When does everyone turn on their sprinklers?
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When does everyone turn on their sprinklers?
Usually the second week of May.
When golf courses do
Mother's Day weekend.
I wait until after all of the spring rains are through.
May 1st. NEVER before because I don't like replacing a backflow valve every year. I learned that lesson several times.
If you're tempted to do it earlier, do some hand watering. A little bit goes a long way this time of year (grass isn't supposed to be green yet).
Copy that. I'm getting spring fever and want the yard looking its best. I'll wait a bit.
The sooner you force it to grow, the sooner you get to mow. [Coffee]
I let the grass wake up on its own time. Sprinklers get turned on in early May.
My neighbors' yards are green year round.
the problem isn't turning on the sprinklers. The problem is that the backflow freezes. Average last date of frost around here is May 15th.
BUT
take some insulation, put it over the backflow (the big ugly copper thing that comes out of your house), put a garbage bag over it (to keep it from getting wet)
good down into the single digits.
Really, I swear to you, used to do sprinklers for years and years.
Just because it's on, doesn't mean you have to turn the clock on yet.
But the longer you wait, 1 the lower your water bill and 2. the better your grass will do in the heat of the summer. Let it stress a little and build some roots.
Good advice John. I give it ago early to mid may.
already need to mow over here. Stupid grass.
I wait until mid May, or if it keeps raining, wait until the grass looks like it needs the water. It was late june last year when I decided it was time. Then had to shut it all down in 2 months.
I started mine last weekend.
Grass is starting to get greener already. My lawn rival got head start on me. Game on!
Mine has been on for over a month. I've mowed three times already and fed twice.
Here's my lawn on this day last year (I didn't take another photo this year but it looks about the same right now) when I took a photo to post to Facebook with the line: "Attention neighbors: it's April & you already lost Lawn Wars 2015. Better luck in 2016"
The front with my neighbor's postage stamp for comparison purpose:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-U...20539369_n.jpg
The back but harder to see the neighbor's back yard for comparison:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-K...77468658_n.jpg
...they didn't fare much better this year either.
Ive been very tempted to fire them up. I finally have a house that has sprinklers front and back and everything on a drip. I want to have a lush green lawn all summer for once.
You really don't even need to do blowouts in Colorado (even though I used to do blowouts as a side gig years ago). It doesn't freeze deep enough to burst lines (if they're buried deep enough which isn't all that deep in Colorado) and only occasionally will you have to replace a cracked head and that's like a $5 fix & a 2min process in most instances. I keep an eye on the upcoming weather and if it's going to get below freezing I turn off the sprinkler supply valve in the basement, open up the little drain valve and then open the check balls on the backflow siphon and let the water drain from it. Worse case scenario you break a vaccum breaker and the parts are about $30 at Home Depot w/o any coupons and you can change them out in about 5min time. Other than that, I don't do blowouts or turn ons because mine are basically on year round. It gets VERY dry in Colorado in the winter and it's wise to give your yard a good drink a few times in the winter too when we get those long periods of dry, windy weather to keep things happy.
Same with my parents' and their grass has been dead for years! Amazing what some green paint can do!Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
My neighbor's lawn looks like Jer's, even in December. He puts a lot of iron in the lawn, but that's all I really know.
Yeah, Iron is the key. Don't waste your money on high-dollar Scott's and other brands that are high in nitrogen have lots of filler labeled 'weed control' but don't offer enough of what our Colorado soil needs: iron.Quote:
Originally Posted by Irving
I get Green-N-Grow at our local Co-op off of Mulberry & I25. It's only $20 a bag and lasts me quite a long time. It's higher in iron so you want to sweep your walks, drives and patios after application or you'll get rust spots but other than that I love this stuff. Costs a fraction of what the big name brands do at the big box stores plus I use less because it works better. The closer you are to the mountains the more iron your lawn likely needs. When you get proper feeding you'll use less water too. Careful with this stuff though, if you get it on too heavy you'll have to mow every 2-3 days so I suggest a light application and then a week or two later another light one until you get the dosage right.
