Lawn owners struggle to manage watering schedules for new grass
19 posts across 2 communities in the last 30 days; 95% from r/lawncare.
“Why is this one area flooding more than the rest? I adjusted the center screw on my Rainbird 1800 sprinklers to try and increase the distance because the area under all the sprinklers was dry. I just adjusted this one because I wanted to test it. I would appreciate help…”
“Ok so the issue there is that you don't know how much water that sprinkler outputs per minute, so if you're watering for 15-20 minutes, you don't know how much water that actually is. You can get actual catch cups with measurement markings from any retic store like Nutrien or…”
“There are some heads where they don't seem to spray far enough or they're blocked by my grass. The heads seem like theyre up all the way though. Is my grass too tall? How do I fix this?”
Homeowners are grappling with optimal watering times and amounts, particularly in Southern California and after overseeding. They seek advice on adjusting irrigation strategies based on grass type and weather conditions.
SOURCES (49)
“Well it’s happening. Had a company come out and aerate and over seed a few weeks ago. Would have preferred for them to be out early September but they were booked out. Have sprinklers spread out on timers watering 3-4 times a day 15 minutes…”
“Why is this one area flooding more than the rest? I adjusted the center screw on my Rainbird 1800 sprinklers to try and increase the distance because the area under all the sprinklers was dry. I just adjusted this one because I wanted to test it. I would appreciate help understanding how to optimize my new sprinkler system. Feel free to ask any questions. I run my system at 9:00am, 12:00pm, and 4:00pm for 6 minutes. I have two zones of 5 heads each covering 639 sq ft. Planting Eretz Annual Ryegr”
“I have about an acre of land I am going to overseed using a slit seeder. The model zero turn I have doesn’t have a bagger, would you suggest a couple extra passes on the grass when cutting low or will the slit seeder get through the clippings? submitted by /u/CalJackBuddy [link] [comments]”
“How do you all water around work? I’m located in zone 7b and I’m usually at work from 6:30am to around 6:30pm. I usually water in the morning before i leave for work and then i water when i get back from work. is this okay to promote germination? i’ve been focusing on keeping the top layer of peat moss damp and when i water i make sure to saturate everything enough to where hopefully it can stay damp while i’m at work. Thank you for the insight. submitted by /u/Glum_Tumbleweed_3423 [”
“Ok so the issue there is that you don't know how much water that sprinkler outputs per minute, so if you're watering for 15-20 minutes, you don't know how much water that actually is. You can get actual catch cups with measurement markings from any retic store like Nutrien or Reece, even hardware stores may have them. Or you can use a bunch of straight sided containers like tuna cans, but you have to measure the height manually in them. 15mm twice a week is all you need for an establ”
“Not sure how to work out mm used but I use a rotating sprinkler that stays on for 15-20mins whenever I do water which covers the entire area The lawn is was placed down around 3 months ago that I know of Sorry I didn’t get precise details”
“I've been running my 10 spiked Orbit sprinkler using Rachio Smart Timers for 2 seasons now and during the initial 'establish' schedules I water 4 times a day for as much as 40 min per zone (but I use the smart soak mode which breaks that up in 20 min run, 20 min break, 20 min run). My water pressure definitely tanks in the house, hah, but so far I haven't seen any other negative impacts.”
“I’m in Coastal Virginia too, how often are you watering? I have in ground sprinklers that put out .25 inches per hour, I run them for 25mins 3x a day during seeding”
“Water twice a day for 10 min is my go-to, enough to keep the top half inch damp without turning it into mud. You'll see fuzz in about a week with this weather, and yeah stepping around to move the hose won't hurt anything, just don't do laps out there”
“I've been running my sprinklers roughly at 5:00 a.m., Noon, and 5:00 p.m. I do it about 10 to 15 minutes each time. These are the cheap plastic fan sprinklers you attach to a hose. We've been having temps in the low to mid 80s and sun everyday. submitted by /u/Judasbot [link] [comments]”
“There are some heads where they don't seem to spray far enough or they're blocked by my grass. The heads seem like theyre up all the way though. Is my grass too tall? How do I fix this? submitted by /u/SizzlinKola [link] [comments]”
“I got a Meross smart sprinkler timer. The lawn was watered for 4 minutes every three hours from 7 am to 8 pm. I set it and didn’t touch it again for about 10 days. I didn’t use any fertilizer. I wasn’t sure if the cow manure and another fertilizer would end up being too much causing burns.”
“I used 2 cheap oscillating sprinklers and watered once in the morning and once after work. Repositioned them a few times after the zone was damp enough”
how good of coverage are you getting with those two sprinklers?
