The days are warming up and it is time to fire up your sprinkler system for the growing season. You need to be careful, though, so you don’t cause damage to your system.
Locate Your Sprinkler Shut Off Valves
At the end of fall every year, you should be winterizing your sprinkler system. This process clears the plumbing of all water and prepares it for freezing temperatures so that they don’t break. Now that spring is here, you are safe to turn it all back on. Find the sprinkler shut off valves and follow the process listed here to properly get your sprinklers back online. One key to this process is to not rush it all or the pipes may burst.
Once they have been started up, you need to put in your initial sprinkler settings. I will go into more detail next week, but it is important that you monitor and adjust your settings throughout the spring and summer since your lawn’s water needs will change over time. You will not need to water much at first in the spring unless it has not been raining much.
When Should You Water?
It is also essential that you set your sprinklers so that they go off between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m, according to the Cornell University Extension Service. If you water during the day, for example, most of the water will simply evaporate due to the heat. If you water at night, the grass will stay wet for longer and encourage diseases to develop. Early morning watering allows the best chances for water to reach the roots.
If you would prefer to have us get your sprinklers going again, don’t hesitate to give us a call!
Image by mikemol under a Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License
