Water Smart
What are your watering habits? Are you irrigating because your yard actually needs it or because your sprinklers just automatically come on? Do you even know when or how long you are watering?
Urban landscape irrigation is one of the largest growing water use sectors in Florida with over half of all residential water use occurring outside the home.
Following the tips below will help you to conserve water and help the environment.
Be Water Smart When Irrigating!
Water your lawn only when it needs it. Over-watering results in shallow root systems and makes your lawn less disease and drought tolerant. If the blades of your grass are folded or the blades remain pressed down when it is walked upon you may need to irrigate.
Titusville restricts the use of potable, well, and reclaimed water and all irrigation should be done in accordance with the. Learn your days.
- Know your sprinkler heads. Never put different types of irrigation heads in the same irrigation zone. Different heads deliver different amounts of water, so don’t mix them. Same goes for mixing turf and plant beds. Plants need much less water than turf. Never put them in the same zone as turf.
- Try the Catch Can test to determine how long to run your sprinklers. Only 1/2- to 3/4-inch of water per zone is needed for a healthy lawn. Randomly scatter five to ten small shallow cans (think cat food or tuna) in one zone. Run your system for 15 minutes in that same zone. Measure the water’s depth in inches in each container. Repeat for each zone. Calculate the average depth of the collected water to get the application rate in inches per fifteen minutes. Multiply by four to determine how much is applied in an hour. Adjust your system's run time to reach the goal of 1/2- to 3/4-inches.
- Water early in the morning to avoid excessive evaporation loss. Watering in the evening may cause fungus and disease. The restrictions prohibit irrigation between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
- Give your irrigation system a monthly checkup. Go outside when your system is running and see just where you are watering. Fix broken or misdirected sprinklers. Make sure your timer is reset after power outages. Add another sprinkler head instead of trying to get coverage by creating high arcs of spray that only loses water to evaporation. If your water ends up mostly on the driveway or the sidewalk, you need to rethink your spray heads or configuration.
- Turn off sprinklers when it’s raining or windy. If it's raining, you don't need to be watering; and if it is windy, the water is not getting to your turf or plants. Florida law requires automatic irrigation systems to be equipped with a rain sensor. A rain sensor keeps your system from running when it is raining.
Factors that affect Your Yard's Water Needs
- Use pesticides and fertilize appropriately. Using too much pesticide or fertilizer can be harmful to you, your plants and the environment. The more fertilizer you use, the more water your lawn will need. Never fertilize before a storm or before running a full irrigation cycle of your sprinkler system. It will cause the fertilizer to runoff your yard into the stormwater system and ultimately the Indian River Lagoon.
- Minimize water runoff from your yard. Watch how irrigation water and/or rain flows off of your yard. Use plants, mulch, stones, etc. to create a berm or barrier on the edge of your yard to help keep your irrigation water on your yard and not in the stormwater system.
- Add mulch. Retain moisture and prevent erosion in your yard by placing a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch in plant beds and around trees and shrubs. Grass clippings, leaves, and yard trimmings all help to retain moisture and add nutrients to the soil. Do not pile mulch up against tree trunks as it can cause rot and lead to pests.
- Use native plants and ground covers. Introducing native plants and ground covers to your yard can solve your irrigation issues. These plants require little or no water other than rain. They do not need fertilization and have few pests and diseases, while tolerating poor soils. They also support our pollinators!