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General Maintenance Tips
The following section gives you general maintenace tips regarding sprinkler systems and general lawn maintenance.
It is important to do a regular maintenance check on your sprinklers. If
sprinklers are not kept in good working condition, they can waste water
as well as have detrimental effects on your landscape. Turn on your sprinklers
during daylight hours to inspect the system for broken, clogged or misaligned
heads. Print out the Sprinkler Maintenance
Checklist for some tips of what to look for.
A common problem with sprinkler systems is pressure. Without
correct pressure, your sprinklers will not be able to perform as designed.
You may notice large brown areas of lawn where the sprinkler is not reaching,
or shooting over. High pressures can also damage nozzles and heads – sometimes
even causing them to break off. Spray heads should be operating at about
25 to 30 PSI, and rotor heads should be about 30 to 50 PSI. You may need
a landscape or sprinkler professional to check the pressure at your sprinkler
heads. If your pressure is too high, pressure-reducing valves and heads
may be installed, or you may be able to retrofit your existing heads with
new nozzles instead of replacing them. Also, consult your manufacturer’s
instructions and specs to ensure proper pressure.
Did you know that most lawn problems are a direct result
of over watering? Maintaining your lawn properly will help you save time,
money and water!
Mowing
Is your lawn shorter than your carpet? Mowing your lawn
at such a short length hurts the grass, wastes water and encourages more
green waste.
By raising your lawn mower height another ½ to 1 inch,
you are promoting the conservation of water in grass. Grass will shade
itself as it grows longer, reducing its overall water need. This, in turn,
reduces the growth rate of the grass- meaning less frequent mowing! Experts
recommend cutting grass to a total length of 3 inches, and removing no
more than one-third of the leaf blade per mowing.
Stressing
Ever heard the expression "What doesn’t kill you only
makes you stronger"? In order to make your grass heartier, try stressing
it out! By going an extra day without water here and there, you are promoting
deeper root growth. The
deeper the roots are allowed to penetrate the soil, the better overall
health of your lawn. Roots will only grow as far as they need to in order
to get water. If you are always giving them water up near the surface
of the lawn, the plants have no incentive to grow deeper. You can easily
check your rooting depth by using a soil
probe or screwdriver.
Try waiting as long as possible in the spring to water
your grass. The longer you wait, the healthier your lawn will be in the
summer months. And don’t worry it’s virtually impossible to kill your
lawn. The lawn may turn brown in areas, but it is just the plant going
DORMANT, not dying. Adding water will make that spot spring back to life!
Fertilization
Fertilizing your lawn encourages healthy plant growth.
In this case, however, MORE IS NOT BETTER! Fertilize sparingly, as you
can actually over stimulate plant growth, making the lawn more susceptible
to dry conditions and disease. Additionally, the more fertilizer applied
to a lawn increases the likelihood of harmful chemicals running off into
streams or seeping into groundwater. The combination of over-watering
and over-fertilizing can be dangerous to both plants and humans!
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