's 90-degrees versus 70-degrees

Fix: Check for leaks and broken heads. Adjust the time and frequency for your summer lawn needs (see below). And adapt your schedule when heavy rainfalls come through. If you want to not mess with it, install a smart Hunter Hydrawise controller to do the work for you.

Mistake #2: Watering too frequently
Mistake: Watering 4 or 5 days per week makes your lawn vulnerable to fungus, disease, thatch issues, weeds, and other weaknesses. 

Fix: Water 2 days per week and adjust the run times per zone.

Mistake #3: Watering too little
Mistake: Short, shallow waterings don’t penetrate the root zone, stunting important root development.

Fix: Water deeply to promote a strong root system and a healthy lawn. We recommend 45-60 minutes for rotating heads and 15-20 minutes for fixed heads.

Mistake #4: Watering too much
Mistake: Standing water or satuated soils hours after irrigating can be a sign you’ve overwatered. When this happens, your root zone doesn’t get enough oxygen and can lead to fungus and other lawn disease.

Fix: 1 inch of water per irrigation cycle is good for many lawns. 

Mistake #5: Irrigating too late
Mistake: Watering after the sun heats up causes water to evaporate. Evening waterings can also be problematic. Depending on where you live, damp grass and cool air create perfect conditions for disease and fungus.

Fix: Water before 10am in the morning to avoid water loss and disease.

If you need help with your Gainesville Sprinkler System, don't hesitate to fill out the form at the top of the page or call our team at (352) 378-5296.