“Coming to the experts… blank slate! I have new yard leveled out after installing a retaining wall. Trying to pick the future water bill and mowing habits that will determine my sanity for the next 20 years! Facts Yard mostly an except for the farside gets shaded by the pine tree. Covers only about 10-15’ in the area. No dogs Have young kids expecting to play soccer and other sports. Located Southern California. Not costal or inland. So I think we’re like a 8 or 9. Current personal choice is lead”
“https://preview.redd.it/dbc15sc8n9rh1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2c97d0da5e74f781deab3a213cef0a955b48efaa The bare area is where the arc from the impact sprinkler hits.”
“New sod laid less than a week ago. I've gone through all the steps here. Water and water again. 20 mins twice a day with above ground sprinklers. Tried to focus on the edges a day ago with hand spraying. Strip of sod along the walkway looks like the attached. Picture doesn't do it justice for some reason but it looks darker, mushy even, even though I'm guessing the edges look dry. Anybody with an idea what this could be and how to prevent sod damage, if reversible. Toronto, Canada an”
“This is totally fine. You got the good deep soaking out of the way. Now keep up with the maintenance watering and your sod will do great.”
“I want to live in this land of essentially free water… 1/2 inch hose can do 6-10pm, let’s take it at the low value of 6. 2 days is 2880 minutes, so 17,280 gallons. At my town water/sewer rate that’s 466 bucks”
“I’ve never heard of this “per 7 gallons” measurement but just did the math and mine is 19 cents per 7 gallons.”
“Completely redid my lawn it was regraded top dressed the whole 9 I have a tripod sprinkler on the side walk and in the driveway and I have to move a oscillating sprinkler in the back left and right corners How does my watering schedule look? I hope I’m not over watering the first few days were guess work and today I feel like I have it dialed in a week later as of today. The picture of my lawn was when all the work was done and today I do have grass growing in very random spots of yard vs other”
“Located Elkhorn, NE. New house. Front yard on the east side. Basically lost 50% about 1.5 months ago. Have underground sprinklers on a schedule of 12 min each zone (8 zones) 5 days a week. That was the schedule when I moved in. What type of grass is this and why did it die. Took a wire rake to a couple areas and it pulled right out of the dirt. Not sure if that is because it's already dead or the roots were shallow. Cut short at the beginning of the season then kept at 3.5 in since. su”
“First time poster and first time over-seeding. 3 weeks out from Twin City Blue Resilience. Top dressed/leveled with 50/50 topsoil/compost. Used a pretty basic Ryan Knorr above ground irrigation on timers. Really neglected my yard and didn’t have a clue how to take care of it after I originally got it hydro seeded 3 years ago. Pretty much followed the cool season guide within this Reddit thread. Still have some weeds and thin spots but hopeful KBG will make the thin spots less this upcoming sprin”
“Just seeded my yard along with new sod in some places. I have a sprinkler system so can water as needed. Is 10 mins every 2 hours in daylight hours only a good schedule? Seed is Twin city Blue Resilience II Location: Northern Virginia submitted by /u/Familiar_Cake5582 [link] [comments]”
“7 mins every 2 hrs 7am-7pm. Slowly reduced that to 5/4 hrs. Now trying 10 mins 7am, 7pm. Still will have to be mindful if that is enough. I have in ground sprinklers. Not looking forward to the water bill this month but too much work to not keep it wet.”
360 single spray rotary? or does the whole area get sprayed at once?
“8am, noon, 5pm? 20 minutes (360 rotary sprinkler)? Ground was wet today at 7am and it's set to water again at 8am. Am I overdoing it? As long as you don't see pooling, is it possible to over do it? Nights are in the mid to high 50s, days in high 60s low 70s. Any irrigation tips? submitted by /u/Standard-Top-5942 [link] [comments]”
“First time trying to grow from seed. I get nervous when the dirt feels dry, so my sprinkling has been to keep it damp as I’ve read in so many places. Soil is on the sandier side, but I also tilled in around 3/4” compost/topsoil mix into it. I am running 4 zones and am doing 20 minutes per zone every 2 hrs. By the time the 4th zone is done, the first zone is already starting to look and feel dry on the outskirts of the sprinkler radius. I’m using Rainbird 42SA+ rotary heads. I see people saying w”
“Water 1.5 days a week for 2.5 weeks? I don’t understand what that means? You want to keep the soil damp 24 hours a day until full germination, for me that was running irrigation 4x a day for 10 minutes per zone. As the days are getting shorter I’m sure you can get away with 3x a day. You don’t want to soak everything, rather make sure it’s damp and never dries or the seed will die”
“I’m looking at the Rain Bird 32ETI and the orbit sprinkler system, anybody had both? Any recommendations? I don’t know much about sprinkler systems but I’m really tired of dragging the sprinkler around submitted by /u/Tight_Bug_2848 [link] [comments]”
“I've got this: Rain Bird 42SASPG Gear Drive Rotor, Full Circle, 26-38 Feet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DYKS7X81 It is on the 360 setting and barely covers my ~4k sq ft lawn. How long do I set it to water 3 times a day? 30 minutes? 20 minutes? submitted by /u/Standard-Top-5942 [link] [comments]”
“I set mine up the same way and worried about the same thing, but it was fine. The water sitting in the hose gets a little warm at first, but it cools down fast once it starts flowing. Just make sure you're running each zone long enough to push that first bit through”
“So the first 50’ of water that flows through the hose might be warm. That’s not a problem.”