If you're lawn is healthy enough weed control will be a none issue because the healthy grass will choke out the weeds naturally. I spot treat dandelions (having neighbors upwind who don't care about their lawn sucks) with Weed-B-Gone and weeds in rock beds either get Round-Up or pulled by hand. I end up spraying probably one dandelion per week at most on average. Get your lawn healthy and you won't have to deal with weeds. Crab grass is the most challenging thing I face along the front sidewalk edge because of neighbors upwind and uphill coupled with the fact that that sidewalk is south-facing so that section of soil dries out quicker than the rest making it difficult to keep as healthy as the rest of my yard.
When it comes to lawns, I don't mess around.
Here's the stuff I use with the analysis which has the iron at 5% when I think most are like 0.01-0.25% or so.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-o...5_112242-1.jpg
If you're really into it you can get a soil analysis done and find out exactly what you need and then add that in the way of fertilizer but if you live in Colorado I can almost guarantee your soil is iron deficient. The closer to the mountains you are the worse it is. I miss the rich, black, loamy soil I had in Nebraska where my fertilizer needs for a lawn were next to nothing. Here you can water 45min per day thinking your lawn is dry & still now get a green lawn when it likely just needs a little bit of iron to perk things up.
What Jer lacks in truck he makes up for in grass. Hehehe. Looks good though!
Nah, I just research before I commit to anything because I can't afford to waste money on mistakes & like having the best of everything... to include trucks. [Coffee]Quote:
Originally Posted by hghclsswhitetrsh
I'm w/ Jer. Only I use Ironite and Revive. The only fertilizer I use is the stuff the landscapers put down when I have them aerate. Aeration is critical. Twice a year. In the Fall if you only do it once. Fertilizer as well.
I turned on my sprinklers last weekend. Have mowed twice. Power raked this weekend and will have it aerated and fertilized on the 30th. My research suggests that aeration is best done when the lawn is pretty much fully active. So later in Spring and earlier in Fall. Mid October for me.
Water rarely hurts anything but your wallet.
You all got me excited. Probably going to fire them up tonight.
Seeing what the weatherman is predicting this weekend, I'd say no need to rush on watering.
No sooner than Memorial Day, want to see what this year's rains look like. I think I had turned them on early back in 2006 and we got those daily rains ... I turned them off and never had to turn them back on all summer. Ever since then, I want to see what the rains look like before I waste time and money with the sprinklers.
Rarely does 'rain' equate to useful precipitation for your lawn in an arid region like Colorado if your goal is a healthy and robust lawn. I've had people criticize me for watering while it's raining but just because it's raining doesn't mean there's enough water there to replace even 2min of watering directly with direct irrigation. Personally, I love having a lush green lawn and there is no such thing as 'too early' for me because the greener the better so when we're consistently away from well bellow freezing every night I get them on and then drain the backflow the day of another freeze upcoming.Quote:
Originally Posted by TRnCO
That was a good year. I hardly watered at all and if we had better soil here in this neighborhood I could see not having to use irrigation all summer that year. It was the perfect combination of lower temps, consistent rain, higher humidity and low winds. It was a perfect storm of positive conditions and I doubt we'll see that again for years to come. We've already had some pretty windy days and the wind will zap your lawn dry a lot more than most people realize. Once you're focus is the efficiency on how much water you use you really start to recognize how much more you need during windy periods. So I guess I'm saying that if your plan is to wait and see if it's going to be that perfect again to save money from turning on the sprinklers at all the entire summer it's probably not worth the gamble. Also, why not turn them on yourself and then you won't have to worry about the money aspect?Quote:
Originally Posted by Aloha_Shooter
Are your water costs that much?
You can do A LOT of watering for the cost of a bag of fertilizer. And likely just as effective unless you have other problems with your lawn.
I DO turn my sprinklers on myself. I just don't see the point in wasting potable water if the grass gets what it needs naturally. I strive for presentable but not showcase. I'd rather spend $5 on ammo than the lawn ... ;-)
My watering costs are very low actually. A $20 bag of that fertilizer I posted will last me a full season or more. When I first moved to Colorado I wasted a TON of water on my lawn because in Nebraska we had great soil so all you did was water more when your lawn wasn't deep green and healthy. I was watering like crazy and my lawn still looks dried out and crappy. Couldn't figure it out until my neighbor asked me what I used for fertilizer and I was like.... fertilizer? lol A couple of decades later I have more of a focus on feeding properly and my watering is a fraction of my neighbors even though my lawn is far healthier. I think it comes down to do you want a truly healthy and impressive lawn or do you just want something to take up the area around the outside of your house and be just healthy enough to keep your neighbors from hating you? Not everyone takes pride in their lawn these days so lots of my tips will be lost on most reading them.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jefe's AR
I grew up on a well and we watered A LOT with the only cost being the electricity to run the well. So, I guess I'm just not averse to turning the water on. I mean, you're just putting clean water back into the ground. [Dunno]
Also, don't let anyone tell you there's no water in Colorado. Yes, it's dry and arid but there's more water underground than the Great Lakes. IMO, the 'water savers' are just like the 'climate changers'.
None of my statements are in regards to saving the environment so much as trying to save myself a few bucks. While there is lots of water underground very little of that is above ground and Colorado is a very arid climate... a high desert if you will. If it wasn't for the work of man to bring water here we'd all have xeriscape like Arizona. We're all a little spoiled with lush green Kentucky bluegrass lawns that we've all come to expect but it does take a lot more effort here than it did for me in Nebraska.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jefe's AR
Longmont and the watering costs are outrageous. Plus I have a big lawn. (unlike that postage stamp picture posted above)Quote:
Originally Posted by Jefe's AR
In july, my bills can easily top $500 and I only water when necessary and keep the grass VERY long. But it's very porous soil where I live, so it goes right down.
I believe I laid about 2,500sq ft of sod when I did the landscaping so it's not huge by any stretch but if that number was doubled my watering needs wouldn't be double as I'm pretty good at dialing in my heads and watering needs just like if it were only 1,500sq ft I wouldn't use much less water than I do now. Our soil up against the foothills is the opposite and it's VERY dense with clay. The grass roots don't penetrate at all and no amount of 'watering infrequently for long periods' approach will amend that. So for me I water very short periods (usually 10min) once per day (less with sustained & measurable rain) and during the very hot days of mid-summer I'll hit them again mid to late afternoon for about 5min per zone or so to keep the lawn cool and from going into shock.Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnTRourke
Too many times people want to fight the conditions they're given rather than just working with them which ends up being much easier. I cringe at the commercials that our tax dollars are paying for telling us to 'not be that guy' who waters his lawn in the heat of the day which wastes water. Bullshit. When you're exercising in the heat of the day do you keep yourself from drinking water because it's wasteful? Of course not. Why would it be any different for your lawn if you actually care about keeping it healthy? The same people who are programmed to see me as being wasteful when my sprinklers are on mid-day probably have a water bill 2-3x higher than mine every month so it's a complete waste of efforts.
Jer, how about a quick lawn tutorial?
Wonder if now would be a good time to overseed with the expected weekend storm and all the moisture it's supposed to bring?
I was just thinking the same thing.. got it aerated and fertilized before the last snow... now I'm thinking some seed needs to go down.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ramsker
I was thinking about starting a picture thread where people post photos of their lawn, then the hive mind can chime in with ideas.Quote:
Originally Posted by Erni
A tutorial? How? I think I already gave all of my tips. Don't overseed so I have no input on that. Never really felt the need.
If you have uneven areas or low spots you can rake in light amounts of dirt to the lower lying areas and over time the root base will wise with the new dirt level and eventually (years) you will level out the lower areas.
I mean, other than that I can't really think of any other things I do really. I like to keep shit basic but not slack on said basics.
I layed down some organic fertilizer on Sunday. All the moisture this weekend should really help out.
I gets aerated on the 16th.