“Do you have the timer attached straight to the hose bib? If so, the water won’t be in the hose itself cooking. The hose may get warm laying out, but if each zone is running at least 5 minutes it’ll easily cooler way off.”
“Yeah, it takes time to the settings just right. You can try some different nozzles as well if better coverage is needed. And you'll know if you ever back off that top screw, because the nozzle will shoot out and land, somewhere out there...”
“So I picked up some 42SA+ and it looks like it only shoots the majority of water around the outer perimeter? I’ve adjusted the bottom screw to get 360 degrees, and my understanding is the screw at the opposite end at the tip of the arrow is supposed to adjust the water throw but it doesn’t seem to do much for me. I was expecting a much more thorough fan of water to hit the whole circle under the sprinkler? Edit: actually that top screw just has a ton of distance to it and I just had to keep tigh”
“Just placed some TTTF down and started sprinklers today. I have 1/16-1/8” coco coir on top. I’m running 4 impact sprinklers across about a 160’ length (switching to rotary today also because the impacts suck) and it seems like I need to run them for 10-20 minutes each to get the ground appearing moist. By the time I the 4th one finishes, the soil is already dry on the first area at least on the outer edges. I’m concerned as all the watering schedules I read say roughly water 4 times daily for 10”
“Yowza, finally got all my seeding prep done and laid, and got sprinklers going. This one impact sprinkler is very curious and I’m wondering if I need to adjust it somehow? The picture is immediately after 15 min of runtime. The center is obviously very saturated. The left side water seems to apply well enough, but the remaining 230 degrees or so on the outer 1/2 of the radius just don’t seem to be getting much retention of water, despite watching the sprinkler hit those areas repeatedly on each”
“I do 45 minutes in the morning, then 45 minutes near dusk. I only have sprinklers and this method always works for me.”
“Located near Milwaukee— Was planning on overseeing tomorrow, did lots of prep work today. I saw that we are projected 2.5” rain Thursday and another inch Friday. Should I wait to seed, or send it? Afraid my seed will get washed out. submitted by /u/Tommay05 [link] [comments]”
“Probably a frequently asked question so I apologize. I just over seeded with TTTF and started a watering schedule of 4x per day for 15 min each zone with some tripod sprinklers. How long do I water that frequently, and when do I start to cut down on the watering? I’m zone 5b in Iowa, thanks! submitted by /u/Ok_Tangerine_9150 [link] [comments]”
“I am in SW Iowa zone 6a and wanted to take advantage of the free water while overseeding, but dont want it all to wash away. Front yard has a slight slope the entire way but nothing overly severe. Do I risk it or just wait a few days and do it after when it’s cooler? Any suggestion are helpful as this is my first time overseeding. Thank you!! submitted by /u/mancitycards1894 [link] [comments]”
“Amount is more important than time as long as it isn’t running off then surface. My high efficiency heads take me 3 hrs and 20 min on 3 days a week to hit 1.25”. Doesn’t mean that’s right but that’s what works for my lawn. Also you mentioned in 30 minutes you get 1-1.5” and that’s a huge variable. It’s either 1” or 1.5” and if it isn’t that would be were I would start.”
“Overseed/rough leveling project in Eastern PA, including spreading 20cy of dirt and resulting in some entirely bare areas. With mid/low water pressure (fortunately at least from a well), and a farthest distance of about 300ft from the spigot, looks like my orbit impact sprinkler will have a radius of just about 20ft. Total overseed area is about 250x100ft, though only about 2/3rds of that are actually getting seed (trees, etc taking up a lot of space). A rough placement mapping looks like I'”